Realising consilience: How better communication between archaeologists, historians and natural

19 Pages·2017·2.11 MB·English

QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect
Quaternary Science Reviews
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev
Realising consilience: How better communication between
archaeologists, historians and natural scientists can transform the
study of past climate change in the Mediterranean
Adam Izdebski a,*, Karin Holmgrenb,c, Erika Weiberg d, Sharon R. Stockere,
Ulf Büntgen f,g,h, Assunta Florenzano i, Alexandra Gogou j, Suzanne A.G. Leroyk,
Jürg Luterbacherl, Belen Martrat m, Alessia Masi n, Anna Maria Mercuri i,
Paolo Montagna o, Laura Sadori n, Adam Schneider p, Marie-Alexandrine Sicreq,
Maria Triantaphyllour, Elena Xoplaki l
aJagiellonianUniversityinKrakow,InstituteofHistory,Gołe˛bia13,31-007Krako(cid:1)w,Poland
bStockholmUniversity,DepartmentofPhysicalGeography,Stockholm,Sweden
cNavarinoEnvironmentalObservatory,Messinia,Greece
dDepartmentofArchaeologyandAncientHistory,UppsalaUniversity,Sweden
eUniversityofCincinnati,DepartmentofClassics,USA
fSwissFederalResearchInstituteWSL,Birmensdorf,Switzerland
gOeschgerCentreforClimateChangeResearchOCCR,Bern,Switzerland
hGlobalChangeResearchCentreASCR,Brno,CzechRepublic
iUniversita(cid:3)diModenaeReggioEmilia,LaboratoriodiPalinologiaePaleobotanica,DipartimentodiScienzedellaVita,Italy
jHellenicCentreforMarineResearch,InstituteofOceanography,Anavyssos,Greece
kBrunelUniversityLondon,InstitutefortheEnvironment,UK
lJustusLiebigUniversityofGiessen,DepartmentofGeography,Giessen,Germany
mSpanishCouncilforScientificResearch(CSIC),InstituteofEnvironmentalAssessmentandWaterResearch(IDÆA),DepartmentofEnvironmental
Chemistry,Barcelona,Spain
nUniversita(cid:3)diRomaLaSapienza,DipartimentodiBiologiaAmbientale,Italy
oIstitutodiScienzeMarine(ISMAR),Bologna,Italy
pUC-SanDiego,DepartmentofAnthropology,USA
qUniversitePierreetMarieCurie,Laboratoired'oceanographieetduClimat:experimentationetapprochesnumeriques(LOCEAN),Paris,France
rUniversityofAthens,FacultyofGeologyandGeoenvironment,Greece
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Articlehistory: Thispaperreviewsthemethodologicalandpracticalissuesrelevanttothewaysinwhichnaturalsci-
Received30March2015 entists, historians and archaeologists may collaborate in the study of past climatic changes in the
Receivedinrevisedform Mediterraneanbasin.Webeginbydiscussingthemethodologiesofthesethreedisciplinesinthecontext
21October2015
oftheconsiliencedebate,thatis,attemptstounifydifferentresearchmethodologiesthataddresssimilar
Accepted23October2015
problems. We demonstrate that there are a number of similarities in the fundamental methodology
Availableonline12December2015
betweenhistory,archaeology,andthenaturalsciencesthatdealwiththepast(“palaeoenvironmental
sciences”), due totheir common interestin studying societal and environmental phenomena that no
Keywords:
longerexist.Thethreeresearchtraditions,forinstance,employspecificnarrativestructuresasameansof
Archaeology
Climatechange communicating research results. We thus present and compare the narratives characteristic of each
Consilience discipline;inordertoengageinfruitfulinterdisciplinaryexchange,wemustfirstunderstandhoweach
History dealswiththesocietalimpactsofclimaticchange.Inthesecondpartofthepaper,wefocusourdis-
Interdisciplinarycollaboration cussion on the four major practical issues that hinder communication between the three disciplines.
Mediterranean These include terminological misunderstandings, problems relevant to project design, divergences in
Naturalsciences publicationcultures,anddifferingviewsontheimpactofresearch.Amongotherrecommendations,we
Palaeoecology
suggestthatscholarsfromthethreedisciplinesshouldaimtocreateajointpublicationculture,which
shouldalsoappealtoawiderpublic,bothinsideandoutsideofacademia.
©2015TheAuthors.PublishedbyElsevierLtd.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCCBYlicense
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
* Correspondingauthor.
E-mailaddress:[email protected](A.Izdebski).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.038
0277-3791/©2015TheAuthors.PublishedbyElsevierLtd.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCCBYlicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
6 A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
1. Introduction
This paper offers a discussion of the theoretical and practical
issuesinvolvedincollaborationamongthenaturalsciencesandthe
humanities (or, the social sciences, as is the case for much
archaeological research), focused on the study of humanpercep-
tionsandactionsinrelationtoclimateandenvironmentalchange
inthepast.Withgrowinginterestintheinterplaybetweenclimate,
environmental change and society, there has been considerable
discussion about these issues over the course of the last several
decadesandthenumberofpaperspublishedinthisfieldissteadily
increasing. Early descriptive efforts to correlate societal change
withenvironmentalandclimatechangeswerehamperedbylackof
precisechronologies(e.g.,Pipernoetal.,1991;Nún~ezetal.,2002;
Berglund,2003),orbythefactthatthedataonclimateandsoci-
etywerederivedatafardistancefromeachother(e.g.,Cullenetal.,
2000;Haugetal.,2003).Thisresultedinconsiderableuncertainties
withregardtotheactualcausalrelationsbetweendifferentsocial
andnaturalphenomena.Recentcontributionshavebenefittedfrom
moreprecisedatingtechniquesandanincreasedunderstandingof
the complex and non-linear couplings between human societies,
environment and climate (e.g. Butzer, 2005, 2008, 2012; Cooper
Fig.2. ClimateandvegetationtypesintheMediterranean(fromSadorietal.,2013,
modified).a)Ko€ppenclimatetypesintheMediterraneanregion:subtropicalsteppe
(BSh),midlatitudesteppe(BSk),subtropicaldesert(BWh),midlatitudedesert(BWk),
Mediterraneanclimatewithhot/warmsummer(Csa/b),humidsubtropicalwithnodry
season(Cfa),maritimetemperate(Cfb),humidcontinentalwithhot/warmsummer
12 a) Provisional Services
(Dsa/b), continental with dry hot/warm summer (Dfa/b), and tundra (Et) (from
10 Lionello,2012,modified).b)TypesofMediterraneanvegetation:infra-Mediterranean
se (INM), Thermo-Mediterranean (THM), Meso-Mediterranean (MEM), Sub-
idu 8 Mediterranean (SUM), Mountain-Mediterranean (MOM) (from Que(cid:1)zel & Me(cid:1)dail,
ts 2003,modified).
fo 6
re
b
m 4
uN and Peros, 2010; Westerberg et al., 2010; Büntgen et al., 2011;
2 Mercurietal.,2011;Kennettetal.,2012;McCormicketal.,2012;
Turner and Sabloff, 2012; Kaniewski et al., 2013; Haldon et al.,
0
southern atlantic continental alpine northern 2014;Laneetal.,2014;LuterbacherandPfister,2015;seealsothe
contributions published in this special issue of the Quaternary
14 ScienceReview).However,onecanstillobservethepersistentten-
b) Regulating Services
dencyinseveralcontributionstooversimplifythesocialornatural
12
processes, to focus on one-sided explanations, or to be based on
se 10 observationsofauthorsrepresentingjustoneortwofields.Thisis
iduts 8 notleastthecasewhenitcomestotheMediterraneanregion.
fo Thepresentarticleoriginatesfromamulti-disciplinarymeeting
reb 6 ofscientists, archaeologists and historians interested inproblem-
m
uN 4 atisingandintegratingthediverseviewsontherolethatclimate
hasplayedwithinMediterraneansocietiesofboththerecentand
2 remote past (Holmgren et al., 2014). The first part of the article
0 consistsofanoutlineofthemethodologicalprerequisitesandpo-
southern atlantic continental alpine northern tential foundations of interdisciplinary collaboration, its second
part is devoted to the existing challenges that may hinder
s c) Cultural Services
die 4 communication between archaeology, history, and those disci-
u
st plineswithinthenaturalsciencesthatdealwiththepast(“palae-
er of 2 oenvironmental sciences”); it concludes by proposing a series of
b
m 0 possiblesolutionstotheseproblems.
u
N southern atlantic continental alpine northern It isnotacoincidence thatthis methodological reviewis pro-
duced by a group of scholars involved in the study of the Medi-
Sub-regions in Europe
terranean domain. Over the past several years, there have been
positive impact negative impact neutral impact renewedeffortsatdemonstratingtheexceptionalcharacterofthis
largeregionintermsofitscombinednaturalandhumanhistory(cf.
Fig.1. Assessmentoftheimpactsofclimatechangeonecosystemsservicesinsub-
regionsofEurope(adaptedfromKovatsetal.,2014,1288e1289).TheEuropeanpart Braudel,1949,foraclassicview;HordenandPurcell,2000,2006;
of the Mediterranean region forms the southern sub-region. Provisional services GroveandRackham,2003;Tabak,2008;Broodbank,2013;Harris,
includee.g.productionoffood,livestock,bioenergyandtimber;regulatingservices 2013;GoffredoandDubinsky,2014).Duringthelast10,000years,
include for instance climate regulation, biodiversity and water quality regulation; the Mediterranean, and in particular its eastern part, has had an
culturalservicesincludeforexampletourism,recreationandculturalheritage.
A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22 7
exceptional history of human civilisation. An international com- throughout the Mediterranean basin has been continuously
munityofNeolithicandBronzeAgespecialists,historiansandar- transformedbyclimaticchanges,whilethese samehabitats have
chaeologists of the Graeco-Roman world, Byzantinists, and beenutilisedinparallelbyhumansocietiescapableoftransforming
Medievalistsetonameonlyafewdisciplinesehavebeenstudying thelandscapeonastilllargerscale.Together,thecombinedeffects
Mediterraneanculturesforcenturies(Broodbank,2013,15e53).No of cultural pressure and environmental factors have determined
singleregionexistsintheworldforwhichwepossessacomparable thedispositionofMediterraneanlandscapesthroughoutthecourse
bodyofknowledgeeregardingbothprehistoricandhistoricsoci- of history (e.g., Roberts et al., 2011; Mercuri, 2014; Mercuri and
etiesethatreachessofarbackintothepastandcanbecritically Sadori,2014).
evaluated in such detail. At the same time, the physical environ- From a human perspective, these various landscapes, ranging
mentoftheMediterraneanhasattractedtheattentionofgeologists, fromdesertsandsemi-desertsinthesouthtofertilerivervalleysin
geographers, climatologists and other natural scientists since the thenorth,formedtheprerequisitesforaworldofinterconnected
beginningofmodernscientificinvestigation,whichhasresultedin habitats (Horden and Purcell, 2000). It is this potential for con-
averydetailedunderstandingofthisregion'slandscapesfroman nectivitythatfacilitatedthecreationofsocialnetworkscapableof
earth-sciences perspective (e.g., Grove and Rackham, 2003; utilising the diverse niches offered by the Mediterranean region.
Lionello et al., 2006, 2012; Robinson et al., 2006; Roberts et al., The multidimensionality and great temporal depth of the Medi-
2008; Woodward, 2009; Finne(cid:1) et al., 2011; Magny et al., 2013; terranean call for a holistic and multidisciplinary study requiring
Walsh,2014;Rohlingetal.,2015).ThisiswhytheMediterranean collaborationbetween avarietyof researchdisciplinesfromboth
ewhilebeingespeciallyattractiveforresearcherscomingfromso thenaturalsciencesandthehumanities-socialsciences.
manydisciplineseposesalsoauniquemethodologicalchallenge.
Namely, in order to fully comprehend the interplay between 2. Thefoundationsofcollaboration:areourmethodologies
climate,environment,andsociety,andtotakeaccountoftheper- reallydifferent?
spectives of all the disciplines involved and of the evidence they
use,oneneedstointegratetheapproachesofnotjustscienceand Interdisciplinary collaborations need effective research strate-
archaeology,butalsoofhistoryandotherdisciplinesthatarepri- gies and operable methodologies. Cooper and Peros (2010)
marily concerned with written sources. It is also this methodo- addressed specifically the methodological challenges relating to
logical challenge that makes the Mediterranean special as theintegrationofdatasetsofdifferenttemporalandspatialscales
comparedtomanyotherregionsoftheworld(cf.CooperandPeros, across disciplines in the promotion of an archaeology of climate
2010; Westerberg et al., 2010; Kennett et al., 2012; Turner and changeintheCaribbean.MeyerandCrumley(2011)recentlypub-
Sabloff,2012;Laneetal.,2014). lished a guideline for research design in historical ecology,
Mostof the regions of the Mediterranean are also highlysen- emphasisingamongotherthingstheneedfortranslationbetween
sitivetoclimaticchanges(e.g.,Jefticetal.,1992;Lionelloetal.,2012 differentscholarlylanguages,evenwithindisciplinesifworkingin
andreferencestherein;Kovatsetal.,2014,amongothers;seealso aninternationalgroup.Whilethesemethodologicalapproachesare
Fig. 1). The relationship between climate and the local environ- quite general, focusing mainly on archaeology, and are non-
ment,however,differsfromoneregiontoanother,asthispartof Mediterranean in their focus, McCormick (2011, 2012) has
the world is characterised by a large variability of physical and recentlyledsimilarinitiativesforhistory,andwithaMediterranean
naturalcontexts,onbothlocalandregionallevel,aswellasahigh scope.Thereisalsoanincreasingnumberofarchaeologicalprojects
biodiversity (see Figs. 2 & 3). The mosaic of habitats scattered intheMediterraneanregionwithexplicitinterdisciplinaryintent.
9
7
4
5
3
2 ds
or
ec
Number of records11 65080000- 55640000- 55200000- 44860000- 44420000- 43080000- 33640000- 33200000- 22860000- 22420000- 21080000- 11640000- 11200000- 860000- 420000- yrs BP 0 average number of r
d
e
h
3 -2Weigt
5
Wetter Drier
Wetting Drying -4
7 Weighted average number
of records
Fig.3. GeneralclimatevariabilityintheeasternMediterraneanregionoverthepast6000years(afterFinne(cid:1),2014).Eachbarrepresentsthenumberofpalaeoclimaterecordsin
a200-yeartimeslicethatshowswetter/wettingordrier/dryingthanaverageconditions.
