In the 20 years since the publication of John Verano’s foundational paper “Advances in Paleopathology of Andean South America,” paleopathological and bioarchaeological investigations of human skeletal remains in the region have increased dramatically. Today, primary foci have grown to span the identification of disease, detailed reconstructions of biocultural interactions, embodied social experiences, and ancient living worlds. In this special issue, more than a dozen scholars reflect on the state of developments in the scientific analyses of ancient disease, life, and society across the region. For this introductory article, we frame the current state of Andean paleopathology by reviewing key historical contributions beginning in the last century. More recent trends since 1997 are defined via a meta-analysis of the literature. We then highlight current innovations and consider future directions of study. We then close with an overview of the papers comprising this special issue. Each article explores major theoretical, topical, and methodological advances that have transpired since 1997 and charts the course for the next two decades of work – with implications and insights that transcend the Andes and speak to key paleopathological issues around the world.

自约翰·维拉诺（John Verano）的基础论文“安第斯南美洲古病理学进展”发表以来的20年中，对该地区人类骨骼遗骸的古病理学和生物考古学研究急剧增加。时至今日，主要病灶已遍布疾病的识别，生物文化互动的详细重建，具体的社会经验以及古老的生活世界。在本期特刊中，十多位学者回顾了该地区古代疾病，生命和社会的科学分析发展状况。在这篇介绍性文章中，我们通过回顾上个世纪开始的重要历史贡献来构架安第斯古病理学的现状。1997年以来的最新趋势是通过文献的荟萃分析确定的。然后，我们重点介绍当前的创新并考虑未来的研究方向。然后，我们最后概述构成此特刊的论文。每篇文章都探讨了自1997年以来发生的重大理论，主题和方法学进展，并为接下来的二十年工作制定了路线图-所涉及的问题和见解超越了安第斯山脉，并谈到了全球主要的古病理学问题。