One interpretation holds that the objects belonged not to the child but to the child’s family or social group, and that they were deposited with the child as part of a mortuary ritual in which valuable objects were offered to accompany the deceased on whatever journey was believed to follow death.

This interpretation is consistent with the burial practices of many cultures across the world and across time, in which grave goods represent a deliberate sacrifice of valuable items as part of the expression of grief and the ritual management of death.

Another interpretation emphasizes the social identity that the child carried by virtue of birth.

In many societies, the status of a person’s family, lineage, or social group is ascribed to individuals from birth, not earned through personal achievement.

A child born into a high-status family or lineage may be buried with objects that represent that high status, not because the child personally possessed them but because the group is demonstrating through the burial its own wealth, generosity, and ritual commitments.