image: The right side of the dentition of a 26-35-year-old female, with an inset of the tooth used for calculus deposit sampling (arrow). view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Jonny Geber
A study uncovers the diets of victims of the Great Irish Famine. Nearly 1 million people in Ireland died as a consequence of the Great Famine of 1845-1852, when a fungal blight destroyed the potato crop on which nearly half the population depended for subsistence. Jonny Geber and colleagues explored food availability and consumption patterns among the victims. The authors analyzed dental calculus from 42 skeletons of people aged approximately 13 years and older and who died in the Kilkenny Union Workhouse during the famine. Microparticle analysis identified corn as the predominant source of starch granules in the calculus. Analysis of the protein content of calculus from a subset of individuals identified the frequent presence of the milk protein beta-lactoglobulin, as well as the occasional presence of the egg protein ovalbumin. The predominance of corn and milk is consistent with historical accounts of the Irish laborer's diet during the famine, when potatoes were typically replaced with imported corn. The presence of eggs--typically consumed only by relatively affluent social classes--suggests that the victims had varying pre-famine experiences. According to the authors, the results suggest how dental calculus can provide information about diet in historical populations.
Article #19-08839: "Relief food subsistence revealed by microparticle and proteomic analyses of dental calculus from victims of the Great Irish Famine," by Jonny Geber et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jonny Geber, University of Edinburgh, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44-131-6503534, +44-79-44666051; e-mail: jonny.geber@ed.ac.uk
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences