Preface 



In 1985 Dr. PavaoRudanaskedoneof 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 intrigu- 

 ing 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 paleopa- 

 thology between anthropologically and medically trained re- 

 searchers has existed for many decades. It clearly was in the 

 interest of good science to have both these disciplines in- 

 volved in planning the symposium. Arthur C. Aufderhcide, 

 M.D., a medically trained pathologist, became coorganizer 

 of the symposium and coeditorof the proceedings in the early 

 stages of planning. Donald J. Ortner, Ph.D., a physical an- 

 thropologist, provided the anthropological perspective in the 

 organization and editorial process. 



Objectives for the symposium included; ( I ) review of the 

 current status of research in paleopathology, (2) an effort to 

 explore what can and cannot presently be said about paleopa- 

 thology, (3) the contributions of paleopathology to our under- 

 standing of the history and evolution of disease, (4) an eflbrt 

 to explore the possibility of paleoepidemiology, (5) an at- 

 tempt to establish criteria that would permit comparative 

 research in paleopathology, (6) an effort to establish the an- 

 tiquity of modem diseases, (7) an exploration of what paleo- 

 pathology could contribute in an ideal research context. (8) 

 ways to achieve the above objective, and (9) the directions 

 research in paleopathology could take in the future. 



There are four major subject areas in paleopathology: ( 1 ) 

 soft tissue research generally conducted by medically trained 

 scientists, (2) skeletal tissue research more often conducted 

 by anthropologists, (3) analysis of historical and archeologi- 

 cal materials in which medical historians are the major schol- 

 ars, and (4) biochemical research on trace elements and more 

 recently on DNA and immunoglobulins generally conducted 

 by biochemists or medically trained scientists. 



The organizers attempted to have a significant representa- 

 tion of papers in each of these general research areas. We 



Zagreb Palt'opalhology Symp. 1988 



achieved only partial success. We did get a good group of 

 papers on theory and methodology, another group on skeletal 

 paleopathology, and a fairly substantial cluster of papers on 

 soft-tissue and biochemical research. We were less success- 

 ful in stimulating papers on the use of archeological and 

 historical materials in research on paleopathology. This par- 

 tially reflects the inadequate efforts by paleopathologists to 

 create scholarly networks and linkages with the historians of 

 disease and medicine. This clearly is a problem that needs to 

 be corrected. 



Given the international nature of the Congress we also 

 stressed the need to have scholars from many countries. 

 Clearly the research interests and focus vary .somewhat in 

 different nations. It is equally true that writing a scientific 

 paper in a language other than one's native tongue may place 

 colleagues from other than English-speaking countries in a 

 difficult position. We felt, however, that the rewards of inter- 

 national scholarship outweighed the problems inherent in 

 writing in another language. 



The coeditors have rewritten portions of some of the manu- 

 scripts in an attempt to convey more effectively our under- 

 standing of what the author was attempting to communicate. 

 The pressures of deadlines and our wish to expedite publica- 

 tion made author review of our revisions impossible. We take 

 full responsibility for any failures to accurately reflect the 

 original meaning of the author. 



Not all participants were able to complete manuscripts for 

 the proceedings. Svante Paabo told us in advance that be- 

 cause of other commitments he would be unable to prepare a 

 formal manuscript. He gave a verbal presentation during the 

 symposium and participated actively in the discussions. Sara 

 Bisel was unable to complete the revision of her manuscript 

 due to a very serious illness. Because of this the coeditors felt 

 that it would be inappropriate to publish her paper. 



The coeditors would like to acknowledge the assistance of 

 Agnes 1. Stix and Janet T. Beck, Department of Anthropol- 

 ogy, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian In- 

 stitution, who have provided editorial, administrative, and 

 logistical support throughout the planning and editorial 

 phases of this scholarly endeavor. Marcia Bakry, also of the 

 Smithsonian Department of Anthropology, improved many 

 of the illustrations. Sara Hammer, Paleobiology Laboratory, 

 University of Minnesota-Duluth School of Medicine, also 

 contributed significantly to the completion of the editorial 

 process. 



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