Workshop Examines Climate Change and Human Response in the History of Western Eurasia from AD 1 to 1600

Abstract

On November 28, the Harvard Initiative for the Science of the Human Past and the Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) co-sponsored a day-long workshop on “Climate Change and Human Response in the History of Western Eurasia, AD 1-1600.” Convened and chaired by Michael Mc- Cormick, Goelet professor of medieval history, the workshop brought together scholars from all sides of the traditional divisions between the humanities, social and natural sciences. The goal was to review recent progress and explore the potential to further combine historical and archaeological records with high-resolution palaeo climate proxy data to better understand the development of climate across this broad period and region—and ultimately, climate’s influence on human society.