Reconstructing visual manifestations of disease from archaeological human remains

This paper reports on a study that aims to fill a niche within scientific illustration by developing a method whereby evidence of disease and trauma in archaeological human remains can be translated into a meaningful visual reconstruction of a diseased or physically impaired individual in life. A case study is presented, which involved reconstructing the rhino-maxillary effects of leprosy in an adult male. It is suggested that such reconstruction illustrations could have an important role in communicating ideas both to specialists and particularly to non-specialists, and may also be valuable as research tools in their own right.