According to a new look at an extremely rare infant burial in Europe, humans were carrying their young in slings as far back as 10,000 years ago.
The findings support the idea that baby carriers were used a lot in prehistoric times.
The grave was discovered in Italy. The baby's teeth suggest she is the oldest female child in Europe.
The community laid her to rest with a lot of beads, suggesting she was well-loved and well-regarded.
A new analysis of the grave's contents and the child's position suggests that adults carried her during her short life.
There is nothing left of the wrap, but the shells surrounding Neve are made of textile, fur, or hide, and this indicates that someone sewed them on.
The beads took hours to fashion, according to a previous study. It wouldn't have been easy to bury the ornaments.
They could have been a sling or a blanket.
The baby carrier option is thought to be more likely for a number of reasons.
Gravel-Miguel and colleagues think that the adornments on the baby's legs were not meant to be funerary ornaments.
They may have been part of a baby sling that was used during the infant's life.
The child's upper arm bone may have been traced by some of the shell beads.
The shells are well-worn and suggest they were used for a long time.
The beads were worn by members of the infant's community for a long time before they were sewn onto a sling and used to keep the baby close to the parents.
Other burial sites on the Italian peninsula rarely include more than 40 shells a piece, and yet Neve is buried with more than 70 along with four bivalve pendants.
Researchers have been able to identify patterns of ornament use in relation to the child's posture thanks to the abundance of sea shells.
Potential ornaments that look like they were attached to objects like blankets or baby carriers have been found on prehistoric infant burials. Researchers think that they are too large for the children to wear themselves.
Ancient human ornaments on clothing are thought to communicate identity, gender, and status, but they may also be a form of spiritual protection.
In the Amazon, a modern Indigenous community uses decorations and ornaments to represent parental care for their children.
The baby was buried in the sling to avoid using the beads that had failed to protect her or to create a lasting connection between her and her community, according to the authors.
Similar decorations can still be found on baby carriers and slings.
Babies and children in those societies are always dressed nicely. The majority of the beads that are used to decorate and protect their bodies are second-hand items that have been donated by the parents, grandparents, and relatives as an act of care towards the child.
The University of Montreal's anthrolpologist says that the paper contributes truly original information on the archaeology of child care.
The science and art of archaeology can be used to get to the human element that drives the kind of research we do.
The study was published in a journal.
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