ABSTRACT
Tree rings can be used to discover and better understand the past and can unlock more information than simply how large or small of a ring one can expect a tulip poplar to deposit in 1656. There is great satisfaction in successfully crossdating the tree rings in a building’s timbers. A set of successfully crossdated timbers allows for the dating of a building or landscape one can determine when it was built and when/if it was modified. Environmental information such as how tree species composition and availability of certain tree species changed over time can be gleaned from tree-ring analysis too. For instance, there is much variation in wood properties, such as rot resistance, tendency to warp, workability, shrinkage, density, elasticity, and chemical composition. Forests throughout the area are often classified into particular forest types based on the dominant or most common species found in a community.
