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Relief food subsistence revealed by microparticle and proteomic analyses of dental calculus from victims of the Great Irish Famine

Geber, Jonny, Tromp, Monica, Scott, Ashley, Bouwman, Abigail, Nanni, Paolo, Grossmann, Jonas, Hendy, Jessica, Warinner, Christina·2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1908839116
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Abstract

Food and diet were class markers in 19th-century Ireland, which became evident as nearly 1 million people, primarily the poor and destitute, died as a consequence of the notorious Great Famine of 1845 to 1852. Famine took hold after a blight (Phytophthora infestans) destroyed virtually the only means of subsistence—the potato crop—for a significant proportion of the population. This study seeks to elucidate the variability of diet in mid–19th-century Ireland through microparticle and proteomic analysis of human dental calculus samples ( n = 42) from victims of the famine. The samples derive from remains of people who died between August 1847 and March 1851 while receiving poor relief as inmates in the union workhouse in the city of Kilkenny (52°39′ N, −7°15′ W). The results corroborate the historical accounts of food provisions before and during the famine, with evidence of corn (maize), potato, and cereal starch granules from the microparticle analysis and milk protein from the proteomic analysis. Unexpectedly, there is also evidence of egg protein—a food source generally reserved only for export and the better-off social classes—which highlights the variability of the prefamine experience for those who died. Through historical contextualization, this study shows how the notoriously monotonous potato diet of the poor was opportunistically supplemented by other foodstuffs. While the Great Irish Famine was one of the worst subsistence crises in history, it was foremost a social disaster induced by the lack of access to food and not the lack of food availability.

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Metadata

Authors
Geber, J., Tromp, M., Scott, A., Bouwman, A., Nanni, P., Grossmann, J., Hendy, J., & Warinner, C.
Affiliations
  • School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom;
  • Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany;
  • Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany;
  • Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland;
  • Functional Genomics Centre Zurich, University of Zürich/Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland;
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2019-09-09
Volume
116
Issue
39
Pages
19380-19385
ISSN
  • 0027-8424
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1908839116
Cited by
31
References
1
Language
en
Licence
www.pnas.org/site/aboutpnas/licenses.xhtml (vor, 182 d)
Funders
  • The Wellcome Trust (096435/Z/11/Z)
  • Johan and Jakob Söderberg's Foundation (n/a)
  • US National Science Foundation (BCS-1523264)
  • Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (n/a)
  • The Department of Anatomy of the University of Otago (n/a)
  • The Royal Irish Academy in partnership with the National Monuments Service (n/a)

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Relief food subsistence revealed by microparticle and proteomic analyses of dental calculus from victims of the Great Irish Famine. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1073/pnas.1908839116
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Geber, J., Tromp, M., Scott, A., Bouwman, A., Nanni, P., Grossmann, J., Hendy, J., & Warinner, C. (2019). Relief food subsistence revealed by microparticle and proteomic analyses of dental calculus from victims of the Great Irish Famine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908839116