Literally, palaeopathology refers to the study of suffering in the past. Today, it is best defined as the study of the differential diagnosis of disease and disorder in past populations. It is allied to palaeode-mography, the study of the dynamics of population structure of past human groups (age-at-death, longevity, sex-linked mortality, etc.), and palaeoepidemiology, the study of the occurrence and spread of disease in past communities. These disciplines provide a complement to historical and clinical understandings of disease and disorder for periods and peoples without written records and for individuals and populations that these sources do not document. In more recent historical periods, palaeopathological studies act as a complement to historical epidemiological studies of disease and disorder, especially of those groups or peoples that are less likely to be recorded in historical documents or in instances when diagnostic criteria for disease, did not exist or were not fully appreciated. Individuals or selected specimens of diseased individuals with known case histories are especially useful in establishing diagnostic criteria, especially for individuals and populations prior to the advent of modern antibiotics. Equally, palaeo-pathological study of diseased remains can help to understand modern disease manifestations (see discussion on leprosy and Paget’s disease). When placed in their archaeological context, palaeopathological studies also have the potential to highlight the social, economic, and cultural consequences for past populations and individuals.
World History
