Infants' Sippy Cups Existed 3000 Years ago

Pictured are late Bronze Age feeding vessels from Austria. Enver-Hirsch - Wien Museum
Pictured are late Bronze Age feeding vessels from Austria. Enver-Hirsch - Wien Museum
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Infants' Sippy Cups Existed 3000 Years ago

Pictured are late Bronze Age feeding vessels from Austria. Enver-Hirsch - Wien Museum
Pictured are late Bronze Age feeding vessels from Austria. Enver-Hirsch - Wien Museum

Some 3000 years ago, infants drank animal milk in small cups specially designed for them. According to the German News Agency, scientists reached this conclusion by examining drinking vessels that were used in the prehistoric era.

Julie Dunne, the study's lead author from the University of Bristol, said in a statement: "These very small, evocative, vessels give us valuable information on how and what babies were fed thousands of years ago."

In former studies, researchers found that people used drinking vessels made of ceramic 5000 years ago.

However, they didn't manage to determine what people used to drink in these containers, or whether these small cups featuring a beak-like drinking opening were used for infants, elderly, or patients. The examined baby-friendly prehistoric vessels were found in two cemeteries dating back to the period 800 to 450 years B.C., in which children were buried.

Researchers took samples from the vessels and used a combination of different chemical compounds to detect certain fatty acids, which indicated the use of milk from domesticated ruminants such as cows, goats or sheep.

Katharina Rebay-Salisbury of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who was involved in the study, explained in a statement that "goat's milk is most similar to human milk and was relatively easily available as sheep, goats and cattle were among the most common domesticated animals. But cow's milk was less suitable because it causes diarrhea and digestive problems in babies, which people knew back then."

The animal milk could have been used according to the researchers to supplement mother's milk, or even in babies weaning.

So far, the evidence for weaning in prehistoric times came mainly from the analysis of skeletons. Scientists had previously discovered vessels dating back to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

Researchers believe that infants' sippy cups existed in Old Egypt as well. The scientists plan to expand their study's geographical field in order to examine further similar antiquities.

Rebay-Salisbury emphasized that raising children in prehistoric times was not an easy task. "We are interested in exploring cultural practices of motherhood that have had a massive impact on baby's chances of survival," she added.



3 Astronauts Return to Earth after 6 Months on China's Space Station

FILE PHOTO: A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft sits at the launch pad before taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft sits at the launch pad before taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo/File Photo
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3 Astronauts Return to Earth after 6 Months on China's Space Station

FILE PHOTO: A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft sits at the launch pad before taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft sits at the launch pad before taking off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo/File Photo

Three Chinese astronauts landed back on Earth on Wednesday after six months on China's space station.
The crew’s landing module came down slowly after separating from the return vehicle, descending on a red-and-white parachute, in Dongfeng, in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Their return had been delayed by a day due to strong winds and low visibility, The Associated Press reported. The area is prone to sandstorms this time of year.
The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were launched to the Tiangong space station in October, and they turned over control of the station Tuesday to the new crew that recently arrived to replace them.
The Shenzhou 20 that brought the new crew also carried equipment for space life sciences, microgravity physics and new technology for the space station.
The Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace,” space station has made China a major player in a new era of space exploration and the use of permanent stations to conduct experiments in space, especially since it was entirely Chinese-built after the country was excluded from the International Space Station over US national security concerns.
China’s space program is controlled by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party.
The three Chinese astronauts have carried out experiments and improvements to the space station during their time in space. Two of the astronauts, Cai and Song, conducted a nine-hour spacewalk, the world’s longest, during their mission, China's space agency said.
The country’s space program has grown rapidly in recent years. The space agency has landed an explorer on Mars and a rover on the far side of the moon. It aims to put a person on the moon before 2030.