Analysis and Evaluation of the Sources of Variation in Tree-Rings from Mesa Verde National Park (Progress Report)

Abstract

The study of tree-ring series, called dendrochronology, was originally conceived by A. E. Douglass as a tool for studying sun-spot cycles. He developed a system of cross- dating which provided for the accurate age determination of rings and this made possible the precise dating of archaeological sites. More recently Edmund Schulman used the width measurements of dated tree-rings as estimates of past climatic and stream -flow patterns.Such applications appeared to have greater precision when the tree -ring samples came from so called "sensitive sites" (i.e., drained ridges or slopes). The present study is the first of a series designed to further assess the effect of site and to provide an estimate of the relative magnitude of each of the sources of variation. The study is supported by the National Geographic Society, Wetherill Mesa Project at Mesa Verde National Park.