Abstract/Summary

Children have become firmly embedded within multi-disciplinary investigations of young lives, yet within these studies the youngest members of past populations persist in lingering on the margins of discussion. Fetal, perinatal and infant lives are tangential; unable to articulate their thoughts and feelings, with their position and role in society typically a product of parental or wider social vectors, these individuals, their experiences, and their roles are complex to decipher. Yet as keepers of both biological and social data - regarding themselves, their mothers and wider community dynamics - these individuals are central in developing comprehensive narratives of infanthood in the past. However, a lack of methodologies for investigating these young lives has been a constant limitation. With recent advancements able to further our understanding of these early life-courses, it is now pertinent to focus on fetal, perinatal and infant lives further.