Periodic Reporting for period 3 - FOODCULT (Food, Culture and Identity in Ireland, 1550-1650)
Período documentado: 2022-02-01 hasta 2023-07-31
Food, Culture and Identity in Ireland (FOODCULT), is the first major project to establish both the fundamentals of everyday diet, and the cultural ‘meaning’ of food and drink, in early modern Ireland. Taking advantage of exciting recent archaeological discoveries, the legacy of the so called ‘Celtic tiger’, the project develops a ground-breaking interdisciplinary approach, merging micro-historical analytical techniques with cutting edge science, to examine what was eaten, where and by whom, at a level of detail previously deemed impossible for this period in history.
OBJECTIVES:
Establish the fundamentals of diets in various households/institutions at comparable regional; social; and ethnic levels
Investigate the comparative nutritional quality of diet, as evidenced by documentary and archaeological material
Consider the dietary impact of major changes, including colonisation; reformation, and globalisation
Establish the cultural significance of food/drink in negotiating intercultural relations and in the development of ‘national’ identities
Explore the ‘meaning’ of food both in and beyond its colonial context, including the construction of gender, class and religious identities created and reinforced through food consumption
WORKPACKAGES:
Food Microhistories: Uses household accounts to examine diet and the cultural meanings of food
Mapping Diet: Collation and statistical analyses of food archaeology
Lipid analysis of ceramics
Isotope analysis of human remains to examine dietary and mobility patterns
Experimental Archaeology: Brewing using data in household accounts to examine one food type in detail
Zooarchaeology to examine the consumption of meat and dairy
The Meaning of Food: A monograph that explores diet in social, cultural and nutritional terms.
Short Film
IMPORTANCE:
As the first major study of food consumption and culture in early modern Ireland, FOODCULT makes a significant contribution to Irish historiography, and will promote and enable extensive new opportunities for research in an Irish context and beyond.
In methodological terms, through the integration of quantitative and qualitative historiographical approaches with scientific methods; it develops a sustained interdisciplinary approach to Irish food studies; one that will balance the limitations of discrete historical and archaeological approaches the subject.
By increasing the prestige of food studies as a field in Irish academia, the project will promote the development of other neglected areas in Irish historiography, particularly, cultural and gender history; material culture; and domestic life.
OBJECTIVES:
Establish the fundamentals of diets in various households/institutions at comparable regional; social; and ethnic levels
Investigate the comparative nutritional quality of diet, as evidenced by documentary and archaeological material
Consider the dietary impact of major changes, including colonisation; reformation, and globalisation
Establish the cultural significance of food/drink in negotiating intercultural relations and in the development of ‘national’ identities
Explore the ‘meaning’ of food both in and beyond its colonial context, including the construction of gender, class and religious identities created and reinforced through food consumption
WORKPACKAGES:
Food Microhistories: Uses household accounts to examine diet and the cultural meanings of food
Mapping Diet: Collation and statistical analyses of food archaeology
Lipid analysis of ceramics
Isotope analysis of human remains to examine dietary and mobility patterns
Experimental Archaeology: Brewing using data in household accounts to examine one food type in detail
Zooarchaeology to examine the consumption of meat and dairy
The Meaning of Food: A monograph that explores diet in social, cultural and nutritional terms.
Short Film
IMPORTANCE:
As the first major study of food consumption and culture in early modern Ireland, FOODCULT makes a significant contribution to Irish historiography, and will promote and enable extensive new opportunities for research in an Irish context and beyond.
In methodological terms, through the integration of quantitative and qualitative historiographical approaches with scientific methods; it develops a sustained interdisciplinary approach to Irish food studies; one that will balance the limitations of discrete historical and archaeological approaches the subject.
By increasing the prestige of food studies as a field in Irish academia, the project will promote the development of other neglected areas in Irish historiography, particularly, cultural and gender history; material culture; and domestic life.
Months 1-30:
Food Microhistories: The team has transcribed, and analysed evidence of food consumption from a range of accounts. The dataset currently comprises c 30,000 references to food.
