Michael McCormick: Using DNA To Unlock History's Secrets
What do an astrophysicist, oceanic chemist, archaeologist, literary historian, and a paleobotanist have in common?
According to Professor of Medieval History Michael McCormick, they are all key players in the interdisciplinary cooperation needed to better our understanding of the history of humanity.
“We know more today than we did last Friday about the past. And last Friday we knew more about the past than any other human civilization that’s ever existed on the face of the earth,” McCormick said.
In his studies of medieval history and climate, he has found that this interdisciplinary approach is extremely powerful for unearthing new data, and has led to a revolution in the way medieval archaeology is done.
“We’re getting real serious answers that we couldn’t have even posed the questions two years ago,” he said.
McCormick applies these varied fields of research to problems ranging from medieval climate to the fall of the Roman Empire, in order to solve the ultimate question of our origin and heritage.
Doing “a sweep with geomagnetic sensors,” McCormick and his team were able to discover what they believe is one of Charlemagne’s estates dating from the eighth century.
“Really one of the most exciting things that is happening today is the application of the natural sciences to the problem of our human past,” he said. “Where do we come from, who are we?”
Read entire article at Harvard Crimosn
According to Professor of Medieval History Michael McCormick, they are all key players in the interdisciplinary cooperation needed to better our understanding of the history of humanity.
“We know more today than we did last Friday about the past. And last Friday we knew more about the past than any other human civilization that’s ever existed on the face of the earth,” McCormick said.
In his studies of medieval history and climate, he has found that this interdisciplinary approach is extremely powerful for unearthing new data, and has led to a revolution in the way medieval archaeology is done.
“We’re getting real serious answers that we couldn’t have even posed the questions two years ago,” he said.
McCormick applies these varied fields of research to problems ranging from medieval climate to the fall of the Roman Empire, in order to solve the ultimate question of our origin and heritage.
Doing “a sweep with geomagnetic sensors,” McCormick and his team were able to discover what they believe is one of Charlemagne’s estates dating from the eighth century.
“Really one of the most exciting things that is happening today is the application of the natural sciences to the problem of our human past,” he said. “Where do we come from, who are we?”