Before mugshots and sketch artists, did people often go on the lam and establish new identities, or was this harder to do in the preindustrial era because communities were smaller? What would have stopped someone from stealing another persona’s identity?
Not to dissuade others from answering, as is spirit of this subreddit, but you could look through the FAQ until somebody provides a more nuanced explanation to your question here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/dailylife#wiki_identity_proof_.26amp.3B_theft