UDK 903'i2/'i5(497.n)''633/634''.314.18-053.3
Documenta PraehistoricaXXXIII (2006)
The domestication of human birth
Sofija Stefanovic
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia
smstefan@f.bg.ac.yu
ABSTRACT - Observations of the burial places of newborns at the prehistoric site at Lepenski Vir
(Serbia) revealed the possibility that deliveries took place inside houses that were heated. Warm
houses provided a thermally stable environment which, in turn, could solve the problem of thermo-
regulation, that is critical for the survival of babies. In this study it is shown that the creation of these
good conditions for giving birth could have been an important step in human evolution that could
have led to a demographic expansion.
IZVLEČEK - Opazovanja prostorov s pokopi novorojenčkov na prazgodovinskem najdišču Lepenski
Vir (Srbija), so pokazala možnost, da se je rojevanje dogajalo znotraj ogrevanih hiš. Ogrevane hiše
so zagotavljale termalno stabilno okolje, kar je morda rešilo problem termoregulacije, ki je odloči-
len za preživetje otrok. V tej študiji prikažemo, da je lahko ustvarjanje dobrih pogojev za rojevanje
pomemben korak v človeški evoluciji in je lahko pripeljal do demografske ekspanzije.
KEY WORDS - Lepenski Vir; human birth; thermo-regulation; domestication
Introduction
During the entire evolution of humans, the process
of giving birth has been a key factor in their survi-
val. The low human population that existed up to
the Neolithic indicates that living conditions were
very hard and that Palaeolithic populations were ca-
pable of maintaining only simple reproduction, with-
out significant population growth. The way of life
during the Palaeolithic age, cold climate, and high
daily fluctuation of air temperature were detrimen-
tal to giving birth and for taking care of newborns.
With the Neolithic came the first demographic expan-
sion, but it is still not well understood what caused
it. In this study, we attempt to show that it may have
been caused by improved conditions of parturition.
It is well established that in the past and the present,
different cultures have created good conditions for
giving birth and for neo-natal care (Cressy 1997; Jor-
dan 1993; Priya 1991). Thus, there are no reasons
to believe that during the prehistoric period, humans
had a different approach to these important aspects
of their life. However, little attention has been paid
in the archeological literature to this problem (Beau-
sang 2000.69-70), and hence there is no developed
methodology for investigating it. Recent studies by
O'Donnell could be very helpful in finding material
proof for establishing such a methodology (O'Don-
nell 2003; 2004.165). Her investigation of various
aspects of parturition show that it always includes:
1) thermal regulation to ensure the viability of the
newborn infant; 2) a defined spatial location; 3) sup-
port and companionship; 4) mobility, in order for
the mother to negotiate the process; 5) attention to
the pre- and post-natal environment; and 6) ritual
and symbolism in the psychological negotiation of
the process.
In this study, we consider thermal regulation and
the defined spatial location as key factors for succes-
sful birth and neo-natal care. Our working hypothe-
sis is that developments in early houses, as the de-
fined spatial location for birthing, brought about dra-
matic improvements in the conditions for birth and
child-care because one of the functions of those hou-
ses appears to have been that they served as places
where women gave birth and where babies and in-
fants were cared for. Our analysis was based on data
obtained from the archaeological site at Lepenski Vir,
located in the Danube Gorges (Serbia), with the Me-
solithic phase at around 7500 Cal BC and the Early
Neolithic phase at 6300-5500 Cal BC (Bonsall et al.
2000; Borić 2002; Cook et al. 2002). We provide
two sets of evidence that indicate that the prehisto-
ric women in the Danube Gorges had good condi-
tions for giving birth, and could have enjoyed repro-
ductive success - first, that those women gave birth
inside houses that have been discovered at Lepenski
Vir and other archaeological sites in the Danube
Gorges; second, that those houses were heated and
thus could have provided favourable conditions, in-
cluding thermoregulation, for survival of newborns.
'Maternity ward'
The only reliable piece of evidence that a birth had
taken place at a given prehistoric site is the skeleton
of a newborn baby found at the location (Fig. 1). Af-
ter the lifting of house floors in 1970, 41 infant ske-
letons were found at Lepenski
Vir (Figs. 2 and 3) (Borić and
Stefanović 2004; Stefanović
and Borić in press). The lar-
gest number of skeletons (28)
were aged from 38 to 40 ge-
stational weeks (babies at the
age of birth) (Fig. 4). Six ske-
letons were of slightly youn-
ger, and can be explained as
premature. The remainder
were somewhat older, i.e.,
newborns that lived a few
weeks or months. DNA-based
sex identifications of 33 sam-
pled newborn skeletons show
that 19 of the newborns were
males and 14 were females
(Čuljković et al. in press). The
pattern concerning the new-
born burials is that all of them
were placed exclusively in the
rear of the houses (in 19 hou-
ses). Burial pits were either
cut through the limestone
floors or dug immediately off
the floor edge, often between
the construction stones sur-
rounding the floor. Taken to-
gether, these pieces of evi-
dence suggest that births took place inside these
houses. The possibility that women gave birth out-
side the house and that children who did not survive
were taken back and buried inside the house does
not seem tenable. For example, it was found that
some children who were buried inside the house had
survived several months after birth. Thus, the pres-
ence of child skeletons under the floors of the hou-
ses indicates that the birth took place in the house,
and that babies that survived their birth continued
to live in those houses. In other words, at Lepenski
Vir, the houses served as 'maternity wards' and the
birth event became domesticated.
