Ep. 12: What can we learn about parenting from dead babies from the past?

We can only understand our present when we understand our past, right? But how can we do that when the evidence of that past is gone? When the stories aren't passed down or recorded? This week we explore this question with bioarchaeologist Dr. Sian Halcrow of the University of Otago who does just this. She studies the bones of dead babies to help us better understand the practices and environments in pre-history eras. From weaning behaviours to the effects of fertility to how inequality played into parenting, we cover what is known - and what isn't - from these early times.

For more on Dr. Halcrow's work: https://childhoodbioarchaeology.org/about/

Some of Dr. Halcrow's work we discussed:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.24033
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/evolutionary-human-sciences/article/care-of-infants-in-the-past-bridging-evolutionary-anthropological-and-bioarchaeological-approaches/C4BA1819159896C951B207DF630D0CE2
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_1
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02805-z?fbclid=IwAR29OK5Km8Wu8P6u0QkoTrJQKOMkHiCROLqyxU90VZOni3pGgaB6wYckNGM

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/