I chose to explore Paleopathology Association. This association was found in 1973 by U.S. and Canadian scientist1. Their goal is to expand understanding on ancient diseases and health throughout history and learn how it shaped and continues to shape human culture(s).
Paleopathology is the studying of these ancient diseases to help us understand the health of humans in the past. This is important because understanding the health of past humans can help predict the health of humans now and in the future. A lot of what is studied are skeletons. You can tell by looking at a skeleton if there were signs of tuberculosis or syphilis for example2. Archeologists uses this information to contribute to their own general oversights on particular variations and similarities in these past humans and their societies. For example, in Mesoamerican women, spurs were seen in the bones of their knees, toes, and backs, this showed the hardship their bodies went through during grinding maze throughout their life2. And Mayan women with cranial deformities – which could be seen by a line connecting their nose to their forehead – was viewed as attractive2. With the understanding of past human health/diseases, it can contribute to a better understanding of their culture as well.
The association also supports the International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP). This journal contains the latest paleopathology research and encourages interdisciplinary discussions3. An interesting research article I came across was “Tuberculosis in medieval and early modern Denmark: A paleoepidemiological perspective4.” This research studied the effects of tuberculosis on the body between medieval Denmark and modern Denmark. This was done by examining their skeletons. They also observed the relationship between the prevalence of tuberculosis and socioeconomic status. They not only found that there was an increase of tuberculosis from medieval times to now, but that those medieval skeletons that had lower socioeconomic status were more likely to contract tuberculosis. “Tuberculosis increased from 17% to 40% in the medieval to early modern periods in Ribe. Low status (29%) people were more likely to contract the disease than those of high status (10%)4.” The skeletal changes that were found to determine this was increased rib lesions between medieval skeletons and modern ones.
Paleopathology is important because the study of human (and also non-human) ancient diseases can increase our understanding of culture and how daily life was for them and how it influenced them. Through the examination of their bones and/or comparing them to modern skeletons, this can be done. Not only can this give us insights of what life and culture were in the past, it can also help us predict health in future humans as well. The Black Plague is a good example of this. Due to the death of millions as a result of this, major changes were made globally. And without this, advancements would not have been made in “vaccines, sanitary improvements, and other medical knowledge and improvements5.” This relationship between culture and diseases that this subfield specializes in, is an important contributor to the field of Anthropology.
Work cited
1: https://paleopathology-association.wildapricot.org/\
2: https://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Paleopathology.html#Human_Paleopathology
3: https://paleopathology-association.wildapricot.org/IJPP
4: Pedersen, Dorthe Dangvard, et al. “Tuberculosis in Medieval and Early Modern Denmark: A Paleoepidemiological Perspective.” International Journal of Paleopathology, 2018, doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.11.003.
5: http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp206-us17/2017/07/10/paleopathology/
Paleopathology sounds like a very interesting field of study since it combines a variety of aspects in the study of anthropology. This also seems like a very good example of the idea that culture and behavior shape each other. Disease is a big part of the culture in past societies because they did not the advancements to stop and treat it like we do now, which would affect people moving and migrating and how they would either outcast or care for the ill. I find this very intriguing point you talk about how we can see bone spurs due to hard physical labor and the cranial deformities that would produce a physical trait that would be seen as beautiful. All of these things could also be used to evaluate socio-economic status as well if the skeletal remains were discovered in a mass grave setting, or a burial ground for the “middle class”, or a tomb for royalty in the Mayan and Mesoamerican culture.
Hello! I enjoyed reading your blog post about Anthropology and Paleopathology. I enjoyed all of your examples that outlined what Paleopathology is. One of the examples I enjoyed the most was “And Mayan women with cranial deformities – which could be seen by a line connecting their nose to their forehead – was viewed as attractive.” Additionally, the statistic you included about the effect of disease on social class was extremely interesting. This was a great way to incorporate and bring your post together. One of my follow up questions would be, in what ways do you think Paleopathology is different from the 1800s? The 1900s? With our world today and the advanced technologies, do you think it impacts the information and resources we have available to better understand Paleopathology?
Great job!
Paleopatholgy is such an interesting topic. I would not have thought about the importance of studying diseases! You are right it is important to understand this important of our history because it contributes to anthropology. It teaches us the health of our ancestors and how we can prevent future illness.
However, right now researching and educating the community about the affects of disease has done in the past. You would think people would do their best to prevent an outbreak, but currently a lot of people are not being vaccinated. We need paleopathology to help educate those who choose not to get vaccinated and those who are at risk.
Also, I wanted to mention that I liked how you included several examples in your post.