Introduction

The transition of a child from a stable uterine environment to the external environment, with its variety of pathogens and other stimuli, can be viewed as the first crisis in a human's life. In the womb, the fetus receives nutrients from its mother, and is protected from the external environment by the maternal immune system (Gordon, 1975; Hayward, 1978). The response of the mother to social and economic conditions indirectly influences the fetus. After birth, the physical and biological environment has a direct effect on the child itself. For a short time, there is a degree of continuation in the biological link between mother and child, as breastmilk supplies the child with the nutrients and passive immunity it needs to grow and to survive the new breed of pathogens it is exposed to (Hansen and Winberg, 1972). If the child fails to adapt to its new environment, it will die. The ability of a given population to provide the biocultural means for a child's survival once it is born provides an insight into its adaptive success. Hence, the age at death of children from past societies has the potential to provide the bioarchaeologist with information on obstetrics, disease, socio-economic transitions, accidents, infanticide and weaning practices, and acts as a measure of the successful adaptation of a population to its environment.