Archaeologists have uncovered the first evidence that our prehistoric ancestors in Europe weaned their infants much the way we do now, using specialised baby bottles to feed them animal milk. The discovery casts rare light on childhood and child-rearing in ancient humans — an area that experts say has long been overlooked. “This is the first direct evidence for what babies and infants were eating and drinking in prehistory,” Julie Dunne, the study’s lead author and a biomolecular archaeologist at the University of Bristol, told AFP.
