| Abstract: |
Dendrochronology is applied in cultural-heritage research including archaeology to determine the exact calendar age of ancient wood. Such age determinations contribute significantly to assessments of the meaning of archaeological and architectural structures in terms of their chronological and cultural context. This method uses the fact that in climate zones with distinct growing seasons (i.e. outside the tropics and subtropics) trees respond to seasonal temperature differences with a growth stop in autumn, after which growth starts again in spring. This seasonal rhythm is laid down in annual growth rings. The width of each ring reflects the environmental conditions during the growing season, such as temperature, precipitation and soil conditions, as well as local impacts such as flooding, fire and forest clearing or thinning. The alteration of wide and narrow growth rings in ancient wood provides a key to the exact period during which this wood was formed. As an absolute dating method dendrochronology is restricted to the last 12,000 years (Holocene), although the availability of reference chronologies means that in some regions dates are only possible for more recent time periods. Obtaining absolute dates through dendrochronology results in tree-ring measurement series that, when combined, are useful for the reconstruction of former trade/exchange networks, the former landscape and its uses, wood technology and other topics. Therefore it is essential that measurement series are deposited in trusted repositories and made available for follow-up research. |
