Summary
Intercontinental Migrants and Pathogens in the Portuguese Empire: a biomolecular approach to diet, nutrition and mobility in the early globalized world
The early modern period (15th-19th C) saw the birth of the so-called early globalization and for the first time different continents were linked by international routes with an unprecedented frequency and scale, creating an interconnected world and global market. The Portuguese Empire was one of the central actors in the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology and diseases across the Atlantic Ocean, a process known as the Columbian exchange. In particular, the transfer of foods between the two sides of the Atlantic is one of the most significant events in the history of economic development of the last two centuries.The introduction of new crops such as potatoes in Europe, or intensive cultivation of sugar and coffee as well as the introduction of livestock in America, had measurable repercussions on the welfare of European countries, however, their real contribution to the diets of the general populations is unclear. EMPIRE will elucidate the history of global diet and oral health during transatlantic travels using palaeoproteomic analyses of ancient dental calculus and characterise people’s overall diet on the European and South American sides of the Atlantic through isotopic analysis of bulk bone collagen and lipids. This fellowship will provide evidence of diet and health of ordinary people who are often left silent during historical transitions which tend to focus on social elites or large-scale political narratives. The innovative approach in this study may open the door to investigate a wide variety of pressing archaeological questions in countries with a similar colonial past.
The early modern period (15th-19th C) saw the birth of the so-called early globalization and for the first time different continents were linked by international routes with an unprecedented frequency and scale, creating an interconnected world and global market. The Portuguese Empire was one of the central actors in the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology and diseases across the Atlantic Ocean, a process known as the Columbian exchange. In particular, the transfer of foods between the two sides of the Atlantic is one of the most significant events in the history of economic development of the last two centuries.The introduction of new crops such as potatoes in Europe, or intensive cultivation of sugar and coffee as well as the introduction of livestock in America, had measurable repercussions on the welfare of European countries, however, their real contribution to the diets of the general populations is unclear. EMPIRE will elucidate the history of global diet and oral health during transatlantic travels using palaeoproteomic analyses of ancient dental calculus and characterise people’s overall diet on the European and South American sides of the Atlantic through isotopic analysis of bulk bone collagen and lipids. This fellowship will provide evidence of diet and health of ordinary people who are often left silent during historical transitions which tend to focus on social elites or large-scale political narratives. The innovative approach in this study may open the door to investigate a wide variety of pressing archaeological questions in countries with a similar colonial past.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101026338 |
| Start date: | 15-03-2022 |
| End date: | 14-03-2024 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 160 932,48 Euro - 160 932,00 Euro |
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Original description
Intercontinental Migrants and Pathogens in the Portuguese Empire: a biomolecular approach to diet, nutrition and mobility in the early globalized worldThe early modern period (15th-19th C) saw the birth of the so-called early globalization and for the first time different continents were linked by international routes with an unprecedented frequency and scale, creating an interconnected world and global market. The Portuguese Empire was one of the central actors in the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology and diseases across the Atlantic Ocean, a process known as the Columbian exchange. In particular, the transfer of foods between the two sides of the Atlantic is one of the most significant events in the history of economic development of the last two centuries.The introduction of new crops such as potatoes in Europe, or intensive cultivation of sugar and coffee as well as the introduction of livestock in America, had measurable repercussions on the welfare of European countries, however, their real contribution to the diets of the general populations is unclear. EMPIRE will elucidate the history of global diet and oral health during transatlantic travels using palaeoproteomic analyses of ancient dental calculus and characterise people’s overall diet on the European and South American sides of the Atlantic through isotopic analysis of bulk bone collagen and lipids. This fellowship will provide evidence of diet and health of ordinary people who are often left silent during historical transitions which tend to focus on social elites or large-scale political narratives. The innovative approach in this study may open the door to investigate a wide variety of pressing archaeological questions in countries with a similar colonial past.
Status
TERMINATEDCall topic
MSCA-IF-2020Update Date
28-04-2024
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