8 A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
Thefocusoftheseprojectsisonenvironmentalandclimatological palaeoenvironmental sciences (such as the geosciences or palae-
issues,such asat Ҁatal Ho€yükand Sagalassosin Anatolia (Asouti oecology). In such cases, representatives fromthe different disci-
and Austin, 2005; Boyer et al., 2006; Roberts and Rosen, 2009; plinesmaymeettogethertoworkonthesameresearchquestions,
Bakkeretal.,2012;Kaptijnetal.,2013)oratseveralsitesinTus- andmightactuallywelcomeasituationwheretheirmethodsand
canyinItaly(e.g.Bowesetal.,2015),whichhaveallproducedmany approachescouldbemergedintoanew,singlediscipline.However,
interdisciplinary publications. Butzer (2005, 2008, 2012) has there is one crucial problem with applying Wilson's ideas to the
furthermoresingle-handedlygreatlyimprovedthegeneralaware- interdisciplinarycollaborationdiscussedinthispaper.Inhisbook,
ness of the need for interdisciplinary studies connecting archae- Wilson does not express any interest in the past. His project is
ologyandthesciencesintheMediterraneanregion. focusedprimarilyonwaysinwhichthesocialsciences,humanities
Interestingly, many of these cases, in the Mediterranean and (primarily,literarystudies)andnatural(primarily,biological)sci-
elsewhere,appeartoaimatwideningtheinterdisciplinarycapacity ences can together study universal phenomena such as religion,
oftheinitiatingdisciplinebyinvitingresearchersfromotherdis- moralityorthecreationoforalandwrittentraditions.Inthisway,
ciplinestoexpandtheinterpretativescopeofarchaeologyorhis- he leaves aside whole disciplines and research traditions, in
tory,makingthescientistsineffectconsultantstoarchaeologyor particularthosethatdealwithsociety'sornature'spast.Anysuc-
history.Thishasbeenacommonstrategyinarchaeologyforalong cessful collaboration between history, archaeology and palae-
time, with onlythe spectrum of included disciplines changingor oenvironmental sciences require novel theoretical foundations,
expanding over time. Similarly e although more recently and onesthatbetterunderstandthespecificnatureofthesedisciplines,
perhaps to a lesser extent e archaeologists and historians are aswellasthecommonelementstheyshare.
invitedasco-authorsonscientificpublications.
These are all very positive developments, but what is further 2.2. Palaeoenvironmentalsciencesashistoriography
needed, we believe, are research strategies that would be inter-
disciplinary from the very beginning, where all parties have an Thereasonforthesimilaritiesbetweenhistory,archaeologyand
equal presence in the stagingof the project and determining the thepalaeoenvironmentalsciencesisthefactthattheyalldealwith
researchquestions.Onlyonequalbasiscanwebegintoconstructa the past. In all three disciplines, the object of investigation is no
true“scienceofthepast”(Cornelletal.,2010;cf.alsoCaseldineand longer accessible: most of the human societies studied by histo-
Turney,2010).Inthissection,wearguethatanimportantstepto- riansorarchaeologistsdisappearedlongago(althoughsomehave
wardsachievingthisaimisagreaterrealisationthatourdisciplines modern descendants), while the environmental conditions of in-
and our methodologies are, in essence, not as dissimilar as we teresttopalaeoenvironmentalscientistscannolongerbeobserved
commonlytendtothink. first-hand.Thelackofdirectcontactwiththestudiedphenomenon
hasastronginfluenceonthemethodologiesofthesedisciplines:all
2.1. Theconsilienceproject requirethesearchfortracesofthepastinthepresent.Inorderto
sayanythingabouttheobjectoftheirstudy,theyneednotonlya
Since the publication of Wilson's book (Wilson,1998) on the theory,butalsoahermeneutics,i.e.awayofrecognising,reading
unity of science, it has become customary to discuss interdisci- andtalkingaboutthesetracesofthepast.Inbrief,theyallstudyand
plinarycollaborationbetweenthebroadly-definedhumanitiesand writeaboutthepast,andtheyallproducehistoriographies,how-
the natural sciences within the context of his idea of consilience everdissimilar,basedonthestudyofwidelydifferingarchives.
(e.g., McCormick, 2011). Wilson's argument is based on the SincethepublicationofHaydenWhite'searliestessaysinthe
convictionthathumanknowledgeisaunity.Therefore,whentwo 1970s, there has been a growing agreement among scholars
ormoreresearchdisciplinesstudythesameproblem,thereexistsa involvedinthestudyofthetheoryofhistorythatthelackofdirect
potentialformutualexchangeandsupport.Onedisciplinecanfill accesstothepastmeansthathistoriansactuallyworkonrepre-
gaps in our understanding of a given phenomenon that another sentations of the past, rather than on the past itself. These rep-
disciplineisnotabletotreat,andviceversa.Inthisway,according resentations in turn are surprisingly similar in character to the
to Wilson, we should eventually reach a stage at which the very verbalfictionfoundinliterarywriting(Ankersmit,2000;White,
organisation of scientific disciplines will change, and researchers 1974). Thus, the discovery of new facts and explanations is al-
comingfromdifferentmethodologicalbackgroundswillbeunited waysrelatedtotheinventionofnewwaysbywhichagivenaspect
inthestudyofthesamequestions. of the past may be represented linguistically, that is, described
Regrettably, this appealing vision of how scientists from andpresented.
differentdisciplinesmightcollaborateisnoteasilyputintoprac- Consequently,the rhetoric ethat is, the rulesthat governthe
tice. One of the principal dangers is well illustrated by Wilson's useoflanguagespecifictoeachdisciplineeisacentralelementof
book itself: when seeking the “simplest possible explanation”, alldisciplinesthatdealwiththepast.Historiansandarchaeologists
Wilson often ends up proposing a sociobiological answer to the aredependentontheconventionsofspeakingandwriting.Intheir
questionsheasks.Thisisnotsurprisinggiventhathehimselfisa work,theyhavetorespectthestrategiesofconstructingnarrative
sociobiologist; but it is discouraging for a humanities or social depictionsofthepastthatareimplicitlyorexplicitlyacceptedby
sciencescholar.Suchsituationsaredifficulttoavoid.Becauseeach theircolleagues.Thisalsoincludesstrategiesofjustification,such
discipline focuses on different types of evidence and has its own as the ways in which historians or archaeologists analyse their
theoreticalfoundations,asociobiologistandahumanitiesscholar source material (White,1978). During the last four decades, hu-
will always have difficulty agreeing on questions and in- manities scholars with an interest in the past have become
terpretations (Slingerland and Collard, 2011). On the other hand, increasinglyaware thatthegoal of theirworkistoofferpossible
when no effort is made to ensure a balance between disciplines, narratives(“stories”)aboutthehumanpastratherthanarrivingat
consiliencerunstheriskofreductionism,afactthathighlightsits anyfinaltruths.Whilethesenarrativesarelimitedbytherulesthat
centralprecept,whichisthemeeting,orevenmerging,oftotally governtheirconstruction,theyremainpowerfultoolsthatcanbe
different, almost unrelated ways of studying and understanding usedtovisualisethepastandmakeitrelevanttothesocietyofthe
culturalandbiologicalphenomena. present.Itisthroughthesenarrativesthathistoriansanalyseand
At first glance, Wilson's “consilience project” seems directly explain the complex socio-cultural worlds of the societies that
relevanttothecollaborationbetweenhistory,archaeologyandthe precededourownage.
A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22 9
This same modern hermeneutics also has the potential to in the past (although modelling tools can prove helpful in this
explainthemethodologyoftheearthsciences.Twentyyearsago, context,seeArıkanetal.,inthisissue).Itispossible,however,to
Frodeman (1995) observed that geology is not just a derivative offer the type of explanation characteristic of the historical sci-
science, secondary to the classic experimental sciences such as ences, i.e. an explanation rooted in historical narrative (although
physics, biology or chemistry. Rather than describing the laws of earth science applications do not take the form found in articles
nature, the general applicability of which can be demonstrated and monographs composed by historians). Historical narrative
withthehelpofreplicableexperiments,geologyisconcernedwith explanationsconcentrateeitheronthecircumstancesthataccom-
processes and specific events from the past (Frodeman, 1995; panied the (historical) processes and events (these can be called
Inkpen, 2009). Consequently, scholars in the earth sciences also robust-processexplanations,e.g.explainingthebeginningofWorld
searchfortracesofthepast.Theyidentifyandmakesenseofsuch WarIbyexaminingthepoliticalsituationinEuropein1914),oron
traceswithinthecontextofatheorythatguidestheirresearch,just the sequence of events that led to a particular event (an actual-
ashistoriansandarchaeologistsareabletounderstandelementsof sequenceexplanation,e.g.explainingWorldWarIbyreconstruct-
thetextualormaterialrecordsofthepastandtoputthemintoa ingtheeventswhichledtothemurderofArchdukeFerdinandand
societal context, based on their knowledge of the period and its the mutual declarations of war between the superpowers that
source material. Thus, unlike in chemistry or physics, the most followed). By substituting the “Roman Warm Period” for “World
widespreadprocedureinearthsciencesistosearchforproofsofa WarI”,thesametypesofnarrativeexplanationsformtherhetorical
hypothesis, rather than attempting to falsify it through experi- frameworks for palaeoenvironmental writing as well (Kleinhans
ments. In this context, earth scientists will frequently utilise etal.,2005).
methodsoftheexperimentalsciencesonlyattheinitialstage;they In conclusion, history, archaeology and the palae-
willusethelaboratorytoprocessthematerialtracesofthepast,but oenvironmental sciences are surprisingly similar at the level of
nottoreachtheirfinalinterpretationofthephenomenatheystudy. basicmethodology.Thediscoveryandexplanationofnewfactsis
Earthscientistsneedatheorydescribingageological,ecologicalor guided by knowledge of the period and the corpus of source
environmentalpastinordertoconcludeanythingmeaningfulfrom materialthatprovidesevidenceforahistorical,archaeologicalor
the results of their laboratory analysis (Cleland, 2002). In other palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Furthermore, all disciplines
words, they need an overarching narrative that can provide the usenarrativetorepresentandexplainthepast.Thesenarratives,
necessaryframeworkintowhichtheycanaccommodatetheirown of course, are governed by the rules of rhetoric specific to each
partofthestoryaboutnature'spast(cf.Latour,1999). discipline; these rules determine how one must look for, prove,
To give a more concrete example from the field of palae- and represent a pastevent. However, the differences in rhetoric
oclimatology,climateproxiesmightbeviewedasananalogueto and research methods should not obscure the basic similarities.
the source materials used by historians and archaeologists to Scholarsworkingonthepastapproachtheirsubjectandthere-
construct their narratives of the past. The palaeoclimatologist alityofthepastinasimilarway;andagreaterrealisationofthese
seeks toelucidate pastpatterns of climate, forexample, in tem- similarities should be used to focus efforts on shaping a joint
perature or the hydrological cycle (drought, precipitation, etc.). researchagendaandnegotiatingacommonrhetoric.
Absoluteandaccuratemeasurementsoftheseandotherclimate Whatmakeourdisciplines differentareourmethods,habits,
parametersareonlyavailableforthelastfewhundredyears;for and cultural traditions, but not the essence of our work. Consil-
earliertimesscientistsneedtolookforhistoricaldocuments(e.g., ienceisalreadytheredthetaskistofindthemeansofrealisingit.
Bra(cid:1)zdil et al., 2005, 2010) or archives in nature. The latter The following sections will thus be devoted to the practical as-
comprise stratigraphic deposits that preserve biological and pectsofcooperation;itisherethatweidentifyanumberofkey
abiological signals that can be interpreted in terms of climate obstacles that hinder the process of merging what remain, at
parameters.Examplesofsuchnaturalarchivesaremarine,coastal present, separate disciplines that seek answers to very similar
plain and lake sediments, ice cores, tree rings, corals and cave questions.
speleothems(seeLuterbacheretal.,2012;Rohlingetal.,2015and
referencestherein,forareviewintheMediterraneanarea).Like 3. Thedifferentnarratives:howdohistory,archaeologyand
anarchaeologicalexcavationoratextualsource,asinglearchive thepalaeoenvironmentalsciencesconceiveoftheimpactsof
may contain several types of different climate proxies, such as climatechange?
pollen assemblages, other microfossils, trace elements, isotopes,
organicbiomarkers,etc.Variationsovertimeinthecomposition Thedifferences in therhetoricof history, archaeologyand the
andconcentrationofproxiesoccurasaresultofclimatechanges, palaeosciencesarealreadyapparentintheoverarchingnarratives
butalsobecauseofotherfactors(suchaspostdepositionalalter- usedbyresearchersfromeachofthesedisciplines;inthecaseof
ations of the material, local environmental factors, and human climatechangeanditsimpactonsociety,historians,archaeologists
influence).Thechallengeforthescientististoseparatethenoise andscientistsallconceiveoftheirsubjectindifferentways.Thus,
from the signal, describe the changes, understand the processes before engaging in a discussion of the more practical issues, it is
and, in ideal circumstances, quantify the climate-related vari- importanttofocusonhowclimatechangeisrepresentedinthese
abilityfromotherfactorsthatmayhaveaffectedtheproxysignal. three disciplines, and what reasons each of them have for being
Thesechallengescloselyresembletheonesmetbyarchaeologists interested in this phenomenon. Once we understand how the
andhistorianswhenapproachingtheirsourcematerial,beitthe climate change narrative relates to the central narratives of each
materialfromanexcavationoratextualcorpus,withtheirmany discipline and to the stories they strive to tell about the past, it
layersandtypesofincompleteinformation(seealsoTable1). becomespossibletoachievethemutualunderstandingnecessary
As with the hermeneutics, also the explanations offered by foragenuinecollaboration(cf.Butzer,2005).
palaeoscientists resemble those of historians and archaeologists
more strongly than those of typical experimental scientists 3.1. Historyandthesocietalimpactofclimatechange
(Izdebski, 2014). In fact, causative explanations of the type
preferredinphysicsorchemistryareoftenimpossibleintheearth Itisonlyrecentlythatclimatechangeanditssocietalimpacts
sciences,astherewillrarelybeenoughinformationforadetailed havebecomeanindependentsubjectofresearchwithinthedisci-
reconstructionoftheactualprocesseswhichledtoaspecificresult pline of history, and it still is not of central interest to most
10 A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
Table1
Classicaldiscipline-specificversusaninterdisciplinaryapproachtothestudyofclimateandsocietyintheMediterraneanregion.
Discipline Maindomain Commonquestion Researchfocuson Interpretationdependenton Risks
Archaeology Humanities/ Materialremainsofpast (1)Speakingandwriting Mono-causality:climate
socialsciences societies(cultural,human, conventionsofthediscipline; determinismand
faunal,plant) (2)Questionsseenascentral reductionism(climate-
Rolethatclimatehasplayedfor
History Humanities Writtenrecordproducedby withineachdisciplineand centredperspective)orno
Mediterraneansocietiesof
pastsocieties domain;(3)Strategiesof considerationofnon-
boththerecentandremote
Palaeoenvironmental Naturalsciences Marineandlakesediments, constructingnarrative anthropogenicfactorsatall
past
sciences icecores,treerings,corals, depictionsofthepast whenexplaininghuman
cavespeleothems history(anthropocentric
perspective)
historians. An awareness of the effect that regional climatic con- playaroleinourunderstandingofthehumanpast(e.g.,Cronon,
ditions can have on a particular society, however, has existedfor 1983). In this way,scholars whospecialise in this fieldstartedto
much longer, and can be linked to the development of historical bridgethegapbetweenscienceandhistory,andthenarrativesthey
geography,whichhighlightstheimportanceofnaturalconditions produced often took into account scientific perspectives on the
for local economies in historical times. Consequently, numerous problemstheystudy.
monographsonnationalandregionalhistoryincludeintroductory Unfortunately,whereastheenvironmentalhistoryofsomeparts
chaptersonenvironmentalandclimaticconditions(classicexam- oftheworldboastsagreatnumberofmonographsandstudies,and
plesofsuchintroductorychapterscanbefoundinGeyerandLefort, thushasachievedrelativematurity(whichappliesinparticularto
2003;Kaplan,1992;Martin,1993;Toubert,1973).However,mostof North America, see Sackman, 2010), the Mediterranean remains
theseintroductionsapproachthenaturalsettingoftheirregional relatively understudied. There are relatively few monographs
historiesinastaticmanner,treatingitasanenvironmentaltheatre writtenfromtheenvironmentalhistoryperspectivethatfocuson
thatremainsconstantwhilehumanactionstakeplacewithinit. thispartoftheworld(McNeill,1992;Hughes,1993;Squatriti,2002,
Aninterestinclimatechangeanditsroleinhistory,ratherthan 2013;Davis,2007;Tabak,2008;Mikhail,2011,2013;White,2013),
inthenaturalfeaturesofastudiedculturallandscape,was,andstill, andthefieldofMediterraneanenvironmentalhistoryisstillinstatu
ismuchlesswidespreadamonghistorians.Whilesuchanapproach nascendi.Infact,majorcontributionsarealsocomingfromoutside
wasfirstpursuedsome50yearsagoduetoaninterestinthecli- oftheenvironmentalhistorycommunity(e.g.,HordenandPurcell,
maticfluctuationsthataffectedpre-modernagriculture,theimpact 2000).
ofthesefluctuationsonsocietywasnotinvestigatedindetail(Le If we focus on climate as such, major historical publications
RoyLadurie,1967).Afterhalfacentury,thisapproachisstillpop- aboutitsroleinhistoryhaveonlystartedtoappearduringthelast
ular and, among the historians working in the field of “climatic decade,andthisalsoappliestotheMediterranean(suchpublica-
history”,onecanseeastrongfocusonretrievingdataconcerning tions include Koder, 1994, among the earliest; Izdebski, 2011;
pastclimateconditionsfromtextualsources(withmostofresearch White, 2011; McCormick et al., 2012; Parker, 2013; Haldon et al.,
stillbeingdonebyEuropeanscholars,inparticularthosestudying 2014). Mostof those studies tend toconsiderclimateas one fac-
NorthernEuropeeseeanoverviewinWiniwarteretal.,2004;cf. toramongmanythataffectedhumanhistory,whiletheirapproach
alsoPfister,2010). remains at the level of an initial exploration of the subject. The
Indeed,startingfromtheearlymodernperiod(afterAD1500), authors will usually start by identifying a period of “unusual
the written record often provides data about extreme weather climate” (typically years ordecades of weatherconditions unfav-
events (e.g., Pfister, 1999; Wetter et al., 2014) or the dates that ourabletoagricultureandthewidereconomy)andthenlookfor
harvestsbeganinagivenyear(LeRoyLadurieetal.,2006;Meier evidence of actual reactions. They concentrate on how historical
etal.,2007;WetterandPfister,2011,2013),andtheseturnoutto societiescoped withtheenvironmental effectsofclimaticfluctu-
be surprisinglyaccurate palaeoclimaticproxies(see Br(cid:1)azdil etal., ations,onthesocialandpoliticalinstitutionsthatwereinvolvedin
2005, 2010 for reviews). A continued interest in the reconstruc- thisprocess,andfinallyonthesignificanceofthesephenomenafor
tion of climatic conditions is symptomatic of how historians thecentralnarrativeofthehistoryofagivenperiod(suchasthe
approach the role of climate in human history. Even after the medievalorearlymodernperiods).Whereasmostofthesestudies
appearance,inthelate1970s,ofthefirstpublicationsthatinves- focusprimarilyoneconomyandmigration,theysharenounified
tigatedtheimpactofclimateonearlymodernsocieties(e.g.,Pfister, theoreticalframework.Theoutcomeofsuchexploratoryresearch
1978), the dominant approach still focused more on climate dependsonthe evidenceavailable (thatis, on theextant written
reconstructionthantheimpactsofclimatechange.Thismayhave record),bothintermsoftheissuesthatcanbecovered,thechro-
beenduetothefactthatatthisearlystagestilllittlereliablesci- nological resolution of the narrative, and the degree of certainty
entific information was available on how climate had changed thatcanbeattributedtotheresults.
duringtheHolocene. Acommoncharacteristicofthehistorians'approachtothestudy
Thesituationbecomesmore promisingwhenweconsiderthe ofthesocietalimpactofclimatechangeisthattheyrarelyaimto
studyof the roleof climatein the past within the context of the establish general laws that govern the ways in which societies
entirefieldof‘environmentalhistory’;thestudyofclimateisjust respond to climate change. They consider climatic fluctuation as
oneofseveralsub-fieldsofthisflourishingdisciplineofhistorical one of several factors that has influenced the course of history
research and not necessarily the most developed one (McNeill, (othersincludepolitical,economic,religious,andculturalprocesses
2003). More importantly, from the very beginning the best work and institutions). When an historian focuses too strongly on cli-
inenvironmentalhistory,whilemakinguseofwrittensourcesand maticfactors,colleagueswilloftenaccusethehistorianof“climate
traditionalmethodsofhistoricalanalysis,engagedactivelywiththe determinism”and“reductionism”.Goodexamplesarethereactions
scientific research in relevant fields, such as plant biology or to recent studies concerning the impact of the Medieval Climate
palaeoecology, whichis necessary if environmental factors are to Anomaly(MCA)onthehistoryoftheEasternMediterranean:while
A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22 11
acautiousmonographbyBulliet(2009)wasreceivedinagenerally and Bahn, 2012). Processual archaeology emphasised the use of
positiveway(e.g.,Matthee,2011;Paton,2011;Zakrzewski,2012), scientific methods and explanatory models focusing on social,
thefarmoredeterministicapproachofEllenblum(2012)hasmet economic, and political processes, such as human adaptations to
with considerably more reservations (Burke, 2013; Frankopan, theirsurroundingswhichwouldhelparchaeologiststoidentifyand
2013;White,2013). describe similar strategies and trajectories within and between
To some extent, the tendency to downplay the role of climate regions (Malone and Stoddart, 1998). This trend was further
change is justified and understandable: we know so much about amplifiedbythelandscapeapproachtoregionalsocietaldevelop-
historical societies, especially from Classical Greece onwards, that mentsoughtbyarchaeologicalfieldsurveyprojectsthatmultiplied
historiansoftenfeelthereisnoneedtoconsidernon-anthropogenic duringthe1970sand1980s(AlcockandCherry,2004;thesurface
factorsinordertodescribeandexplainhumanhistory.Theobser- surveymethodologywaspioneeredbytheSouthEtruriaSurveyin
vations that Jan de Vries made in the Journal of Interdisciplinary the 1950s: Ward-Perkins,1962,1964). Points of interest included
History in1980 are,therefore,stillvalid:“Since feweconomichis- hypothesisedvariationsinrainfall,withdrierorwetterconditions
torianscaretochallengethehistoricalexistenceofclimatechange, potentiallyaffectingeconomic circumstances and land use in the
perse,thefateofclimatechangeasasignificantvariableinhistorical past(e.g.,vanAndeletal.,1986;Bottemaetal.,1990).Ofcontinued
studies hinges on the successful development of a means of scholarlyinterestinthisrespectistheimpactofclimatevariations
measuring its influence. It might be fair to say that historians are (or rather weather variations) on notable phases of increased
psychologicallyready,eveneager,fortheriseofclimaticchangeasa sedimentation, although the impact always needs to be weighed
vehicleoflong-termhistoricalexplanation,butdonotpossessthe againstthe possibilityofhuman-induced and seismo-tectonically
means of distinguishing its impact from among the many other drivenchanges(Fuchs,2007;Mercuri,2008;Masietal.,2013a,b;
variablesatworkonhumansociety”(Vries,1980,p.624). Pepe et al., 2013; Weiberget al., 2015, this issue). Considerations
ofclimatevariabilityareoftensecondarytothosedealingwiththe
3.2. Archaeologyandthesocietalimpactofclimatechanges visibleeffectsoflandscapeinstabilitiesandenvironmentalchange,
which in turn have been prioritised in explanations of cultural
Archaeologyisthestudyofthepastthroughthelensofmaterial change(butseeWhitelaw,2000;Butzer,2005forcautions).
