1. Dendroarchaeology March 24, 2015

2. Background to Historical Dendroarchaeology Dendrochronology: Dating something using tree rings. Dendroarchaeology: Dating a crafted or assimilated wooden object or structure using tree rings to obtain a possible cutting or manufacture date that may help establish the year or range of years for use or occupation. Historical Dendroarchaeology: The use of these dates to help infer past human behavior, activities, patterns, and lifeways during the historical period. This technique supplies information that complements standard archaeological data from ceramics, nails, hardware, glass, etc.

3. Long-Term Chronologies from Around the World Combined pine/oakGermanyID:10,461 BC JuniperMediterraneanID: 7020 BC Bristlecone pineCaliID: 6716 BC

4. Long-Term Chronologies from Around the World Cornish and English oakIrelandID: 5218 BC AlerceChileID: 1634 BC Sabina przewalskiiChinaID: 1580 BC Giant sequoiaCaliID: 1229 BC Bald CypressSE USAID: 372 AD Huon pineTasmaniaID: 900 AD

5. 1.Not all tree species can be dated via tree-ring analyses. 2.A minimum number of rings per sample is required (> 50). 3.A nearby or regional reference chronology is required. 4.Samples should be obtained from the rounded parts of the log. 5.As many logs as possible should be sampled. 6.Erosion over time can remove the critical outermost rings. 7.Logs can be replaced, re-used, or stockpiled, causing a range of years in outermost rings. 8.A later structure can be built in the same place as the original. Methods

7. Ethics 1. Tree rings either date or they do not date, i.e. no “plus or minus” or “around this period.” 2. Not all samples date nor should we expect that all samples will date. 3. Dates can not be “forced” from the dendrochronologist, i.e. the wood must provide the date. 4. Dendrochronologists do not work in a vacuum – we must consult with site personnel, staff, and archaeologists. 5. We practice minimum impact sampling and leave no trace ethics. 6. What we do is laborious, tedious, time-consuming, and extremely quantitative and expensive

8. A Discontinuous History Mostly because of misconceptions (the Southeast is too mesic) Human impacts Bad sampling practices (no standard protocol exists for preserving prehistoric wood samples) A lack of reference tree-ring chronologies long enough to date wood from the abundant prehistoric sites

9. Sample Preservation

10. Alfred’s Cabin, The Hermitage Born 1815?, died 1901 Caretaker of The Hermitage Guide and interpreter Was cabin built while Alfred was a slave or a freedman?

11. Alfred’s Cabin, The Hermitage r = 0.42, n = 94, p < 0.0001 Alfred’s Cabin was completed in April to June of 1843 or soon thereafter. -4 -2 0 2 4 17451755176517751785179518051815182518351845 Alfred’s Cabin Eastern Red Cedar Master

12. Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace Log Cabin (1809?)

13. Log Cabin Reference r = 0.55, n = 79, p < 0.0001 Logs in the Lincoln cabin date to the 1840s and 1850s.

14. Rocky Mount Historic Site (1770–1772) William Cobb: one of the earliest settlers Earliest intact structure in TN (1770) Revolutionary War significance Capital of territory from 1790–1792 Regional landmark, tourism factor!

15. r = 0.46, n = 131, p < 0.0001 The Rocky Mount structures were built from 1827 to 1830. = 1827–1830 Rocky Mount Reference Rocky Mount Historic Site (1770–1772)

16. Chief John Ross House (1797?) Built by John McDonald, 1797 Rossville, Georgia Trail of Tears significance Chief John Ross, 1808-1827 Regional landmark, tourism factor!

17. Chief John Ross House (1797?) r = 0.29, n = 75, p < 0.0001 Piney Creek John Ross

18. Culturally Modified Trees Peel TreeTrail Tree

19. Provenance and Dendrochronology