Infant Burials from Early to Final Bronze Age (2200-950 BCE) in the Central Po Plain (Northern Italy) and Their Significance for the Reconstruction of Rituals, Social Stratification and Demographic Cycles

Child burials provide significant data through which it is possible to investigate the rituals and ideology of ancient communities, as well as their demography and social structures. This study addresses these issues by analysing almost six hundred infant burials from cremation and inhumation necropolises of Northern Italy dated to the various phases of the Bronze Age (c. 2200-950 BCE), using both published and newly generated data. The research reveals a distinctive development in infant funerary treatments and significant diachronic changes. From ritualized inhumations in the Early Bronze Age, which include possible cases of ancestor cults and sacrificial practices, we observed a general ‘inclusive’ attitude towards children during the Middle and Recent Bronze Age. Significant variations exist, nonetheless, between the practice of inhumation and cremation. While children under 2 years of age are present among inhumations, they are largely underrepresented among cremations. During the Final Bronze Age, we observed a gradual reintegration of some children into the urnfields, particularly those of high status, which seems to reflect the stabilization of social inequalities and rank inheritance. Physiological stresses and diseases were systematically examined to verify the change in health conditions, in connection to nutrition. Their drastic decrease at the onset of the Terramare cycle suggests the improvement of living conditions. Around 1200-1150 BCE, approaching the collapse of the Terramare, however, the dramatic increase of infant burials in some contexts, such as Casinalbo, suggests episodes of food shortage and epidemics.