Human Paleopathology: Current Syntheses and Future Options (Classic Reprint)

Donald J. Ortner, Arthur C. Aufderheide

ISBN 10: 1332141862 / ISBN 13: 9781332141869

Editore: Forgotten Books, 2017

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Print on Demand. This book offers a fascinating exploration of paleopathology, the study of diseases and injuries in ancient human remains. It delves into the field's history, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks, examining how our understanding of past human health has evolved over time. The author carefully examines the limitations of traditional paleopathological methods, pointing out the need for more rigorous descriptive methodologies and a better understanding of the biological and evolutionary significance of disease in human societies. The book also explores the important role of collaboration between anthropologists and medical specialists in advancing the field. The book's insights provide a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of medicine, the evolution of human disease, and the complex interplay between human health and the environment. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Codice articolo 9781332141869_0

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Human Paleopathology: Current Syntheses and Future Options (Classic Reprint)
• Editore: Forgotten Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2017
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1332141862
• ISBN 13: 9781332141869
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: New
• Tipo di libro: print-on-demand item
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • General Medicine

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Riassunto

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…