Infant exposure

In ancient times, a method of infanticide or at least child abandonment was to leave infants in a wild place, either to die due to hypothermia, hunger, thirst, or animal attack, or perhaps to be collected and brought up by those unable to produce their own children. In ancient times, a method of infanticide or at least child abandonment was to leave infants in a wild place, either to die due to hypothermia, hunger, thirst, or animal attack, or perhaps to be collected and brought up by those unable to produce their own children. Modern scholars tend to see infant exposure as often a semi-official exchange mechanism, where one set of parents abandoned unwanted children, which were often picked up by other people wanting children, who lurked at the recognised spots for leaving children. Many ancient cities had recognised locations for this outside the city, which gave the chance of anonymity to those involved.