Post-medieval Poverty: An Integrated Investigation

This study stemmed from our contested state of knowledge regarding under- and malnutrition in long-18th century England. The project aims to connect environment, nutrition and health, through the combined approach of osteological, biomolecular and historical research methods, and was motivated by three main research questions: (1) Is the potential scurvy biomarker identified during earlier work a true marker for scurvy in Human Skeletal Remains (HSR)? (2) Can we track potato consumption (a good source of Vitamin C) during this period through evidence of potato starch granules in human dental calculus? (3) Can we use a combination of HSR and historical documentary evidence to trace dietary and social change? A variety of different methods for extracting collagen from HSR were systematically tested, and a new technique has subsequently been established. This was applied to HSR from five post- medieval sites. These extractions - along with those of control samples - were run using MALDI-TOF-MS, and the resulting data analysed to a level of detail that has not previously been carried out, in the search for a scurvy biomarker. These analyses ruled out the potential biomarker, but revealed information that may help with the biomolecular identification of scurvy in the future. Dental calculus samples from individuals buried at one of the sites included here were analysed using light microscopy, but this element of the project was terminated as the data that could be produced was of limited use to the central research questions. Historical documentary evidence related to the sites included here has revealed the complexity of the factors influencing burial ground demographics. All five sites were identified by archaeologists as being linked to ‘poverty’, but this is an oversimplification when historical debate is taken into account. Throughout, this project evidences the benefits of a wider adoption of interdisciplinary approaches to historical research questions.