自从地球上的生命发展以来，寄生微生物蓬勃发展。主机数量增加，或者征服一个新物种，为这种病原体提供一个享受的机会，在主机防御系统启动之前，类似的繁殖热潮。爆发,由“地方性”病原体引起，和流行病，由“新型”病原体引起，因此，自史前时代以来一直在制造混乱和破坏。为了研究这种(前)历史流行病，古代DNA领域的最新进展，适用于考古和历史遗迹，极大地帮助阐明了病原体的进化轨迹。这些研究提供了新的和意想不到的见解，例如,天花病毒,乙型肝炎病毒，和鼠疫耶尔森氏菌.此外，埋葬模式和历史出版物可以帮助追踪古代病原体。另一个信息来源是我们的基因组，免疫相关基因的选择性扫描与过去的病原体攻击有关，而多种病毒已经留下了它们的基因组供我们研究。这篇综述将讨论可用于调查(前)历史疾病的来源，因为历史和史前病原体的分子知识可以帮助我们理解过去和现在，让我们为未来的流行病做好准备。
Since life on earth developed, parasitic microbes have thrived. Increases in host numbers, or the conquest of a new species, provide an opportunity for such a pathogen to enjoy, before host defense systems kick in, a similar upsurge in reproduction. Outbreaks, caused by \"endemic\" pathogens, and epidemics, caused by \"novel\" pathogens, have thus been creating chaos and destruction since prehistorical times. To
study such (pre)historic epidemics, recent advances in the ancient DNA field, applied to both archeological and historical remains, have helped tremendously to elucidate the evolutionary trajectory of pathogens. These studies have offered new and unexpected insights into the evolution of, for instance, smallpox virus, hepatitis B virus, and the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis. Furthermore, burial patterns and historical publications can help in tracking down ancient pathogens. Another source of information is our genome, where selective sweeps in immune-related genes relate to past pathogen attacks, while multiple viruses have left their genomes behind for us to
study. This review will discuss the sources available to investigate (pre)historic diseases, as molecular knowledge of historic and prehistoric pathogens may help us understand the past and the present, and prepare us for future epidemics.
