Medical imaging technologies applied to ancient human behaviour and lifestyle

Abstract

Recent advances in medical imaging have opened new avenues for investigating ancient human behaviour, physiology, and cognition. This review compiles and synthesises a wide range of studies applying medical scanning and recording technologies to archaeology, aiming to provide a resource for methodological innovation and inspiration. These methods are grouped into two main categories: bone imaging technologies (e.g., CT, micro-CT, MRI) used for morphological analysis, and neuroimaging techniques (e.g., fMRI, PET, DTI) applied to experimental archaeology to investigate brain activity and cognitive processes. These technologies provide essential data that serve as a foundation for subsequent analyses, which are essential to explore how ancient populations adapted to their environments and to assess cognitive processes, tool-use, and health patterns in past humans. The review highlights the contribution of these methods to understanding development, pathology, mobility, tool use, and cognitive processes in prehistoric humans, with special emphasis on integrating imaging data with archaeological and anthropological contexts. By outlining the strengths and limitations of each approach and presenting diverse case studies, the article situates medical imaging within broader debates in human evolution and reflects on its potential for future interdisciplinary research.