How did babies get formula milk in ancient human times?
There were no formulas or bottles in those days; newborns unable to nurse would die quickly. Crucially, wet nurses helped out. While less wealthy families saw the loss of their children, affluent families treasured them as prized possessions.
The Code of Hammurabi from ancient Mesopotamia contained rules on wet nursing. They valued it in gold.
Still, most tried something else at first. Together with dates and honey, the Egyptians fed newborns bread soaked in water. Many of them passed away claimed by it.
The Romans applied honey and goat's milk, but more died. In Greece, they tried a concoction of honey and wine. Death rates started to rise.
The Babylonians discovered something important though. One could sustain a baby from animal milk. They were not aware of bacteria, though, nor of the need of sanitation.
The youngsters got sick when the milk went bad. Many did not last more than their first month. About 1200 BCE, clay feeding vessels first appear.
Small, conical, with thin apertures.
These were found in baby graves. Parents buried their children among the very objects that might have brought about their death.
Until the late 1800s, artificial feeding meant death for many infants. Justus von Liebig first produced a true infant formula in 1865.
Everything before that was a string of hurried efforts and errors.