In the 19th century, dementia meant an acquired loss of intellect, with no clear single cause and no set age for onset. Diagnoses varied by doctor and institution, and causes such as a disappointment of the affections or old age were recorded. Ticehurst House in East Sussex was an elite private asylum that housed wealthy patients. Its casebooks show women such as the artist Lady Maria Beauclerk, whose sketches were kept as evidence of her madness, and Mary Willet, whose delusions were different from modern dementia. Their records show that the condition was judged by social and moral standards as much as by medical ones.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.