Can Scientific Data Be Historical Evidence?

While pioneering efforts have been made by various historians to integrate scientific knowledge in their research, history as a discipline has not engaged a general reflection on the use of scientific data. The starting point of this paper is to clarify what is meant by science. The term “science” refers here only to natural sciences and in particular to laboratory data that carry information about the past.  The evolution of laboratory techniques makes it possible today to have much more precise and high-definition data at a time scale useful for historians, not centuries by decades and years.  How can historians access these data?  Is the use of science beneficial to history, and if so how?  As of now, a mountain of laboratory data published in scientific journals lies  completely unused and largely inaccessible. These data are a resource that, especially in the case of ancient DNA studies, climate change, and soil and pollen analysis, could add important dimensions to our understanding of the evolution of human societies, populations movements, environmental change and other historical questions.  The integration of historical and scientific knowledge, however, poses problems not limited to methodology. Potentially, the presence of the historian in the science lab may lead to a significant transformation of our understating of history.  Also, scientists may benefit from historical explanations to provide context for their data.  In this process, however, scientists and historians will have to confront challenges deriving from different understandings of concepts central to their analysis, such as causality and anachronism.