The Lives of the Professors of Gresham College

But this is understandable; it is from mummified remains that the best preserved evidence has been obtained. Like the written record and the art form (paintings, sculpture and the like), preserved remains are no less difficult to interpret, or are open to misinterpretation. As Wells states, 'It no longer seems extraordinary that palaeopathologists occasionally make a wrong diagnosis. The wonder is we ever make a right one.' In a most useful survey, Wells points out the pitfalls of pseudopathology with the many traps that lie in wait for the unwary. One danger not mentioned is the practice of placing newer mummies in older coffins to enhance their sale value. That this contribution should be the first sets the remainder in perspective and illustrates the careful examination that should be undertaken before any conclusions are drawn. Palaeopathology is a rich and growing field for research, and as new techniques are devised older studies are re-investigated and freshly-discovered material submitted to more sophisticated examination. This places a large burden of responsibility on the archaeologist excavating in the field and the curator preserving the material in the museum. Again and again contributors refer to specimens housed in museums or, more rarely, to specimens which can no longer be traced. A specimen inadequately housed is often lost to science and indirectly this book is a plea that the whereabouts of specimens should be recorded and for the curator to document his specimens as fully as possible, a plea well substantiated by Morse in his study of tuberculosis. It is also a plea for most careful excavation, a plea well illustrated by Brothwell in his description of the finding of calculi in a Somerset Dark Age Cemetery. It is not only human remains that need careful preservation and documentation. The associated remains are often equally important as the only means of dating the site-the problem mentioned by Goff when dealing with the effect of syphilis on bones. Equally the palaeopathologist should be aware of the limitations in dating his material and of the information that museum records ought to reveal. This work can be read with profit by all three. This is a well-produced book and a single reading has revealed less than a dozen typographical errors. The figures, being from many different sources, vary in quality but are generally good. Figure 5a, on page sixty-two, has been reproduced upside down, and some of the …