This year’s GAO Conference focuses on aspects of health, illness/sickness, as well as manners
of treatment in the past. Securing health has always been and will be a panhuman goal. However,
different peoples in the longue durée of history have had different attitudes regarding healthy states,
causes of illness, and the necessary means to treat it. As archaeology progressively embraces
interdisciplinarity, new methods and theories shed more light in matters of health and ways of
living. Therefore, themes of this conference include but are not limited to:
• Physical and mental health/illness
• Approaches to ancient medicine
• The cult of healing deities and magico-religious healing
• Aspects of disability in the past
• The role of diet in health and treatment
• Environmental factors contributing to health and sickness
• Socio-cultural behaviours regarding ailments
