PRELIMINARIES

The historiography of malnutrition in past societies is an undernourished plant. A striking exception to the general neglect of the subject is the massive investigation into nutrition and mortality from 1700 to the present day directed by Robert Fogel of Chicago, and the studies that have proceeded under the stimulus of this project or in parallel. Otherwise, in so far as historians have been interested in problems of hunger and shortage, their attention has been captured by short-term setbacks or disasters in the historical record, while long-term deprivation and its effects on the health of the population have been little remarked upon. In short, historians have focused on famine or food crisis rather than malnutrition. In our own day, famine has evoked a world-wide response orchestrated by the media with the aid of relief agencies, statesmen, church leaders and pop stars – at least it did until the novelty wore off. Malnutrition in contrast is no news, though it is widespread and continuous in most developing countries, where it probably constitutes the greater threat to life. Malnutrition has of course been studied extensively by biological and social scientists, especially in connection with contemporary developing countries. Historians who are unaware of their findings are in danger of harbouring overoptimistic assumptions regarding the health and nutritional status of populations in antiquity and other pre-industrial societies.