Heated Houses, Thermo-regulation and Baby
Care
In each of the houses examined, there were hearths
in the centres of the houses, of more or less rectan-
gular shape, constructed from limestone slabs placed
vertically (Fig. 5). According to Radovanović, hearths
are the "most conspicuous architectural feature" of
the Danube Gorges (Radovanović 1996). Is there
any connection between hearths and babies? We be-
Fig. 1. House No. 38 from Lepenski Vir with a rectangular hearth inside
and with newborn burial No. 111. The burial was placed in a pit that was
cut through the lime floor. The skeleton belongs to a newborn girl (38-
40 gestational weeks), found on her back, (supine) with legs splayed out-
wards, in a S-N orientation (after Stefanović and Boric in press.Fig. 5).
Fig. 2. Grave 98, newborn-girl (35-37 gestational weeks) House
No. 19. The skeleton is flexed on the left side in a NW-SE orienta-
tion (photo: Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy,
University of Belgrade).
lieve there is, and it is highly significant. A hearth
means heat, and a hearth in the house means a
warm house, which is essential for survival of new-
born babies. There have been no studies or analy-
ses that could show how the houses in the Danube
Gorges were heated, or what room temperature
could be achieved in them.
Interestingly, however, in many of the houses, burned
limestone blocks were found, while no other evi-
dence of fire, such as tar or ash, was present. This
suggests that the stone blocks were heated outside
of the houses and then brought inside and placed in
the rectangular hearths as a source of heat. To show
plausibility of the idea that the limestone blocks
could provide heat to the houses, we carried out ba-
sic heat transfer calculations. We estimate that hot
limestone blocks heated to 100 °C could raise the
room temperature from 10 °C to a comfortable 20-
30 °C (see Appendix). This, as we explain below, was
sufficient to prevent and offset hypothermia among
newborns. It is noteworthy that the system for hea-
ting houses described above was more probably used
at older sites, such as Vlasac. At more recent sites,
such as Lepenski Vir, the heating system appears
more advanced. Houses had a rectangular hearth in
the centre, with an approach platform, and an out-
door fireplace connected with the hearth through a
funnel-like hole, suggesting some kind of 'central
heating system' (Fig. 5).
One of the most critical features in the survival of
newborns is temperature regulation. Even today,
thermo-regulation is one of the most important and
challenging aspects of the neonatal
care (Weber on-line). The transition
from the intra-uterine to the extra-
uterine environment is accompanied
by a substantial temperature change
that compromises the baby's thermo-
regulatory abilities. If the delivery
does not take place in a warm and
thermally stable environment, dur-
ing the first 10-20 minutes following
birth the newborn may lose enough
heat for its body temperature to fall
by 2-4 °C , with even greater falls in
the ensuing period if proper care is
not given (Adamsons and Towell
1965; Dahm and James 1972; Sma-
les and Kime 1978). Consequently,
the baby will develop hypothermia,
i.e., a body temperature below nor-
mal. If the neonate's body tempera-
ture is less than 36.5 °C, it enters a state of cold
stress, a condition that results in many complica-
tions and often causes death (Neonatal Thermo-re-
gulation Guidelines for Practice 1997; Ellis et al.
1996). Although today we know of about twenty
symptoms of cold stress (Thermalprotection and/
or management of neonatal hypothermia and hy-
perthermia on-line), the first of them, when the
body is cold to the touch, was certainly something
that prehistoric peoples had often experienced; and
they knew that it could be altered by warming up. It
is well known that for a baby to survive hypother-
mia, it has to be warmed up such that in addition to
Fig. 3. Grave 103, newborn-boy (38-40 gestation-
al weeks), House No. 19. The skeleton is on his
back (supine), with contracted legs in S-N orien-
tation (photo: Department of Archaeology,
Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade).
Fig. 4. A skeleton of a
newborn-boy (38-40
gestational weeks),
Grave 114, House No.
36. The estimated ge-
stational age of in-
fants from Lepenski
Vir was made accor-
ding to the maximal
length of both/either
femur and/or hume-
rus which give preci-
sion of ± 2 weeks.
(photo: Paleoanthro-
pological collection,
Faculty of Philosophy,
University of Belgra-
de).
skin-to-skin contact, it
has to be in a room
with an air tempera-
ture from 25 °C (in the
case of mild hypother-
mia) up to 38 °C (in
the case of intensive
hypothermia (Thermal
protection of the new-
born: a practical guide
on-line, Silverman et al. 1958; Johanson et al. 1992).
