Gender across Generations Childhood Food Practices as Socialization Processes in Ancient China

Abstract

Food is a biological imperative as well as a core material that humans use in socializing ourselves, and the
things we choose to consume are infused with cultural meanings. Children, especially very young children, have
little agency in subsistence decisions, and therefore the foods that caretakers feed to children may hold profound
information about cultural value systems and reveal social processes and idealized identities. Here we focus on
relationships between food, sex, and gender in early life by studying the childhood diets of 57 Eastern Zhou period individuals from the Central Plains region of China (771–221 BCE). Using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentin samples, we create detailed dietary histories of childhood years. From very early in life, the average δ15N value for boys is notably higher than the average for girls, indicating slightly more protein consumption for most males, and this continues across childhood. Foods such as meat and millet were highly valued in ancient China and, whether intentional or not, become associated with aspects of sex and gender through preferential feeding to male children. These isotopic data reveal a key aspect of the socializing processes of children across generational interactions with caretakers, with food communicating information about social worth and gender, which becomes embodied in the developing child.

摘要：食物是生物生存必需品，也是人类社会化过程中的的重要材料，人们选择消费的食物常常富含文化意
义。儿童，特别是年幼的儿童，不具备自主选择食物的能力，照顾者给儿童的饮食可能包含大量关于社会文
化体系的信息，因此可以揭示当时的社会进程和理想化的身份。在本文中，我们通过研究东周时期（公元前
771-221年）中国中原地区57名儿童的饮食，以探索早期饮食与生物性别、社会性别之间的关系。通过对序列
采样的牙本质样本进行稳定同位素分析，我们重建了详细的儿童期饮食史。结果表明，从幼儿时期开始，男
孩饮食的δ15N平均值就明显高于女孩，这表明大多数男孩的饮食中消耗了更多动物蛋白，这种饮食习惯贯
穿于整个童年时期。在中国古代，肉类和粟黍等食物被高度重视，无论是有意还是无意，这些食物被更多的
喂给男性子嗣从而变得与性别相关。稳定同位素数据揭示了儿童与照顾者之间跨代互动的社会化过程，饮
食表达了当时的社会价值和社会性别，并通过发育中的儿童体现出来。