By Kyle Lent (MMA Student)
An instrumental tool in providing dating for archaeologists, dendrochronology is firmly grounded in the principle of cross dating to identify synchronous rings in separate trees. This method provides an absolute date in history, accurate to the calendar year. Defined as “the method of employing tree-rings as a measurement of time…and…the process of inferring past environmental conditions that existed when the rings were being formed…” (Bannister 1963: 161), dendrochronology has undergone a period of explosive growth in the past three decades. Today, more than 100 tree-ring dating programs cover all areas of the globe (Dean 1997: 31).
Dendrochronology Sample. Image Courtesy livius.org
