A groundbreaking study has revealed early instances of social inequality in ancient China.
A team led by University of Otago bioarcheologist Prof Sian Halcrow examined skeletal tissue in cemetery populations in the central plains region of China dating from the Eastern Zhou dynasty period (771 to 221 BCE).
University of Otago and University of California, Berkeley’s Dr Melanie Miller and Shandong University’s Dr Dong Yu used chemical (stable isotope) analysis of the hard bony tissue in teeth called dentine, which enabled them to create detailed childhood dietary histories.
"We can capture through the development of teeth during infancy and childhood, different chemical signatures which can tell us something about what they were eating," Prof Halcrow said.
These showed there were dietary differences between males and females that started in early childhood.
Males ate more valued grain such as millet and meat, and females consumed more wheat and soybean which held less value.
The types of food consumed by males had more nutritional value, for example a higher protein content, Prof Halcrow said.
Using stable isotope analysis, the team were able to extract specific chemical signatures that matched types of protein, plants or meat.
"We found that there were differences during between males and females from very, very early in their life."
This kind of gender-based food allocation showed there were deeply ingrained societal norms that favoured boys over girls at a very early age.
Prof Halcrow said certain foods were associated with aspects of gender, such as meat and masculinity.
"Having more protein-rich foods is very important, obviously, for a growing baby."
Children were therefore being viewed in a different way from the outset, and food was a key contributor to understanding how the society valued gender.
There was some evidence that the effects of a poorer diet for women had an impact across their lives, such as stunted growth or protein deficiencies.
Wealth and class had an impact on the types of food women were more likely to eat.
Women and men from the upper classes did not have as much of a difference in the diet they were eating, but there were quite big disparities for lower class men and women.
The development of social inequality and the effect it had on women still had an impact today.
"If you look at the UN sustainable goals, most of them are based around trying to help the health and wellbeing of infants and children, and also women and pregnant women, because they still have such a hard time around the world."
