What you're discussing is called Skeletal Pathology. That means looking at the marks leftover to try and find clues. It's part of forensic archaeology. Here's an overview by Durham University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbqpzILKENI

Testing/isotopes: This is a video showing how bones can be tested for minerals and isotopes, which is good for determining diet or location. It also goes into dental analysis a bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-gC7UXUoYk&list=PLVBHL30tV1pdlB6yNVKzTGsnVlC-k7Uu1

Real life example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bWNF_eNwvI&list=PLgquNEQ4NAWmku99VbZ9l2At0FTk98Vlu&index=64&t=6s This is a very funny/interesting youtube documentary about how Christopher Columbus had and spread syphilis. Its mostly about syphilis, which interestingly, can lead to a lot of very distinctive bone damage in early middle-age remains. We see it mostly on priests and rich guys, who survived long enough to get damage. Ironic, ha.