Investigating the health of our ancestors: Insights from the evolutionary genetic consequences of prehistoric diseases

Investigations into the health and diseases of prehistoric human populations are traditionally based on various approaches for analyzing skeletal remains. In this paper, I propose that a complementary approach, based on patterns of genetic variation in contemporary populations, can also provide insights into prehistoric health and disease. The idea is that selection for increased reproductive fitness, because of some selective force (such as resistance to a particular disease), will leave a signature on the gene(s) involved. I describe how modern genomic approaches can identify such genes, and two examples are given of genes that have clearly been influenced by selection. However, while modern genomics is making it relatively straightforward to identify genes that have been subject to selection, the challenge still remains as to how to identify the responsible selective force.