The Global History of Paleopathology is the first comprehensive global compendium on the history of paleopathology, an interdisciplinary scientific discipline that focuses on the study of ancient disease. Offering perspectives from regions that have traditionally had long histories of paleopathology, such as the United States and parts of Europe, this volume also presents important work by an international roster of scholars who are writing their own regional and cultural histories in the field. The book identifies major thinkers and figures who have contributed to paleopathology, as well as significant organizations and courses that have sponsored scientific research and communication, most notably the Paleopathology Association. The volume concludes with an eye towards the future of the discipline, discussing methods and research at the leading edge of paleopathology, particularly those that employ the analysis of ancient DNA and isotopes.

The first comprehensive global history of the discipline of paleopathology

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Presents data from nineteen different regions before, during, and after agricultural transitions, analyzing populations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and South America while primarily focusing on North America. A wide range of health indicators are discussed, including mortality, episodic stress, physical trauma, degenerative bone conditions, isotopes, and dental pathology.

A Companion to Paleopathology offers a comprehensive overview of this rapidly growing sub- field of physical anthropology. Presents a broad overview of the field of paleopathology, integrating theoretical and methodological approaches to understand biological and disease processes throughout human history Demonstrates how paleopathology sheds light on the past through the analysis of human and non-human skeletal materials, mummified remains and preserved tissue Integrates scientific advances in multiple fields that contribute to the understanding of ancient and historic diseases, such as epidemiology, histology, radiology, parasitology, dentistry, and molecular biology, as well as archaeological, archival and historical research. Highlights cultural processes that have an impact on the evolution of illness, death and dying in human populations, including subsistence strategies, human environmental adaptations, the effects of malnutrition, differential access to resources, and interpersonal and intercultural violence

This special topic issue of 'Pathobiology' contains contributions discussing the subject in-depth. 'Pathobiology' is a well-respected, international peer-reviewed journal in Pathology. Special topic issues are included in the subscription.

Evolutionary medicine has been steadily gaining recognition, not only in modern clinical research and practice, but also in bioarchaeology (the study of archaeological human remains) and especially its sub-discipline, palaeopathology. To date, however, palaeopathology has not been necessarily recognised as particularly useful to the field and most key texts in evolutionary medicine have tended to overlook it. This novel text is the first to highlight the benefits of using palaeopathological research to answer questions about the evolution of disease and its application to current health problems, as well as the benefits of using evolutionary thinking in medicine to help interpret historical disease processes. It presents hypothesis-driven research by experts in biological anthropology (including palaeopathology), medicine, health sciences, and evolutionary medicine through a series of unique case studies that address specific research questions. Each chapter has been co-authored by two or more researchers with different disciplinary perspectives in order to provide original, insightful, and interdisciplinary contributions that will provide new insights for both palaeopathology and evolutionary medicine. Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine is intended for graduate level students and professional researchers in a wide range of fields including the humanities (history), social sciences (anthropology, archaeology, palaeopathology, geography), and life sciences (medicine and biology). Relevant courses include evolutionary medicine, evolutionary anthropology, medical anthropology, and palaeopathology.

The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology provides readers with an overview of the study of ancient disease. The volume begins by exploring current methods and techniques employed by paleopathologists as means to highlight the range of data that can be generated, the types of questions that can be methodologically addressed, our current limitations, and goals for the future. Building on these foundations, the volume introduces a range of diseases and conditions that have been noted in the fossil, archaeological, and historical record, offering readers a foundational understanding of pathological conditions, along with their potential etiologies. Importantly, an evolutionary and highly contextualized assessment of diseases and conditions will be presented in order to demonstrate the need for adopting anthropological, biological, and clinical approaches when exploring the past and interpreting the modern world. The volume concludes with the contextualization of paleopathological research. Chapters highlight ways in which analyses of health and disease in skeletal and mummified remains reflect political and social constructs of the past and present. Health and disease are tackled within evolutionary perspectives across deep time and generationally, and the nuanced interplay between disease and behavior is explored. The volume will be indispensable for archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and historians, and those in medical fields, as it reflects current scholarship within paleopathology and the field’s impact on our understanding of health and disease in the past, the present, and implications for our future.

Excerpt from Human Paleopathology: Current Syntheses and Future Options In 1985 Dr. Pavao Rudan asked one of us (DJO) to organize a symposium on paleopathology for the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, planned for July 1988 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. This invitation was intriguing for many reasons but principally because we felt that research in paleopathology had reached a plateau. In our opinion the time had arrived to evaluate research conducted thus far as a basis for suggesting what needed to be done to continue the development of research in the discipline. In 1985 initial invitations for papers for the symposium went out to a large and diverse group of leading scholars in paleopathology. The response was remarkably supportive and definite plans were made. A commensal scholarly/scientific relationship in paleopathology between anthropologically and medically trained researchers has existed for many decades. It clearly was in the interest of good science to have both these disciplines involved in planning the symposium. Arthur C. Aufderhcide, M.D., a medically trained pathologist, became coorganizer of the symposium and coeditor of the proceedings in the early stages of planning. Donald J.Ortner, Ph.D., a physical anthropologist, provided the anthropological perspective in the organization and editorial process. Objectives for the symposium included: (1) review of the current status of research in paleopathology, (2) an effort to explore what can and cannot presently be said about paleopathology, (3) the contributions of paleopathology to our understanding of the history and evolution of disease, (4) an effort to explore the possibility of paleoepidemiology, (5) an attempt to establish criteria that would permit comparative research in paleopathology, (6) an effort to establish the antiquity of modern diseases, (7) an exploration of what paleopathology could contribute in an ideal research context, (8) ways to achieve the above objective, and (9) the directions research in paleopathology could take in the future. There are four major subject areas in paleopathology: (1) soft tissue research generally conducted by medically trained scientists, (2) skeletal tissue research more often conducted by anthropologists, (3) analysis of historical and archeological materials in which medical historians are the major scholars, and (4) biochemical research on trace elements and more recently on Dna and immunoglobulins generally conducted by biochemists or medically trained scientists. The organizers attempted to have a significant representation of papers in each of these general research areas. We Zagreb Palt opalhology Symp. 1988 achieved only partial success. We did get a good group of papers on theory and methodology, another group on skeletal paleopathology, and a fairly substantial cluster of papers on soft-tissue and biochemical research. We were less successful in stimulating papers on the use of archeological and historical materials in research on paleopathology. This partially reflects the inadequate efforts by paleopathologists to create scholarly networks and linkages with the historians of disease and medicine. This clearly is a problem that needs to be corrected. Given the international nature of the Congress we also stressed the need to have scholars from many countries. Clearly the research interests and focus vary somewhat in different nations. It is equally true that writing a scientific paper in a language other than ones native tongue may place colleagues from other than English-speaking countries in a difficult position. We felt, however, that the rewards of international scholarship outweighed the problems inherent in writing in another language. The coeditors have rewritten portions of some of the manuscripts in an attempt to convey more effectively our understanding of what the author was attempting to communicate. The press...