ABSTRACT Generally, due to their small size and fragility, the discovery of fetuses in archaeological contexts is an uncommon event. From a bioarchaeological perspective, when such contexts are found, their study allows us to explore maternal-fetal stress conditions related to pregnancy or birth. It also allows us to assess the sociocultural aspects behind individual identity and group-affiliation based on funerary practices. In this article, after discussing certain concepts underlying the study of fetuses in bioarchaeology, we present a case-study of a post-birth premature fetus found outside of the uterus and carefully interred with grave goods in close association with nine other individuals – both sub-adults and adults – from a prehistoric hunter-gatherer’s burial dating to the Middle Holocene and located in northeastern Brazil. This unique context presents an opportunity to consider fetal death and burial issues from an infant bioarchaeological perspective.

中文翻译：

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胎儿生物考古学：对 Toca do Enoque（巴西东北部中全新世）Burial 2 早产的案例研究

摘要 一般来说，由于胎儿体积小且易碎，在考古环境中发现胎儿是一件罕见的事件。从生物考古学的角度来看，当发现这些背景时，他们的研究使我们能够探索与怀孕或分娩相关的母胎压力状况。它还使我们能够根据丧葬习俗评估个人身份和群体归属背后的社会文化方面。在本文中，在讨论了生物考古学中胎儿研究的某些基本概念之后，我们提出了一个案例研究，该案例研究在子宫外发现的出生后早产儿与其他九个人密切相关，并与墓葬物品一起仔细地埋葬——这两个人都是亚裔。 - 成人和成人 - 来自史前狩猎采集者的墓葬，可追溯到中全新世，位于巴西东北部。