Orphaned, but Breastfed? Dietary reconstruction of orphans from the 19th-century Maagdenhuis orphanage in Amsterdam using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentine

The 19th-century Netherlands were characterized by the industrial revolution, increased urbanization, and high mortality, especially for the working class. This caused many children to end up in orphanages like the Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam, where the living conditions were generally very poor. While there is archival data concerning the Maagdenhuis orphanage, little is known about the individual life histories of the orphans residing there. In order to better understand the conditions these orphans grew up in, their diet is studied, as this is one of the most influential factors in a child’s life. For this purpose, first molars of six orphans from the Maagdenhuis cemetery were analysed to understand their breastfeeding and weaning patterns, diet, and health. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values were obtained from incremental dentine samples, enabling dietary reconstruction at high temporal resolution. Five out of six orphans showed a decrease in δ15N in their first years of...Show moreThe 19th-century Netherlands were characterized by the industrial revolution, increased urbanization, and high mortality, especially for the working class. This caused many children to end up in orphanages like the Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam, where the living conditions were generally very poor. While there is archival data concerning the Maagdenhuis orphanage, little is known about the individual life histories of the orphans residing there. In order to better understand the conditions these orphans grew up in, their diet is studied, as this is one of the most influential factors in a child’s life. For this purpose, first molars of six orphans from the Maagdenhuis cemetery were analysed to understand their breastfeeding and weaning patterns, diet, and health. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values were obtained from incremental dentine samples, enabling dietary reconstruction at high temporal resolution. Five out of six orphans showed a decrease in δ15N in their first years of life, indicating intake of breastmilk, but with varying durations and amounts. The sixth orphan did not show signs of breastfeeding and was likely weaned directly after birth. The post-weaning δ13C and δ15N values fall within the expected range of a terrestrial diet based mainly on C4-plants and a small amount of animal products. Overall elevated δ15N values (ranging between 10‰ and 16‰) likely indicate poor health among the orphans, but were possibly also caused by other factors. These results suggest that breastfeeding was not uncommon among the mothers of orphans from the 19th-century Maagdenhuis, but that the overall diet of the orphans was not sufficient. This pattern clearly contrasts with the results of previous studies of the contemporaneous rural town of Middenbeemster, where evidence for breastfeeding is nearly absent. This indicates that breastfeeding and weaning patterns may have been highly variable in the Netherlands during this time period. Future studies should therefore focus on increasing the sample size and proceeding with incremental sampling studies on different populations in the same area and time period. This could increase our knowledge of breastfeeding and weaning practices in the 19th-century Netherlands on a larger scale.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Orphaned, but Breastfed? Dietary reconstruction of orphans from the 19th-century Maagdenhuis orphanage in Amsterdam using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentine