User: Pointe-à-Callière : Cité d’archéologie et d’histoire de Montréal
Disciplines that study the human past, such as history and archaeology, often rely on incomplete and imprecise data. These data can vary depending on time and place, but in some cases, the lack of certainty can be considerable. Archaeology has a long history of incorporating cutting-edge methods and technologies to shed light on the gray areas involved in understanding the past. In this project, we aim to study microorganisms as witnesses to past activities and environments.
Knowing that some microorganisms prefer certain substances and environmental conditions, researchers hope to better understand human activities by studying fossilized DNA found in soils. This could provide insights into how humans lived, including how they interacted with and changed their environment, their activities, the materials they used, the plants they cultivated, and the waste they produced. For this study, the microbial ecosystems of soils at Fort Ville-Marie will be explored.
A method to differentiate fossilized DNA from living DNA will be developed for the project. The study of microbial communities of the past will pave the way for a better understanding of humans and the traces they have left behind.