Advances in genomics over the past quarter century have stimulated remarkable new interpretations of ancient human diseases, especially their emergence and spread. This presentation will first review the methods by which ancient disease is studied, focusing upon information available directly from archaeological remains, both by direct observation and through molecular approaches, which involve recovering and analyzing DNA of ancient microorganisms. The strengths and weaknesses of both strategies are considered, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Many of the issues inherent in the late 20th century molecular studies have been overcome through 21st century “Next Generation” methods. Recent scholarship that focuses upon diseased skeletons and mummified tissues is also considered with special reference to two of today’s significant global health risks, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

I then turn to information gained through biomolecular investigations of bubonic plague, cholera, Salmonella, treponemal disease (yaws, syphilis, bejel). The “black death” that devastated Europe during the late Late Middle Ages is found to reflect genomes also present in the eastern Mediterranean by the 6th century CE. Disease exchange between Europe and Asia and the probable origins of plague pandemics is reviewed. The retention of tissues in anatomical collections during the 19th century has permitted molecular scientists to explore the evolutionary history of cholera through the genetic characterization of the bacterium Vibrio cholera during the 3rd pandemic of 1852-1860. An ancient disease of colonial Mesoamerica, coclitzli, has been identified as Salmonella enterica through molecular analyses. I next discuss the difficulties in characterizing the suite of treponemal diseases that includes venereal syphilis in archaeological remains and offer a solution. Studies of ancient oral microbiomes inferred from the study of dental plaque are also cited, using evidence that contrasts today’s human microflora assemblages with those of earlier (human) generations.

Finally, I will focus upon the manner in which the genomics revolution has altered our knowledge of the history of mycobacterial diseases, especially tuberculosis and leprosy. Our perspective on the antiquity of the Tuberculosis Complex mycobacteria has changed markedly due to the impact of molecular research, now suggesting that the human form predates the forms affecting other mammals, such as cattle, rodents, goats, seals and sea lions. An evolutionary-historical (phylogeographic) model for the world-wide distribution of tuberculosis is presented, followed by a case study focusing upon early (pre-European) disease in the Western Hemisphere. I close with discussion of how 21st century molecular evidence has rewritten the history of leprosy.

过去25年里，基因学的进步明显地促进了我们对古代人类疾病的新解释，尤其表现在疾病的发生和传播方面。首先，我们回顾古代疾病的研究方法，同时通过直接观察法，以及重构、分析古微生物DNA的分子学方法，来关注考古遗存中可直接获取的信息。这两种方法各有优劣，也正显示了跨学科合作的重要性。20世纪后期分子学研究中固有的许多问题，已经透过21世纪的「新一代」方法中得已克服。关注病态骨骼和木乃伊化组织方面的最新学术成就也被认为与当今全球两大重要健康风险（心血管疾病和癌症）有特别关系。

然后，通过黑死病、霍乱、沙门氏菌、螺旋体疾病（雅司病、梅毒、非性病性梅毒）的生物分子学研究，我们得出一些信息。研究发现中世纪晚期肆虐欧洲的黑死病基因组同样地出现在公元6世纪的地中海东岸。借此，可回顾亚欧疾病的传播和瘟疫的可能起源。19世纪解剖学收藏中保留下来的组织，使分子学科学家能够通过1852-1860年间欧洲第三次瘟疫时期弧菌病毒霍乱的基因特征，探讨霍乱的演化史。通过分子分析，我们已发现古代中美洲殖民地的一种疾病（coclitzli）为沙门氏菌疾病。接下来会讨论在鉴定考古遗存中性病梅毒密螺旋体等系列疾病在分辨其特征上的困难并提出解决方法。引用了来自牙菌斑研究的古代口腔微生物群研究，通过古今人类菌群的对比，人类口腔微生物学研究也可以进行。

最后，我将专门讨论基因演变以何种方式改变了我们对分枝杆菌疾病历史的认知为中心来讨论，特别是肺结核与麻风病。由于分子学研究的影响，我们对具有结核分枝杆菌复合群古老性的认识已有了显著变化。另外，现在的分子学研究表明了人类的形式早于影响牛、啮齿类动物、羊、海豹、海狮等哺乳动物的其他形式。通过聚焦西半球早期疾病的个案研究，介绍肺结核在世界范围内的传播历史模式。我以讨论21世纪的分子学证据如何改写了麻风病病史来作结。

Jane Buikstra (PhD U of Chicago, 1972) is Regents’ Professor of Bioarchaeology and Founding Director, Center for Bioarchaeological Research in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Professor Buikstra was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1987), and she is past president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the American Anthropological Association and the Paleopathology Association. She is also president of the Center for American Archeology. Dr. Buikstra has received the Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology by the Archaeological Institute of America (2005), the T. Dale Stewart Award by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (2008), the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (2008), the Eve Cockburn Award for Service from the Paleopathology Association (2011), an honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Durham University (UK), ( 2014), The Lloyd Cotsen Prize for Lifetime Achievement in World Archaeology (2016), and the Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (2018).
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Dr. Buikstra defined the discipline of bioarchaeology, an international field that enriches archaeological knowledge of past peoples through scientific study of their remains and archaeological/historical contexts. Her research regions span the Americas and includes the Eastern Mediterranean. She has published more than 20 books and 200 articles/chapters; she has mentored more than 50 doctoral students. Professor Buikstra is the inaugural editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Paleopathology. Among her current research projects she is investigating the evolutionary history of ancient tuberculosis in the Americas based on archaeologically-recovered pathogen DNA.

简•布伊克斯特拉（1972年于芝加哥大学获得博士学位）是亚利桑那州立大学大学人类进化与社会变迁学院生物考古教授，并为生物考古中心创始。1987年当选为美国科学院院士，曾任美国体质人类学家协会，美国人类学协会和古老病理学协会会长。他是美国考古中心主席。他于2005年荣获美国考古协会颁发的考古学科学贡献奖(Pomerance Award)；2008年同时荣获美国法医学院美国科学院的戴尔斯图尔特奖(Dale Stewart Award)，以及美国体质人类学家协会颁发的达尔文终身成就奖；2011年荣获古生物学会Eve Cockburn Award；2014年获得英国杜伦大学科学荣誉博士学位；2016年，获得世界考古学终身成就奖(Lloyd Cotsen Prize)；并于2018年获得宾夕法尼亚大学考古与人类学博物馆颁发的Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal奖章。

布伊克斯特拉博士定义生物考古学是面向国际领域的学科，通过考古遗存和历史考古等背景的科学研究，丰富了人类的考古认知。他的研究区域跨越美州，包括东地中海地区。他出版了20多部著作翰200多篇文章/章节，并指导了50多位博士生；他是「国际古生物学杂志」的创始主编。近年在她的研究项目中，她正根据分析考古学回收的病原体DNA，探讨美洲古代肺结核的演化史。