Dietary case studies

Gerber et al (2019) →Method

• Used microparticle analysis to identify starch granules

• Proteomic analysis to identify dietary proteins

Gerber et al - main finding

• Maize granules were overwhelmingly dominant

• Supports records that the ‘Indian meal ‘imported from the US was the primary famine relief food

Gerber - Unexpected findings

• Milk + egg proteins found

• Suggests more dietary variation that historical record shows

Gerber - Interpretation

• Crisis was fundamentally a disaster of food access and inequality rather than food unavailability

• Food was being exported while the poor starved

Palubeckaite et al (2006)

• Analysed the dental status of 293 adult males from a mass grave of Napoleon's Great Army

Palubeckaite et al → General health

• Overall dental profile was typical of young individuals

• Low tooth loss/calculus/attrition

• Suggesting generally adequate dental health.

Palubeckaite et al →Diet signal

• High rate of dental carries and Pulp-penetrating lesions

• Pointed to periodic consumption of cariogenic foods and poor oral hygiene

Palubeckaite et al → Interpretation

• Military diet shapes health outcomes

El Zaatari & Hublin (2014)

• Occlusal molar microwear texture analysis on 32 Upper Paleolithic Europeans

• Examined whether climate or culture drove dietary change

El Zaatari & Hublin → Main finding

• No link between climate and diet

• Found no environmentally driven dietary shifts despite dramatic climatic fluctuations across MIS 3–2.

El Zaatari & Hublin → Cultural shift

• Dietary differences correlated with cultural periods,

• Magdalenian individuals showing more varied, abrasive diets resembling hunter-gatherers

• Earlier groups showed more meat-heavy patterns.

El Zaatari & Hublin → Conclusion

• Culture/technology is more important than envrionment in dietary change