Science haS long been making an enormous contribution to our understanding of the ancient past. Archaeology is simply unthinkable without it,
and the study of various types of source material from inscriptions and coins
to papyri and palimpsests has greatly benefited from scientific analysis. In recent years, the contribution of science has broadened even further as entirely
new types of evidence from genetics to climate proxies have been brought to
bear on historical inquiries. Thanks to this accelerating expansion, the study of
history in general is now approaching a new stage of interdisciplinarity that
is firmly grounded in the recognition that human and natural history are intimately and inseparably intertwined.