Did your special interest exist prior to the year 1800? If not, what would be the closest thing to it?

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/post/719304

Autistic people, did your special interest exist prior to the year 1800? If not, what would be the closest thing to it?

By exist, I mean something you’d be able to study. For example, dinosaurs existed well before 1800 but that doesn’t mean there was a good way for the layman to learn about them.