We explore breastfeeding practices among low-income families in the late 18th to early 19th-century town of Rauma in Southwestern Finland. The breastfeeding practices in the area of the current nation of Finland (at the time belonging to first Sweden and then Russia) had been under debate. While in certain regions artificial infant feeding was common and was linked to high infant mortality, breastfeeding was also known to be practiced in certain regions of Finland. To explore this, we analyzed the δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values in collagen of horizontally cut dentin segments of permanent first molars (M1; n = 7) collected from 19th century human skeletal remains from the deconsecrated Holy Trinity churchyard excavated in 2016. The resulting isotopic profiles were similarly patterned across the seven individuals. The emerging pattern revealed a period of exclusive breastfeeding during approximately the first six months of life, followed by weaning until the latter half of the second year. We further investigated diet during mid-childhood by comparing the stable isotope ratios in collagen of the M1 and premolar roots. This comparison suggested that the mid-childhood diets may have contained more plant-based foods than those consumed earlier in childhood.

我们探讨了 18 世纪末至 19 世纪初芬兰西南部城镇劳马 (Rauma) 低收入家庭的母乳喂养实践。当前国家芬兰（当时属于瑞典和俄罗斯）地区的母乳喂养做法一直在争论中。虽然在某些地区人工婴儿喂养很普遍，并且与婴儿死亡率高有关，但众所周知，芬兰某些地区也实行母乳喂养。为了探索这一点，我们分析了δ ¹⁵ N 和δ ¹³从 2016 年挖掘的圣三一教堂墓地中收集的 19 世纪人类骨骼遗骸中，水平切开的第一磨牙（M1；n = 7）的胶原蛋白中的 C 值。由此产生的同位素分布在七个个体中具有类似的模式。新出现的模式揭示了大约在生命的前六个月进行纯母乳喂养，然后断奶直到第二年下半年。我们通过比较 M1 和前磨牙根的胶原蛋白中的稳定同位素比率进一步研究了儿童中期的饮食。这种比较表明，与儿童早期食用的相比，儿童中期的饮食可能含有更多的植物性食物。