Childhood lifeways and deathways among Yamna steppe pastoralists

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

The project Childhood lifeways and deathways among Yamna steppe pastoralists (PASTCHYLD) investigates the lives of children and adolescents in Yamna steppe groups (ca. 3100-2500 BC) of Southeastern and Eastern Europe. While Yamna social organisation has traditionally been reconstructed through the perspective of adult men, this research shifts the focus to upbringing and identity formation among nonadults. PASTCHYLD employs an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates mortuary archaeology, gender archaeology, and the archaeology of childhood with cutting-edge biosciences, including bioanthropology, proteomics, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and genetics. The project explores early childhood feeding practices (breastfeeding, weaning, and post-weaning diet), living conditions (pathologies and stress markers), and the construction of social identities, such as gender, age, status, and role, as expressed through burial customs. Particular attention is given to identifying potential gender disparities during childhood. By including both male and female children and adolescents into Yamna research, the project moves beyond adult male-centred narratives. This shift will generate unprecedented insights into how the rise of mobile pastoralism shaped childhood and identity formation, while also providing a replicable framework for integrating archaeological and bioscientific data. Ultimately, PASTCHYLD enhances the visibility of children, both male and female, whose lives have long been overlooked, fosters broader reflections on the roots of social and gender inequality, issues that remain highly relevant to contemporary societies worldwide.