Babies have been seen in old 'Sippy Cups' thousands of years ago

Babies and young children drank clay "goblets" during the Bronze Age and the age of iron, and the practice may already have existed 7,000 years ago, a new study reveals.

These gushing artifacts have been discovered on archaeological sites throughout Europe. They appeared for the first time in the Neolithic and spread, according to the study. Scientists suspected that the vessels were intended for feeding babies and young children, but some researchers argued that the pottery may have been designed for sick, injured or elderly adults.

To address this issue, the study authors analyzed vessels from children's graves in what is today Germany to determine what they once held. The researchers found residues of milk fats of animal origin, suggesting that the vessels contained milk that was fed to young children to supplement breastfeeding or to help with weaning.

This is the first "direct evidence of the foods that these babies have been fed," said Julie Dunne, lead author of the study, associate researcher at the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, the UK.

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The researchers examined three ships from the graves of very young children; the eldest was not older than 6 years, according to the study. Two of the graves were in a cemetery dating back to 800 BC. at 450 BC and a grave – a burial of cremation – were discovered in a necropolis dating back to 1200 BC. at 800 BC ..

Archaeologists usually look for old organic residues by grinding them small pieces of broken pottery "There are often thousands of people on a given site – and then, chemically analyzing the powder," Dunne told Live Science.

"On the basis of various molecular and isotopic information, we can determine the type of products present in the ship: animal products – meat or milk – plants or bee waxwhich would mean honey, "she said.

However, testing small whole objects without damaging them is much more difficult, Dunne added. For the study, the scientists thoroughly cleaned the inside of the vessels, collecting loose grains of powder. The fatty acids in the residues of the youngest vessels suggested that their milk came from ruminants – animals that mock like cows, sheep or goats. The authors of the study reported that the older glass contained milk from non-ruminants, perhaps breast milk or pork.

But could a child have comfortably use one of these cups? To find out, the researchers pieced together one of the study vessels, filled it with diluted applesauce and handed it to a 1-year-old young man.

"He cupped it in his hands and started nursing – and he loved it," Dunne told Live Science. "There is something intuitive about a baby in shape, they all have the same basic shape that you hold in your hands."

If these bronze and iron age goblets were used to feed babies, so is probably the same for similar cups found on other Neolithic dating sites, according to the study.

These mugs offer an intriguing glimpse of a significant change in the history of mankind. As people have gone from lifestyles of hunter-gatherers To adopt more agrarian habits, they now have reliable access to milk and cereals to feed their babies, which means families can grow faster, Dunne said.

"The hunter-gatherers tend to have gaps of about five years between babies," she noted. "But once people start to adopt an agricultural lifestyle, the interval between births becomes much shorter, rather than two years.

"People have more babies because it's easier to feed them," Dunne added. "In the end, this leads people to live in larger agglomerations – and eventually to urbanization."

The results were published online on September 25 in the journal Nature.

Originally published on Science live.