Food Crises

A failed harvest leaves a heavier paper trail than a good one: relief rolls, price lists, ships’ manifests, and the accounts of the people who lived through it. Every scene here rebuilds one of those moments where it was felt — in the fields, the markets, the rations — from archaeology and the documentary record, so that a line in a table becomes a place with people in it.

Explore by period

Bronze Age Networks (2)

4.2 Kiloyear Drought and Akkadian Food Crisis, Old Kingdom Nile Failure and Subsistence Crisis

Iron Age Kingdoms (1)

Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean Food Crisis

The Classical World (3)

A Roman Soldier at Masada, Sohgaura Famine-Relief Provision, Roman Grain Crisis after Caesar's Assassination

The Medieval Food Worlds (7)

Famine of 536–545, Famine under the Tang, 762–764, Heian Japan Famine of 815–817, Egyptian Famine of 1064–1072, Great Famine of 1315–1317, Deccan Durga Devi Famine, Ming China Famine of 1437–1439

The Columbian Exchange (8)

Jamestown’s Starving Time, Russian Famine of 1601–1603, Deccan and Gujarat Famine of 1630–1632, Northern China Famine and Ming Collapse, Korean Gyeongsin Famine, Great Famine of Estonia and Livonia, Finnish Great Famine, Scotland's Seven Ill Years

The Early Industrial Food Age (26)

Dublin During the Great Famine, James Lind’s Scurvy Experiment, Great Frost Famine of 1709, Irish Famine of 1740–1741, Bengal Famine of 1769–1773, Tenmei Famine, Chalisa Famine, Laki Famine in Iceland

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The Industrial Diet (26)

Postwar London and Rationing, British Wartime Food Rationing, Ethiopian Great Famine, Russian Famine of 1891–1892, Ottoman Anatolian Famine, Indian Famine of 1896–1897, East African Famine of 1896–1900, Indian Famine of 1899–1900

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The Ultra-Processed Age (29)

Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine, Bihar Food Crisis, Biafran Famine, Sahel Famine, Wollo and Tigray Famine, Bangladesh Famine, Cambodian Famine under the Khmer Rouge, East Timor Occupation Famine

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All 102 results

4.2 Kiloyear Drought and Akkadian Food Crisis4.2 Kiloyear Drought and Akkadian Food CrisisA Roman Soldier at MasadaA Roman Soldier at MasadaAfrican Swine Fever Reaches ChinaAfrican Swine Fever Reaches ChinaAgra Famine of 1837–1838Agra Famine of 1837–1838Avian Influenza Drives Mass Poultry CullingAvian Influenza Drives Mass Poultry CullingBahr el Ghazal FamineBahr el Ghazal FamineBangladesh FamineBangladesh FamineBengal FamineBengal FamineBengal Famine of 1769–1773Bengal Famine of 1769–1773Biafran FamineBiafran FamineBihar Food CrisisBihar Food CrisisBovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Disrupts the Beef SystemBovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Disrupts the Beef SystemBritish Wartime Food RationingBritish Wartime Food RationingCambodian Famine under the Khmer RougeCambodian Famine under the Khmer RougeChalisa FamineChalisa FamineChestnut Blight Removes an American Staple TreeChestnut Blight Removes an American Staple TreeChina Famine of 1920–1921China Famine of 1920–1921Chinese Great Leap Forward FamineChinese Great Leap Forward FamineCitrus Greening Reshapes Florida Orange ProductionCitrus Greening Reshapes Florida Orange ProductionCoffee Leaf Rust Reshapes Ceylon AgricultureCoffee Leaf Rust Reshapes Ceylon AgricultureColony Collapse Disorder Raises Pollination AlarmColony Collapse Disorder Raises Pollination AlarmDeccan and Gujarat Famine of 1630–1632Deccan and Gujarat Famine of 1630–1632Deccan Durga Devi FamineDeccan Durga Devi FamineDoji Bara or Skull FamineDoji Bara or Skull FamineDublin During the Great FamineDublin During the Great FamineDutch Hunger WinterDutch Hunger WinterEast African Famine of 1896–1900East African Famine of 1896–1900East Timor Occupation FamineEast Timor Occupation FamineEgyptian Famine of 1064–1072Egyptian Famine of 1064–1072Ethiopian FamineEthiopian FamineEthiopian Great FamineEthiopian Great FamineFamine of 536–545Famine of 536–545Famine under the Tang, 762–764Famine under the Tang, 762–764Finnish Great FamineFinnish Great FamineFoot-and-Mouth Disease Halts British Livestock MovementFoot-and-Mouth Disease Halts British Livestock MovementGaza FamineGaza FamineGreat Famine of 1315–1317Great Famine of 1315–1317Great Famine of 1876–1878Great Famine of 1876–1878Great Famine of Estonia and LivoniaGreat Famine of Estonia and LivoniaGreat Frost Famine of 1709Great Frost Famine of 1709Great Northern Chinese FamineGreat Northern Chinese FamineGreek Occupation FamineGreek Occupation FamineHeian Japan Famine of 815–817Heian Japan Famine of 815–817Henan FamineHenan FamineHighland Potato FamineHighland Potato FamineHolodomor and Soviet Ukrainian FamineHolodomor and Soviet Ukrainian FamineIndian Famine of 1896–1897Indian Famine of 1896–1897Indian Famine of 1899–1900Indian Famine of 1899–1900Irish Famine of 1740–1741Irish Famine of 1740–1741Irish Great FamineIrish Great FamineJames Lind’s Scurvy ExperimentJames Lind’s Scurvy ExperimentJamestown’s Starving TimeJamestown’s Starving TimeKorean Gyeongsin FamineKorean Gyeongsin FamineLaki Famine in IcelandLaki Famine in IcelandLate Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean Food CrisisLate Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean Food CrisisLeningrad Scientists Protect the Seed CollectionLeningrad Scientists Protect the Seed CollectionMalawi Food CrisisMalawi Food CrisisMing China Famine of 1437–1439Ming China Famine of 1437–1439Niger Food CrisisNiger Food CrisisNorth Korean Famine / Arduous MarchNorth Korean Famine / Arduous March