culture.Amongthekeyissuesthatconcernarchaeologistsarethe Sincethe1990s,archaeologistshavebeguntomakeuseofeor
type, scale and pace of changes that took place in the past, as relate their conclusions to e actual climate archives. Most
suggested by variations within and between archaeological con- commonly,asinthehistoricalecologyresearchframeworkdevel-
texts.These contexts canbe constructed horizontally(synchroni- oped in the 1990s (Crumley,1994; McIntosh et al., 2000; Bale(cid:1)e,
cally)onasocietal,regional,localorspecificlevel(suchasagrave,a 2006; Meyer and Crumley, 2011), such studies integrate the
house or a room with its context) or vertically (diachronically), investigationofclimateandenvironmentwiththatofhumanso-
linkedtogetherthroughtimeintheconstructionofrelativechro- cieties in the assessment of diachronic variability in regional
nologies.Whethervisibleinthelayeringofstratainanexcavation landscapes(Redmanetal.,2004;forMediterraneanexamples,e.g.,
orinthedevelopmentofacertainpotteryshape,thesesequences Hassan,2000,2008;vanderLeeuw2000,2009).Inthe Mediter-
arearchaeologicalvisualisationsofsocietalprocessesandchanges raneanareaandelsewhere,however,someoftheclimaterecords
thatoccurredinlivingcircumstancesandlifestylesovertime.Any most frequently referred to in a variety of archaeological studies
suchevidenceofcontinuityorchangecallsforinterpretation. relatetospecificclimaticeventsthathave,inturn,beenlinkedto
Considerationsofclimateandclimatechangehavealonghis- episodes of accentuated cultural transformations, or periods of
tory within Mediterranean archaeological interpretation, but the “collapse”(Dalfesetal.,1997;Mercurietal.,2011;andthepapers
modes of application have changed in response to various theo- published in this special issue, such as Cremaschi et al., 2015;
retical and methodological developments (see Wiener, 2013). Xoplakietal.,2015;Izdebskietal.,2015).Insuchcases,although
Archaeologically retrieved material is diverse, both thematically mostofthescholarshipisproducedbyclimateresearchersinthe
and chronologically, and engages a similarly diverse makeup of natural sciences, the climate events are often used byarchaeolo-
disciplines for its interpretation. Specialisation is common ac- gists as a potential X-factor e the ultimate trigger forany visible
cording to different historical periods (e.g., Bronze Age, Archaic, culturalchange(deMenocal,2001;Weiss,2000;Weissetal.,1993;
Roman), types of artefacts (e.g. pottery, inscriptions) or types of WeissandBradley,2001commonlyreferencedbyotherarchaeol-
ecofacts (human, faunal and plant remains), with separate sub- ogists;cf.Leroy,2013).
disciplines for environmental and biological archaeology. Geo- Concurrently, ingeneralarchaeologicaltheory,an increasingly
archaeological studies help to complete the picture through vocalcalloccurredforgreatercontextualityandindividuality,that
analyses of dialectics between archaeological and earth science is, an increased focus on regional and local diversity in the
archivesintheformationofpastlandscapes.Archaeologythereby archaeological record and the ideas and intentions of the people
incorporatesresearchspecialitiesthatspanthehumanitiesandthe thatcreatedit.Thisinterpretativeshiftwaspartoftheresponseto
social as well as the natural sciences. Expertise from the natural earlyprocessualarchaeology,andincludedanincreasedemphasis
sciencesisfurthersoughtforareassuchasprovenancestudiesof on the people in the past as active participants in shaping their
pottery,analysesofsediments,andradiocarbondating,whilenew surroundingseratherthanmerelyadaptingtothemeandthereby
interdisciplinaryperspectivesarecontinuouslybeingadded. producing a heterogeneous archaeological record (Yoffee and
Notions of climate and climate change are traditionally and Sherratt,1993;Hodder,2012).Atfirstglance,thispost-processual
seamlessly incorporated into reconstructions of past landscapes turnmayseemtodownplaytheimportanceofclimate,andmany
and environments and, by extension, made relevant to the archaeological interpretations are constructed on a spatial level
archaeological record. For the Mediterranean region, combining where there is little emphasis on climate considerations. On a
climate and environmental studies with archaeology has been a communal, societal and supra-societal level, however, and by
common practice at least since the evolution of the systemic avoidingmonocausalinterpretations,anumberofMediterranean
thinking of processual archaeology (or New Archaeology), which archaeologistsdonowengagemoreactivelywithclimatearchives
was a response to the descriptive approach of cultural historical andattempttoaddressissuesofgeographicalvariation,toevaluate
archaeology in the 1960s and 70s (for the general history of criticallypotentialcausallinksandtoconsidermultivariatemodels
archaeologicaltheoryandmethod,seee.g.Hodder,2012;Renfrew for societal development and cultural change (for Mediterranean
12 A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
studies,see,e.g.,WeibergandFinne(cid:1),2013;Arıkan,2014;Schneider timewherethereisanassumedcorrelationandnotperiodslacking
and Adalı, 2014). This, in turn, engenders a dialogue about the correlation,andthereisariskofsubjectivityinvolvedinthedata
impactsofclimatechangeandthedifferentialcapabilitiesofpeo- collectionandchoice.
ple,communitiesandsocietiesindealingwithclimate(andenvi- One recent example is the paper in the prestigious scientific
ronmental)changeandperiodsofrapidculturaltransformation(cf. journal Science entitled “Quantifying the Influence of Climate on
McAnanyandYoffee,2010;Butzer,2012). HumanConflict”(Hsiangetal.,2013).Theauthorscompiledalarge
In summary, considerations of climate and environment must number of studies concerning historic climate-societal relation-
playaroleinarchaeologicalinterpretationsandshouldbeactively ships and concluded “We find strong casual evidence linking cli-
investigated by archaeologists. Most archaeologists today work matic events to human conflict across a range of spatial and
witha largetheoreticaland methodologicaltool boxand climate temporal scales and across all major regions of the world”. The
andclimatechangeareviewedasoneofmanyfactorsthatinflu- paperhasbeenwidelycitedbothinthesciencecommunityandin
encedlivesandinducedsocietalchangesinthepast. popular media. While the conclusions may not necessarily be
wrong,examinationoftheevidenceuponwhichthepaperisbuilt
3.3. Palaeoenvironmentalsciencesandthesocietalimpactof highlights the fact that certain aspects of the study need to be
climatechanges addressedfurther,andscientificmethodsneedtobebetterdevel-
opedbeforethesekindsofconclusionscanbeconvincinglydrawn
The scientific interest in studying, and the general interest in (Buhaugetal.,2014;cf.alsoanearlierpaperbyFan,2010).Argu-
understanding, past, present and future climate variability, has mentsaboutthelinksbetweenclimateandsocietalchangesshould
grownexponentiallyinrecentdecades,reflectinghumanconcern be careful when using correlations between large-scale regional
aboutglobalclimatechange.Thisconcernwasfundamentaltothe climate syntheses and local historical and archaeological records,
formation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sincelocalclimatedynamicscandiffersignificantlyfromregional
(IPCC)in1988.Sincethen,theIPCChasproducedfiveassessment averages.Moreover,onthescientificsidethedataareoftenaffected
reportsaboutthecurrentknowledgeandstatusofissuesrelatedto bychronologicaluncertaintiesthathinderconclusionsaboutcausal
climate change (www.ipcc.ch). To gather the majority of leading, relationships,whileonthesocietalsideanargument,inordertobe
world-class scientists in a field and succeed in reaching a broad conclusive,requiresa plausible, historically-grounded model that
consensusaboutanumberofcontroversialissuesisarareinitiative would explain observed correlations. Even in cases where the
and remains a very unusual working approach in the academic chronologicalcontrolisgoodenoughforprecisecomparisons(e.g.,
world. varves, ice-cores, tree-rings, corals), the fact that two events
Moreover, the development of IPCC and the current global happenatthesametimeshouldnotbetakenuncriticallyassolid
warminghasspurredrapidmethodologicaldevelopmentintech- evidence of causation. It is crucial to understand the formative
niques and approaches for the study of past climate at high- processesbehindeachofthedatasetsinvokedinsuchcomparisons,
resolution scales. The iconic so-called “hockey stick” graph pub- wherenon-climaticfactorsarealsotakenintoaccount.Thepaper
lishedbyMannetal.(1998;1999)andreferredtointhe2001IPCC byHsiangetal.(2013)seemstohavespurredsuchresearchefforts
report (Folland et al., 2001; Fig. 4a), motivated other palae- amongsocialscientistswhowerehighlycriticalofhisconclusions
oscientiststotestandrefinetheanalysis.Thisresultedinamore (e.g., van de Vliert and Tol, 2014; Bollfrass and Shaver, 2015; Liu
nuancedviewofourcurrentunderstandingofthepatternofpast et al., 2015), in a similar way that the “hockey stick” stimulated
climatevariability,summarisedinthe2007IPCCreports(Janssen researchinthefieldofpalaeoscience!
