TY - JOUR
T1 - Determinants of infant mortality and representation in bioarchaeological samples
T2 - A review
AU - McFadden, Clare
AU - Muir, Brianna
AU - Oxenham, Marc F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - In bioarchaeological contexts, a complex relationship exists between infant representation in the age-at-death distribution, gestational and young child mortality rates, and the total fertility rate. The representation of infants in a skeletal sample may be influenced by a range of social, biological, and archaeological factors. To better understand the interactions between representation, fertility, and mortality, this study evaluates the relationship between infant-juvenile age-at-death proportions, fertility rates, and a range of gestational and early childhood mortality measures. The statistical component of this study found the correlation between fertility rates and infant-juvenile proportions was stronger than with any mortality rate variable of interest. This suggests that the proportion of infants in a mortuary sample is a stronger indicator of fertility than it is of infant-juvenile mortality. Social, biological, and archaeological variables potentially influencing infant representation in skeletal samples are discussed and a strongly contextualized and holistic approach to infant and juvenile mortality is recommended.
AB - In bioarchaeological contexts, a complex relationship exists between infant representation in the age-at-death distribution, gestational and young child mortality rates, and the total fertility rate. The representation of infants in a skeletal sample may be influenced by a range of social, biological, and archaeological factors. To better understand the interactions between representation, fertility, and mortality, this study evaluates the relationship between infant-juvenile age-at-death proportions, fertility rates, and a range of gestational and early childhood mortality measures. The statistical component of this study found the correlation between fertility rates and infant-juvenile proportions was stronger than with any mortality rate variable of interest. This suggests that the proportion of infants in a mortuary sample is a stronger indicator of fertility than it is of infant-juvenile mortality. Social, biological, and archaeological variables potentially influencing infant representation in skeletal samples are discussed and a strongly contextualized and holistic approach to infant and juvenile mortality is recommended.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123395293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ajpa.24406
DO - 10.1002/ajpa.24406
M3 - Review article
SN - 0002-9483
VL - 177
SP - 196
EP - 206
JO - American Journal of Biological Anthropology
JF - American Journal of Biological Anthropology
IS - 2
ER -