title: Victims and survivors: stable isotopes used to identify migrants from the Great Irish Famine to 19th century London.
abstract: Historical evidence documents mass migration from Ireland to London during the period of the Great Irish Famine of 1845-52. The rural Irish were reliant on a restricted diet based on potatoes but maize, a C(4) plant, was imported from the United States of America in 1846-47 to mitigate against Famine. In London, Irish migrants joined a population with a more varied diet. To investigate and characterize their diet, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were obtained from bone collagen of 119 and hair keratin of six individuals from Lukin Street cemetery, Tower Hamlets (1843-54), and bone collagen of 20 individuals from the cemetery at Kilkenny Union Workhouse in Ireland (1847-51). A comparison of the results with other contemporaneous English populations suggests that Londoners may have elevated δ(15) N compared with their contemporaries in other cities. In comparison, the Irish group have lower δ(15) N. Hair analysis combined with bone collagen allows the reconstruction of perimortem dietary changes. Three children aged 5-15 years from Kilkenny have bone collagen δ(13) C values that indicate consumption of maize (C(4)). As maize was only imported into Ireland in quantity from late 1846 and 1847, these results demonstrate relatively rapid bone collagen turnover in children and highlight the importance of age-related bone turnover rates, and the impact the age of the individual can have on studies of short-term dietary change or recent migration. Stable light isotope data in this study are consistent with the epigraphic and documentary evidence for the presence of migrants within the London cemetery.
authors.affiliation: Archaeological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. J.Beaumont1@student.bradford.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beaumont
authors.forename: Jonny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geber
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee-Thorp
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montgomery
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D055699:Cemeteries; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003094:Collagen / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D063426:Human Migration / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000208:ethnology; D053564:Keratins, Hair-Specific / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D013217:Starvation / Q000266:history*; D017741:Survivors
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D053564:Keratins, Hair-Specific; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D003094:Collagen