Mapping Diet: Population of the database is underway. Data has been inputted from 138 sites (151 phases; 1048 contexts) and includes c. 23740 artefacts, 21197 animal bones and 19070 plant components. The complexity of data is ground-breaking, with artefacts included from context (kiln; oven; floor etc.) level facilitating a detailed exploration of diet. Two suites of results have been disseminated: 1. Peer reviewed chapter in: Valamoti et. al eds. Cooking with Plants in Ancient Europe and Beyond (Sidestone, 2021, in production); 2. Conference paper at 2021 meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (Kiel).
Lipid analysis: Sites have been identified and pottery selected. A representative range is available for analysis. Analysis in 2022.
4. Isotope analysis: This WP depended on successful location/licensing/sampling of human remains. This first stage is achieved. 241 teeth/bones, from 136 skeletons, across 13 sites, are sampled. The range of sites is as anticipated, with a particular abundance of sites associated with warfare, allowing a detailed study of diet and war. We have also sampled a family burial site, potentially allowing us to examine dietary change in one group over time. One site, Carrickmines Castle, has yielded ceramic, human, animal and plants, potentially permitting an extraordinary case study drawing methods together.
Experimental Archaeology: This WP was undertaken in September 2021. It involved the recreation of Tudor brewing technology, growing heritage grain/hops, culturing yeast, milling, brewing etc. We await lab results. Two additional projects were incorporated: 1. A microbiological study of historic yeast. 2. Work on isotopes to examine changes resulting from the brewing process.
6. Zooarchaeology: Data entry underway.
8. Meaning of Food: A major paper was accepted for publication: “Food and Social Politics in Early Modern Ireland: Representing the Peasant in The Parliament of Clan Tomas”, Food & History, 20:1 (2022). This demonstrates a ‘European language’ around food showing Ireland was part of this discourse.
WP 9 Short Film
The film presents the brewing experiment as a microcosm for interdisciplinarity in the project. It will be available in 2022
Food Microhistories: The team has transcribed, and analysed evidence of food consumption from a range of accounts. The dataset currently comprises c 30,000 references to food.
Mapping Diet: Population of the database is underway. Data has been inputted from 138 sites (151 phases; 1048 contexts) and includes c. 23740 artefacts, 21197 animal bones and 19070 plant components. The complexity of data is ground-breaking, with artefacts included from context (kiln; oven; floor etc.) level facilitating a detailed exploration of diet. Two suites of results have been disseminated: 1. Peer reviewed chapter in: Valamoti et. al eds. Cooking with Plants in Ancient Europe and Beyond (Sidestone, 2021, in production); 2. Conference paper at 2021 meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (Kiel).
Lipid analysis: Sites have been identified and pottery selected. A representative range is available for analysis. Analysis in 2022.
4. Isotope analysis: This WP depended on successful location/licensing/sampling of human remains. This first stage is achieved. 241 teeth/bones, from 136 skeletons, across 13 sites, are sampled. The range of sites is as anticipated, with a particular abundance of sites associated with warfare, allowing a detailed study of diet and war. We have also sampled a family burial site, potentially allowing us to examine dietary change in one group over time. One site, Carrickmines Castle, has yielded ceramic, human, animal and plants, potentially permitting an extraordinary case study drawing methods together.
Experimental Archaeology: This WP was undertaken in September 2021. It involved the recreation of Tudor brewing technology, growing heritage grain/hops, culturing yeast, milling, brewing etc. We await lab results. Two additional projects were incorporated: 1. A microbiological study of historic yeast. 2. Work on isotopes to examine changes resulting from the brewing process.
6. Zooarchaeology: Data entry underway.
8. Meaning of Food: A major paper was accepted for publication: “Food and Social Politics in Early Modern Ireland: Representing the Peasant in The Parliament of Clan Tomas”, Food & History, 20:1 (2022). This demonstrates a ‘European language’ around food showing Ireland was part of this discourse.
WP 9 Short Film
The film presents the brewing experiment as a microcosm for interdisciplinarity in the project. It will be available in 2022