This textbook represents a significant advance in the effort to engage clinical
physicians, especially radiologists and paleopathologists in a dialogue. Although
there have been many such attempts in the past, they have for the most part dealt
with specific imaging findings to diagnose disease in specific ancient remains.
Chhem and Brothwell have given us the opportunity to go beyond this type of ad
hoc consultation by presenting a systematic approach to the radiologic skeletal differential
diagnosis of ancient human and animal remains. However, I believe that
the intent of the authors is not so much to have paleopathologists interpret these
finding in a vacuum, but rather to understand the capabilities of musculoskeletal
radiologists, not only to assist with diagnosis, but also to offer information about
the clinical setting in which these diseases occur and to suggest other appropriate
imaging technology. For their part, musculoskeletal radiologists should be able to
use this text to understand the context in which paleopathologists work, including
taphonomic change, and to appreciate the rich legacy of diagnostic imaging in biological
anthropology and archaeology.