The ancient practice of child labor is coming to light

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In the years since the shoes and caps spurred investigations at Hallstatt, scientists have assembled a vivid picture of the child laborers’ lives based on artifacts and bones. Wear and tear on their skeletons, in particular, suggests the youngest miners performed specific tasks at the site.

The research stands out as a rare case of reconstructing the lives of ancient children. Although scientists have found fossils of juveniles spanning prehistory, they’ve mostly studied physical traits, like height and brain size. Few studies have re-created everyday experiences — how kids played, learned and labored.

As a subject of scientific inquiry, “the archaeology of childhood is quite recent,” says Queen’s University Belfast researcher Mélie Le Roy. Archaeologists at Hallstatt and elsewhere are just beginning to uncover children’s contributions to ancient societies.

To understand the children’s roles, Austrian Academy of Sciences anthropologist Doris Pany-Kucera turned to their graves. In a study of 99 adults from Hallstatt’s cemetery, she found skeletal markers of muscle strain and injury, suggesting many villagers performed hard labor — some from an early age.

“The people had to work a lot, but they also profited,” says Pany-Kucera. Villagers young and old were buried with fine items, including amber beads, bronze rings and imports from the Mediterranean and Baltic regions. Based on analysis of remains from the cemetery, the life expectancy of Hallstatt’s citizens was typical for that period.

Source: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-ancient-practice-of-child-labor-is-coming-to-light

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Pls why’d I think this was about child birth at first..

[GagaUnderYou 5,018]

What gaga meant when she said “serve it ancient city style”

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"people worked a lot, but they also profited"

 

Why does this seem so relevant to me right now? I finally found a good paying job with good benefits but it comes at a price. Hard labor and fast AF production that is strainful on my hands and back