Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment. / Doherty, Sean P.; Alexander, Michelle M.; Henderson, Stuart; Newton, Jason; Finch, Jonathan; Collins, Matthew J.

In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 13, 61, 2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Doherty, SP, Alexander, MM, Henderson, S, Newton, J, Finch, J & Collins, MJ 2023, 'Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment', Scientific Reports, vol. 13, 61. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4

APA

Doherty, S. P., Alexander, M. M., Henderson, S., Newton, J., Finch, J., & Collins, M. J. (2023). Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment. Scientific Reports, 13, [61]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4

Vancouver

Doherty SP, Alexander MM, Henderson S, Newton J, Finch J, Collins MJ. Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment. Scientific Reports. 2023;13. 61. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4

Author

Doherty, Sean P. ; Alexander, Michelle M. ; Henderson, Stuart ; Newton, Jason ; Finch, Jonathan ; Collins, Matthew J. / Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment. In: Scientific Reports. 2023 ; Vol. 13.

Bibtex

@article{61910860928d469fa388a5a5d0ce4deb,

title = "Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment",

abstract = "Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, British agriculture underwent a {\textquoteleft}revolutionary{\textquoteright} transformation. Yet despite over a century of research and the recognised centrality of agricultural developments to industrialisation and population growth, the character or chronology of any {\textquoteleft}revolution{\textquoteright} during this period remains contentious. Enquiry has been hampered by the fragmented and locally specific nature of historic accounts and the broad dating of early-modern zooarchaeological assemblages. To address this, we conducted stable isotope analysis on 658 legal documents written on sheepskin parchment; a unique biological resource that records the day, month and year of use (AD 1499 to 1969). We find these provide a high temporal resolution analysis of changing agricultural practices and episodes of disease. Most significantly, they suggest that if an {\textquoteleft}Agricultural Revolution{\textquoteright} occurred in livestock management, it did so from the mid-nineteenth century, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.",

author = "Doherty, {Sean P.} and Alexander, {Michelle M.} and Stuart Henderson and Jason Newton and Jonathan Finch and Collins, {Matthew J.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Scientific Reports",

issn = "2045-2322",

publisher = "nature publishing group",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Tracking the British agricultural revolution through the isotopic analysis of dated parchment

AU - Doherty, Sean P.

AU - Alexander, Michelle M.

AU - Henderson, Stuart

AU - Newton, Jason

AU - Finch, Jonathan

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, British agriculture underwent a ‘revolutionary’ transformation. Yet despite over a century of research and the recognised centrality of agricultural developments to industrialisation and population growth, the character or chronology of any ‘revolution’ during this period remains contentious. Enquiry has been hampered by the fragmented and locally specific nature of historic accounts and the broad dating of early-modern zooarchaeological assemblages. To address this, we conducted stable isotope analysis on 658 legal documents written on sheepskin parchment; a unique biological resource that records the day, month and year of use (AD 1499 to 1969). We find these provide a high temporal resolution analysis of changing agricultural practices and episodes of disease. Most significantly, they suggest that if an ‘Agricultural Revolution’ occurred in livestock management, it did so from the mid-nineteenth century, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.

AB - Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, British agriculture underwent a ‘revolutionary’ transformation. Yet despite over a century of research and the recognised centrality of agricultural developments to industrialisation and population growth, the character or chronology of any ‘revolution’ during this period remains contentious. Enquiry has been hampered by the fragmented and locally specific nature of historic accounts and the broad dating of early-modern zooarchaeological assemblages. To address this, we conducted stable isotope analysis on 658 legal documents written on sheepskin parchment; a unique biological resource that records the day, month and year of use (AD 1499 to 1969). We find these provide a high temporal resolution analysis of changing agricultural practices and episodes of disease. Most significantly, they suggest that if an ‘Agricultural Revolution’ occurred in livestock management, it did so from the mid-nineteenth century, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4

DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-26013-4

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36624123

AN - SCOPUS:85145957634

VL - 13

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

M1 - 61

ER -

ID: 336526078

Globe Institute