ANT214H5 Lecture 5: ANT214 Lecture 5
Document Summary
Paleopathology is the study of disease in past populations. Look at study of tissue abnormalities in the past - most often we look at bone. Through that we can identify disease processes. We can evaluate frequency of individuals that suffered from it. We can look at origin and evolution of disease through time. Look at pathological conditions and associations with nutrition, environment and the culture. Evaluate stress on past populations and ability to adapt to it. Paleoepidemiology = study of disease patterns in the past. We can look at overall effects of: Food utilized - animal available but not utilized. Distribution of food to members of group - often not even. Often tends to be more to individuals who do more work (males) Looking at the skeleton we can assess past nutrition and health. Idea if groups were experiencing nutritional stress. Primary effect - slow rate and amount of skeletal growth. Deviations from normal growth occur as result.