etal.,2007,Fig.4b)and2013(Masson-Delmotteetal.,2013,Fig.4c).
Palaeoclimatologyseeks todescribe local, regional, and global
patterns of climate and their variability over time, and to under- 3.4. Summary
stand the processes behind these patterns and changes. This
requires a synthesis of knowledge from several scientific disci- Interdisciplinaryworkinrelationtoclimatechangewasiniti-
plines,includingmeteorology,climatology,physics,sedimentology, ated primarily on New World and Northern European material
geochemistry, palynology, hydrology, limnology, dendrochro- and the results of these studies provide a valuable point of de-
nology, statistics, climate modelling and the marine sciences. parture for similar efforts in the Mediterranean region. The
Palaeoclimatologists often work in teams with experts from disciplinaryoverviewsabovemakeclearthatitwasonlyduring
different fields, and theyare trained in synthesising data and in- thelastdecadesthatsuchresearchagendashavegraduallygained
formation from the various fields. The subject has evolved from forceintheMediterranean.Itisclear,however,thatwearestillfar
beingmostlydescriptivetoincludingmorequantitativemethods, from achieving a balanced and comprehensive approach to
usingdata-modellingcomparisonsandstatisticalapproaches. incorporating the potential impact of climate on societies, an
Themethodologicaldevelopmentinthefieldofpalaeoclimate, approachthatwouldbeacceptabletoallinvolveddisciplines.As
in combination with the global warming issue, has also inspired we have observed, simplifications are not limited to just one
geoscientists to explore the connection between climate change discipline,andtheimportanceascribedtoclimatevariesfromone
andsocietalchangefromanhistoricalperspective,oftenwiththe scholarly community to another. Still, few archaeologists and
goal of learning for the future. However, when natural scientists historiansarefullyabletoassimilatenaturalscienceperspectives
engageinthesekindsofsyntheses,itisnotinfrequentlydonewith on palaeoclimate and this can lead to overly simplistic correla-
atendencytooverestimatetheroleofclimateinsocietalchanges. tionswiththearchaeologicalorhistoricalrecord.Thereisaneed,
Scientistsoftenunderestimatethemultitudeofotherfactorsthat, therefore, foran increased awareness among archaeologists and
fromtheperspectiveofsocialsciencesandhumanities,alsoaffect historiansaboutthepotentialmarginsoferrorinclimatedataand
human societies, simply because their knowledge about these foraddressingthereal-timeimpactofclimatechangeonachro-
factors and the driving forces behind them is limited. When nologicalscalerelevanttohumans.Scientists,ontheotherhand,
comparinghigh-resolutionclimaterecordswithinformationabout shouldacknowledgethecomplexityofpastsocietiesandcollab-
past history and archaeology, focus is often on proving the hy- oratewitharchaeologistsandhistoriansinordertofittheirown
pothesisthatclimatechangerelatedtoasocietalcrisis/collapse.In data into the proper archaeologicalehistorical, i.e. societal,
these cases, scientists tend to discuss only the specific period in context.
A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22 13
Fig.4. NorthernHemisphereannualtemperaturereconstructions:a)IPCC2001(Follandetal.,2001),onereconstruction;b)IPCC2007(Janssenetal.,2007),multiplere-
constructionsusingdifferentdataandtechniques;c)IPCC2013(Masson-Delmotteetal.,2013),multiplereconstructionsusingdifferentspatialextent.Theinstrumentalrecordis
comparedwithpalaeoclimaticreconstructions(fordetailsseethecorrespondingIPCCreports).Thecontinuousdevelopmentofnewpalaeoclimaterecordsandimprovedanalytical
techniquesdemonstratethatthenaturalclimatevariabilityisnotassimpleasbelievedin2001.
4. Communicationanduseofdata:possibilitiesandobstacles combination. There are, for instance, three main specialist fields
relating to the medieval Mediterranean, each based in different
Regardless of our discipline, we tend to view our own data departments and taughtin differentways: Westernmedievalists,
differently from the data of others (see Table 2). Even when we whoreadLatinandthelocallanguagesof theWesternEuropean
presentourdatatoscholarsfromoutsideourownfield,thereisa countries;Byzantinists,whoreadprimarilyGreeksources,notably
tendency to speak at the level of our own discipline-specific from Eastern Mediterranean regions; and Arabists or Islamicists,
interpretational frameworks; in other words, we avoid more who focus on the Arabic texts, from regions as different as the
descriptive ways of speaking that have the potential to facilitate Iberian Peninsula, North Africa or the Levant. It would also be
interdisciplinarycommunication,especiallyatthebeginning.This difficult tofind an archaeologist willing toprovidedetailedcom-
biastowardsalanguagethatalreadycarriesinterpretationmeans mentsonthefullchronologicalsequenceofasedimentcore,evenif
that a considerable amount of specialist knowledge is already thearchaeologistinquestionwasaspecialistinthespecificregion
involvedintheprocessofcommunication,andthattheinterpre- from which the core was taken. From the point of view of a
tationofdataisheavilyinfluencedbytheexplanatorymodelsand palaeoenvironmentalscientist,thesedifferencesmakeitdifficultto
narrativesdominantineachdiscipline.Inordertoachievefruitful identifyaspecialistwhocouldhelptointerprettheresultsoftheir
collaboration,webelieveitisnecessarytocommunicateourdatain ownwork.Inordertofindrelevantspecialistswhocanprovidethe
themoststraightforwardway;inmanyinstances,thiswouldmean necessary data from a completely different type of archive, be it
asimpledescriptionoftheevidence(alongwiththerelevanterror naturaloranthropogenic,itisfirstnecessarytolearnhowtheother
associated with climate reconstructions), rather than interpreta- disciplinesoperate.
tion.Formostofusthisnecessitatessteppingoutsidethecomfort Apartfromthesedisciplinarydifferences,therearefourspecific
zone of our various research traditions and actively setting aside points of concern which need to be addressed and developed in
the disciplinary frames of reference that may obscure communi- ordertofacilitatetheprocessesofcommunicationandcollabora-
cation.Itrequiresustodiscussandjuxtaposethewords,termsand tion.Theyare: terminologies, project design, publication cultures
definitions used in our different disciplines in order to cross the andresearchimpact.
