Ithaca College

Carol Griggs, from Cornell University's Tree Ring Lab, will present research on dendrochronology from the Pliestocene to the present. Tuesday Oct 6, 7:30, CNS 208.

“I date any old thing” is a quote commonly used by dendrochronologists in reference to wood from houses, barns, dugouts, corduroy roads, wharfs, etc, and even wood found buried in stream or lake beds, bogs, and gravel pits. Matching the patterns in the ring growth of the wood used in structures, especially any sections with bark or a waney edge, is the key to finding the original felling date of the timbers, which indicates the construction date.  We have established chronologies from 6 forests with known calendar dates that go back into the 1700s, and we have been able to date over 30 historic buildings and structures across central New York according to those chronologies plus other chronologies from forests in the surrounding regions (Cook, ITRDB). These include the Hull House in Lancaster, PA; the Wixson Road Log Cabin now in Corning, NY, and the Mabee Farm, Crailo House, and many other buildings in the Schenectady-Albany region.   From the measurements used to date these buildings, we now have oak, hemlock, and white, red, and pitch pine historic chronologies extending back into the early 1500s, with white pine going back the farthest, to AD 1467.  The patterns in the ring widths indicate not only when the trees were felled, but also where the trees grew, and what was going on around them during the trees’ lifetime.    

Finger Lakes Chapter of the New York State Archeological Association Fall 2009 lecture series, first Tuesday of the month, 7:30 pm, Center for Natural Sciences Room 208, Ithaca College.