Realising consilience: How better communication between archaeologists, historians and natural scientists can transform the study of past climate change in the Mediterranean

QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS

卷:136

Article

Izdebski, Adam¹  Holmgren, Karin^2,3  Weiberg, Erika⁴  Stocker, Sharon R.⁵  Buentgen, Ulf^6,7,8  Florenzano, Assunta⁹  Gogou, Alexandra¹⁰  Leroy, Suzanne A. G.¹¹  Luterbacher, Juerg¹²  Martrat, Belen¹³  Masi, Alessia¹⁴  Mercuri, Anna Maria⁹  Montagna, Paolo¹⁵  Sadori, Laura¹⁴  Schneider, Adam¹⁶  Sicre, Marie-Alexandrine¹⁷  Triantaphyllou, Maria¹⁸  Xoplaki, Elena¹² 

[1] Jagiellonian Univ, Hist Inst, Golebia 13, PL-31007 Krakow, Poland

[2] Stockholm Univ, Dept Phys Geog, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden

[3] Navarino Environm Observ, Messinia, Greece

[4] Uppsala Univ, Dept Archaeol & Ancient Hist, Uppsala, Sweden

[5] Univ Cincinnati, Dept Class, Cincinnati, OH 45221 USA

[6] Swiss Fed Res Inst WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

[7] Oeschger Ctr Climate Change Res OCCR, Bern, Switzerland

[8] Global Change Res Ctr AS CR, Brno, Czech Republic

[9] Univ Modena & Reggio Emilia, Lab Palinol & Paleobot, Dipartimento Sci Vita, Reggio Emilia, Italy

[10] Hellen Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanog, Anavyssos, Greece

[11] Brunel Univ London, Inst Environm, London, England

[12] Univ Giessen, Dept Geog, D-35390 Giessen, Germany

[13] Spanish Council Sci Res CSIC, Inst Environm Assessment & Water Res IDAEA, Dept Environm Chem, Barcelona, Spain

[14] Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento Biol Ambientale, Rome, Italy

[15] Ist Sci Marine ISMAR, Bologna, Italy

[16] Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Anthropol, San Diego, CA USA

[17] Univ Paris 06, LOCEAN, Paris, France

[18] Univ Athens, Fac Geol & Geoenvironm, GR-10679 Athens, Greece

关键词: Archaeology;    Climate change;    Consilience;    History;    Interdisciplinary collaboration;    Mediterranean;    Natural sciences;    Palaeoecology;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.038

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

This paper reviews the methodological and practical issues relevant to the ways in which natural scientists, historians and archaeologists may collaborate in the study of past climatic changes in the Mediterranean basin. We begin by discussing the methodologies of these three disciplines in the context of the consilience debate, that is, attempts to unify different research methodologies that address similar problems. We demonstrate that there are a number of similarities in the fundamental methodology between history, archaeology, and the natural sciences that deal with the past (palaeoenvironmental sciences), due to their common interest in studying societal and environmental phenomena that no longer exist. The three research traditions, for instance, employ specific narrative structures as a means of communicating research results. We thus present and compare the narratives characteristic of each discipline; in order to engage in fruitful interdisciplinary exchange, we must first understand how each deals with the societal impacts of climatic change. In the second part of the paper, we focus our discussion on the four major practical issues that hinder communication between the three disciplines. These include terminological misunderstandings, problems relevant to project design, divergences in publication cultures, and differing views on the impact of research. Among other recommendations, we suggest that scholars from the three disciplines should aim to create a joint publication culture, which should also appeal to a wider public, both inside and outside of academia. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

【 授权许可】

Free