barriersofmisunderstandingsanddevelopnewhypotheses(Leroy,
2006). 4.1. Terminologies
One of the first obstacles we encounter in our attempts to
reconcileourvariousdisciplinaryframesofreferenceistheinternal When we speak about our work and its results, we tend to
organisationofthedisciplinesthemselves.Whilescientiststendto employ the jargon common to our discipline, often not readily
specialise according to a method of analysis, archaeologists and accessibletoscholarsfromoutsideourownfield.Anyscholarwho
historians tend to specialise according to periods, regions, types wishes to be involved with interdisciplinary research concerning
of evidence or even the languages of their sources, often in the societal impacts of past climate change must familiarise
14 A.Izdebskietal./QuaternaryScienceReviews136(2016)5e22
themselvesnotonlywiththejargonoftheirowndisciplineeeither
Publicationculture:limitations Focusedonsocialprocesses,butopentofiscienticmethods Verylittleplacefortheconsiderationoffiscienticevidenceandreasoning Centralroleattributedtonaturalfactors jictnctBascinsaeetolosuosiorrrnnmulotgmmeoozctorevdaegeedissnetnxripeiec,nsotonstra.2ftsuolal,otdIs0fcnwondcpg1ihodvaiyir2atfmtelofhv)hhaeerbxoesasiieraeynsrienenditcdnynoaaawdoiicgsrnpstlcayepl,dcwaaauysaoisrdppsscetarteeserelilpdsicetelbdn,opoeu,naaepdfelttdsadasocaeei.d.freihrnfnJdcEcddeaadwolarerinriciesmencgfiinogctshnoenghneimscp,ne:icooeinloeawttifsntsnenpnthhthneitldmthenysih,edleweeessfcutesraaoepetshldonmeomreaimimimccdslndepaohcgieeeicwlnnbpcevsnlocoiaaxiletmceetinlsialnlhoptoiiraycarmigbtpyntersyuenyas(catacTuotoraroroaaaoltenrctrniilleusocnhosietnenongtabhrapedieesedewrsrt.olco,stisaufiThlsprttof2oeneeehoegs0frdtrdcfuymite0ttiechheficn8tareihnoeec--t;l
nant graph metric wgisotrskawnidthihniscteonritaennsnigaelnoerreavlleynsmtriivlleenfnoiralatimtigehstcearlecsh,raorncohlaoegoicloa-l
Publicationculture:domigenres Archaeologicalarticleormonograph Historicalarticleormono fiScienticarticle(inbibliojournals) idsraametrgiasesepnco,Wnioldpdufrholcattiiraienslonerentttohaiaft(ietrncoieefsk.maaWeaciowmyhrsarcaptilovrdsoehenpiss,casoce2airifbptpt0,lhlt0eisaodn4.wteeT;opthReotaeeorhinlrmnbieedmteiaornibrtwtnesehyad,hect2ereetb0rhrre1ytteeha1lie)rteno.ehsvbepteahjrnedeedctismtofedsfmeenisrssticeatntiunthpaidcavnleiitetnesfsdeaseslcolehufwwonielhidtatahierccilrinhhys-
a common terminology or even an interdisciplinary language.
oenvironmentalsciences. Commontemporalscales Decadaltocentennialresolution(yearsBC/AD) Annualtodecadalresolution(yearsBC/AD):higherchronologicalresolutionwithrelevancetohumanperceptionDecadaltocentennialresolution(yearsBP,lessoftenBC/AD):anomalies,abruptevents,versusgradualtrends KstvtcanMehuenuiimtenepcdlinyihzotrsseien,n,grcrtaas,rahortaevb2uenensai0yrcilgdralie0yiatalepy3Ciresnnt;eruciciuaninFaaeemnovlgl,nrdolltekdcaeoloaeeviyofvdfs,ioflney(ebo2(r2grGot0si0hnaxiu0t1tohgyn61ifln,roo,;ddetorpreeSsiedr.nhhrigsn1dsoioit1sctiolhnsta1ldnaoceresiiartrph1iiannac1lunediang2nmdtld)paHeaarolsotcliynci.isol,npailtutlilt2poniescef0igge,orns1y,omage0a,m2ss;pa0penlwwwS0ovedm2xieehen;nllaiiltalctlRshdaihl,afes,atstdathpot2hsmhetr0ediisevp1asieerke0nasvdo)rces.aatocelynnoAifinosadpds---fl
aeology,historyandthepalae Projectdesign:limitedby PreservationofthematerialevidencedeterminedbyculturalandenvironmentalprocessesPreservationandavailabilityofthetextualevidencedeterminedbysocialprocessesAvailabilityandpreservationofnaturalarchivesdeterminedbychemico-physicalandanthropogenicfactors aptdtecaohoxdoacemptoioaSnirpnsmcpiteatnhglsiommecnisufeetigeoenanvnntegccrhyeeaulearaltasn.tisntmaohioBugfiibinnPdeugcs,,tyaahei(wtegoreeoivseomrrenan(fbmstptWoihp2loruoeakeonisyti,fnibtiemabotedfelefcaprrhfgmaatdborenceiyriomstdletincoatapioythpfrloeeli.celo,smriale2ngairmv0pliaoca21rocauary05rotlira,0eocsrlirueo0cnselsm)rhcvletaaaeihmsdlntnseoiiissogusslwtuecnsneistipsaipt(i,ceodhelwiaic.nsngttioeiah.etofalmhsennBi.hes.mudCisWsss/uottrAteohdaesD)rrdiet.litrseuaFi(invncooogeaesrrf
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nicatingandusingdatainarc Projectdesign:primaryfocus Socialphenomenaorlocationswhichcanbeexcavatedorsurveyed Asocialphenomenon,agroupofsources,preservationoftextualevidenceNaturalsiteswithpalaeoclimateandpalaeoenvironmentalarchives 4Bedt(hsf.Ci2efseoEce.Irn/itpCtPaegrlEefriooma)naj,riceeniohtcnrhctToodevadlniobiersccglesceeeiypigpiv2vrnulee)eis.nrssseeeaodn,)ftraticesothsiuevrdonaeernlsoicokcfhrleooilbpnygeryeao,tddjaeipinfcsrftcdeesirsp,aeelwlninsnothte,ecbitthteohrwceoloeronmauosrlmelndofgahralieomlc-qwaiuloliiarparnereloarlwtiriothgitdteelhesr-
traditionalwaysofcommu Specialisationby Archaeologicalperiods,regions,materials,andmethods Historicalperiods,regions,languages(cultures)ofthetexts Methodsofanalysisandregions secaswtahctanrnaicaetscsrihlywheoetain,neaetwasorngorsdilewdsophtegfidohosyeieicnc)ltsra.dohtiigbTafnmcehosrea,tcreoudnhorhddareiibyneesaeostgdoilfi(egoicrtnxfnhigofaeeeierncdroersaaseefdcllnl,oiiyptsnarsrtrpwuoeseeurtijartevasdyhctaeiseoetyls.ssdrfceoWiduwpap,shlrcuirsoineoootarramtblceelrliyeaynmeaxsmlfoocpoepanrcrnhvouomvaejrsseitnratecooqrotdtnaenumsnrmestiedmasopnestleuinopocsstnwoinrtafiou,licttvtrhsahtcilchdkeoeiinyeees--
viewof mental intoScaicecnotuisnttswrehlyatoinsftehaesibavleaiwlaibthiliintyeoacfhnadtiuscriapllisnitee.s that contain
er n palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental archives, and on their
Table2Generalisedov Discipline Archaeology History Palaeoenvirosciences nosatrfaactathuenirvtaohelfsrcodphperaoepngsegeenernsdviacwotniionouvnfllad.ureiTtonhhuceeseo.parevThtahyiicseliaacibladliylelifbataylecatsaorintcrusdh,aiavtpeserdewfsoieenrlrlavraneasctaiooornnensatthowrefuicststchuiancalhges