LISS.398A TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT and HUMAN ADAPTATION:
PART I EARLY PEOPLES in
the NEW WORLD
CLIMATE CHANGE: DENDROCLIMATOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Annual growth rings in certain species of trees vary in
width in response to climate change (both temperature and
precipitation). Ring patterns indicative of successive
annual climatic conditions are similar in different trees
(of the same or similar species). Thus overlapping of ring
patterns in different wood specimens allows construction of
lengthy dendroclimatilogical series characteristic of
specific geographic regions.
Dendroclimatic data can be dated simply by counting rings
(dendrochronology). These dates are more precise than
radio carbon dates. Dendrochronologically dated,
dendroclimatic data in the U. S. Southwest is available for,
roughly,
the last 2000 years.
Colorado School of Mines
Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies
Dr. Joseph D. Sneed
jsneed@mines.edu
