Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine

Kimberly A. Plomp is a bioarchaeologist with expertise in palaeopathology and human evolution. She has a PhD in Anthropology and Archaeology from Durham University, UK and has held three postdoctoral posts at Simon Fraser University, Canada and the University of Liverpool, UK. She is now an Associate Professorial Fellow and Chief of the Osteoarchaeology laboratory in the Archaeological Studies Program at the University of the Philippines.Charlotte A. Roberts is a bioarchaeologist with a background in general nursing. She has specific expertise in palaeopathology and has conducted research and teaching in bioarchaeology for around 40 years. Her academic career started at the University of Bradford, UK but worked at Durham University, UK for 20 years before retiring. Her key research areas focus on the origin, evolution and history of infectious diseases, she is passionate about engaging the public with her research, and works on ethical implications of studying archaeological human remains. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.Gillian Bentley is a biosocial anthropologist who was previously a bioarchaeologist specialising in the ancient Near East. She later retrained in bioanthropology and has since focused on reproductive ecology, early life development, and migrant health. She has held a strong interest in evolutionary medicine for several years, publishing numerous articles in the field and creating one of the first Masters in Evolutionary Medicine at Durham University, UK. She is an Associate Editor of OUP's journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health and was a founding member of the International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health for which she is also a council member.Sarah Elton is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University, UK having previously worked at the Hull York Medical School, where she developed an interest in critical approaches to evolutionary medicine, complementing her overarching research interest on the ecological context for human evolution. Her primary research focuses on primate morphology, ecology and biogeography. In the field of evolutionary medicine, she co-edited, with Paul O'Higgins, Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications, Future Prospects (CRC Press, 2008). She co-authored, with Stanley Ulijaszek and Neil Mann, Evolving Human Nutrition: Implications for Public Health, (Cambridge University Press, 2012), and has also written on evolutionary nutrition for an international medical audience.

An impressive volume focusing on the integration of paleopathology—the study of disease, health and the challenges to health in the past—and evolutionary medicine—the study of health in an evolutionary context. The book successfully integrates the two fields, giving both new strengths and revised aspirations in addressing common goals. It offers new opportunities for the development of a more informed understanding of health and well-being, including, but not limited to, aging, reproductive health, immune function, inflammation, microbiomes, and diet and nutrition.

• Frank Rühli: Foreword 1: Kimberly A. Plomp, Charlotte A. Roberts, Sarah Elton, and Gillian R. Bentley: What's it all about? A legacy for the next generation of scholars in evolutionary medicine and palaeopathology 2: Julia Gamble and Gillian Bentley: Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD): perspectives from bioarchaeology 3: Kimberly A. Plomp, Ella Been and Mark Collard: Acquired spinal conditions in humans: the roles of spinal curvature, the shape of the lumbar vertebrae, and evolutionary history 4: Sarah-Louise Decrausaz and Frances Galloway: Birthing humans in the past, the present and future: how birth can be approached holistically through an evolutionary medicine lens 5: Nicole Burt and Alexandra M. Greenwald: Isotopic reconstruction of ancient human diet and health: implications for evolutionary medicine 6: Tanya M. Smith and Christina Warinner: Developmental, evolutionary, and behavioural perspectives on oral health 7: Malcolm C. Lillie and Sarah Elton: Palaeoecology: considering proximate and ultimate influences in human diets and environmental responses in the early Holocene Dnieper River region of Ukraine 8: Kirsten Bos and Sharon N. DeWitte: Human resistance and the evolution of plague in Medieval Europe 9: Charlotte Roberts, David M. Scollard and Vinicius M. Fava: Leprosy Is down but not yet out: new insights shed light on its origin and evolution 10: Charlotte A. Roberts, Peter D.O. Davies, Kelly E. Blevins and Anne C. Stone: Preventable and curable, but still a global problem: tuberculosis from an evolutionary perspective 11: Marissa L. Ledger and Piers D. Mitchell: Evolutionary perspectives on human parasitic infection: ancient parasites to modern medicine. 12: Randall C. Thompson, Chris J. Rowan, Nicholas W. Weis, M. Linda Sutherland, Caleb E. Finch, Michaela Binder, Charlotte A. Roberts and Gregory S. Thomas: Cardiovascular disease in ancient people and contemporary implications 13: Carina Marques, Zachary Compton and Amy M. Boddy: Connecting palaeopathology and evolutionary medicine to cancer research: past and present 14: Daniel H. Temple and Ashley N. Edes: Stress in bioarchaeology, epidemiology, and evolutionary medicine: an integrated conceptual model of shared history from the descriptive to the developmental 15: Jonathan C. Wells, Nelissa Ling, Jay T. Stock, Hallie Buckley and William R. Leonard: Metabolic diseases in bioarchaeology: an evolutionary medicine approach 16: Ryan P. Harrod and Anna J. Osterholtz: The palaeopathology of traumatic injuries: an evolutionary medicine perspective 17: Elizabeth W. Uhl and Richard Thomas: Uncovering tales of transmission: an integrated palaeopathological perspective on the evolution of shared human and animal pathogens 18: Gillian Bentley, Charlotte A. Roberts, Sarah Elton and Kimberly A. Plomp: Now you have read the book, what next? Jane Buikstra: Afterword