In the early modern period there was a shift to seeking biological causes for physical and mental differences, as well as heightened interest in demarcating categories: for example, Ambroise Pare, in the sixteenth century, wrote of "monsters", "prodigies", and "the maimed".
No comezo da Idade Moderna houbo un movemento de procura de causas biolóxicas para as diferenzas físicas e mentais e aumentou o interese en crear categorías: por exemplo, Ambroise Pare, no século XVI, falou de "monstros", "prodixios" e "lisiados".