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Editor's note
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The tiny hands that clung to these 5,000 year old “bottles” belonged to the first generations of children to live in agriculture-based societies. They’re thought to be some of the world’s earliest baby bottles, and they fed Stone Age infants during a period of history that changed life on Earth forever.
These unassuming and fairly clumsy bits of clay pottery were unearthed by archaeologists in Germany. Researchers had been digging up these sorts of artefacts for years, but were puzzled by their design and purpose. They were moulded with horns and feet and looked like tiny mythical creatures, with a spout attached for drinking. Julie Dunne, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, used chemical analysis to find, miraculously,
that ancient fat molecules still clung to the clay interior, which appear to have come from the milk of cows or sheep. These particular pots were discovered in a child’s grave, which suggests that prehistoric Europeans had prepared baby bottles filled with animal milk for
their children, just as modern parents do.
These homely artefacts nurtured some of the first humans in the transition from hunter-gatherer life, to farming, fixed settlements and urban living. The animal shapes of the bottles would no doubt have helped comfort and soothe hungry children. They remind us that the love and tenderness of these people would be instantly familiar to modern parents, despite the vast expanse of time separating them.
Freddy McConnell is one such modern parent whose plight caught the attention of the world in the film “Seahorse”. A UK High Court recently denied McConnell the right to be recognised as the father on his child’s birth certificate – a decision that McConnell, a transgender man, has vowed to appeal. Meanwhile, a new report from the IPCC – the world’s leading research authority on climate change – has revealed how the ongoing crisis is affecting the world’s oceans and what the future holds for Earth’s frozen vistas.
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Jack Marley
Commissioning Editor
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Top stories
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Late Bronze Age baby bottles from Vösendorf, Austria.
Enver-Hirsch © Wien Museum
Julie Dunne, University of Bristol
Prehistoric children were drinking animal milk from baby bottles 7,000 years ago.
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Freddie McConnell in Seahorse, a film made about his experience as a father who gave birth.
BBC/Hippocampus Films/Mark Bushnell
Ruth Pearce, University of Leeds
Being a trans parent isn't easy. Consistent legal recognition would change lives for the better.
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Greenland’s ice sheet suffered major melting in July 2019, dumping billions of tons of meltwater into the Atlantic Ocena.
Jennifer Latuperisa-Andresen/Unsplash
Mark Brandon, The Open University
The UN body responsible for communicating the science of climate breakdown has released its long-awaited report on how we're changing our ice and oceans. In a nutshell, the news isn't good.
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Politics + Society
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Timothy J. Lynch, University of Melbourne
Whether successful or not – and most impeachments are not – the fallout for the Democrats and the US will be deep and enduring.
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Jennifer Selin, University of Missouri-Columbia
The conflict between Congress and President Trump over his dealings with Ukraine's president is just the latest version of a long-running struggle for power between the two branches of government.
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Ra Mason, University of East Anglia
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet reshuffle is an exercise in illusion. Yet it reveals some unwelcome truths about his political present - and future.
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Kaweh Kerami, SOAS, University of London
As Afghans head to the polls on September 28, peace still remains elusive.
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Health + Medicine
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Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Anglia Ruskin University
The Priory has begun offering treatment for shopping disorder.
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Alex Johnstone, University of Aberdeen; Madeleine Myers, University of Aberdeen
Delivering the extra protein older people need via biscuits could be a simple and effective way to help guard against muscle loss in ageing.
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Matthew Haines, University of Huddersfield
You only need a small amount of time to make a big difference.
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Environment + Energy
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Michael Jacobs, University of Sheffield
Labour's next manifesto could be defined by a radical proposal for tackling climate change.
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Islam Sobhy, Keele University; Bart Lievens, KU Leuven
Certain wasps and flies which lay their eggs in specific species such as aphids could be a sustainable form of pest control.
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Science + Technology
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Claire Corkhill, University of Sheffield
Nuclear waste is dangerous, will outlast our civilisation and needs to be dealt with as safely as possible.
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Dorothy Monekosso, Leeds Beckett University
Forget Alexa – true artificial intelligence will be able to understand dementia patients' needs and offer help accordingly.
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Arts + Culture
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Andy Holyer, University of Portsmouth
The death of the BBC Red Button teletext service marks the end of an analogue era.
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Business + Economy
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Ioannis Glinavos, University of Westminster
The US government wants to seize all the proceeds from Snowden's new memoir.
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Featured events
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Dalhousie Building, Dundee, DD1 5EN, Dundee, Angus, DD1 5EN, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Dundee
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Julian Study Centre Lecture Theatre, University of East Anglia, Norwich , Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of East Anglia
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Northampton Square, London, Islington, EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — City, University of London
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Berrill Lecture Theatre, Walton Hall, The Open University, MK6 7AA, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK6 7AA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — The Open University
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