Such conditions could be hardly achieved during the
prehistoric period, especially when babies were born
in the open. It is very likely that prehistoric people
used skin-to-skin contact to warm up their babies.
This method is effective only if babies stay close to
their mothers' bodies throughout the day, and if the
air temperature does not fall below 25 °C (Karlsson
1996; Färdig 1980; Acolet et al. 1989; Christensson
et al. 1992; Singh et al. 1992). Since women from
Lepenski Vir gave birth and took care of their new-
borns inside houses that were heated, deliveries
took place in a thermally stable environment which,
in turn, led to a higher rate of survival of newborns.
In addition to providing favourable thermal condi-
tions, these prehistoric houses offered some other
advantages for giving birth. For example, they were
of small dimensions (from 5.5 to 28 m2) (Radova-
nović 1996), and could be easily illuminated from
inside, a condition that is very important for delive-
ring babies (e.g., for severing the umbilical cord,
and for cleaning the baby and the mother immedi-
ately after the delivery). Since, like other primates,
humans usually give birth at night, delivering a baby
in a lighted house could make it easier for the mo-
ther and those who attended her during delivery.
There are also important psychological advantages
to giving birth in a sheltered, warm, and lighted
place, which we do not address in this study. Taken
together, all these aspects of giving birth inside the
house show that the prehistoric people of the Da-
nube Gorges region provided favourable conditions
for the survival of their newborns.
It is reasonable to assume that the domestication of
birth occurred in all regions where humans built
houses. As a consequence of these improved birth
and aftercare conditions, it is very likely that infant
mortality was substantially reduced, which, in turn,
contributed to the first human population expan-
sion. Furthermore, if the prehistoric people of the
Danube Gorges indeed experienced a demographic
expansion, then they were most probably the foun-
ders of the later agricultural Starčevo and Vinca cul-
tures. This, in turn, could mean that there was a
strong pre-Neolithic nucleus of people in the Balkans
that had emerged from an autochthonic population
of hunters-gatherers.
Fig. 5. Rectangular limestone hearth from house
No. 4 (photo: Srejović and Babović 1983.175). AtLe-
penski Vir, houses had a rectangular hearth in the
centre with an approaching platform and with an
outdoor fireplace connected with the hearth
through a funnel-like hole, suggesting a possibility
of a 'central heating system'.
Summary
Data obtained from Lepenski Vir indicate that at the
beginning of the Neolithic there existed good con-
ditions for giving birth and neonatal care. Women
gave birth inside warm houses that, in turn, helped
to solve one of the most important problems in the
survival of newborn infants, thermo-regulation. Evi-
dence from Lepenski Vir indicates that women in
this region were "sedentary mothers", and therefore,
the act of giving birth became domesticated. This
lead to a reduction in infant mortality and, conse-
quently, to population growth.
Appendix
We used the following heat transfer equation
Mb CB (TB - TR) = MA CA (TR -TA)
where mb, Cb and Tb are mass, heat capacity and the
initial temperature of the limestone blocs, ma, Ca
and Ta are mass, heat capacity and the initial tempe-
rature of the air inside the house, respectively, and
Tr is the temperature of heated room air. This equa-
tion describes heat transfer from a heated limestone
block (Tb) to a cold air temperature (Ta) inside the
room. The heat transfer takes place until the room
temperature raises to equilibrium value (Tr), after
which a heat balance is established. All other heat
losses are ignored.
It is assumed that the limestone blocks are heated
to Tb = 100 °C = 373 °K, and that the initial room
temperature is Tr = 10 °C = 283 °K. The mass of the
block is assumed to be mb = 1 kg. To calculate the
mass of air inside the house (ma), we assumed for
simplicity that the dimension of the house is 2x2x2m,
i.e., 8m3. Since the air density is 1.29 kg/m3, it fol-
lows that ma = 1.29 kg/m3 x 8m3 = 10.32 kg. The
heat capacities of limestone and air are obtained
from engineering tables: Cb = 850 J/kg °K and Ca =
716 J/kg °K, respectively. By substituting these val-
ues in the above equation, we obtained the room
temperature of a heated house: Tr = 19.3 °C. By pla-
cing two limestone blocks inside the house, the tem-
perature could be raised to Tr = 26.8 °C.
-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-
Thanks to Živko Mikić and Boban Tripković (Univer-
sity of Belgrade), Joseph Maran (University of Heidel-
berg), Dušan Borić (University of Cambridge), Jelka
Rajović (Institute of Oncology, Sremska Kamenica),
Agathe Reingruber (University of Berlin) and Marcel
Burić (University of Zagreb) for their helpful com-
ments. SpeCial thanks go to Dimitrije Stamenović
(Boston University) for his advice and help with the
thermal CalCulations.
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science
and Environmental Protection, Republic of Serbia
(Project No.147011).
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