Southwestern (U.S.A.) Archaeological Tree-Ring Dating: 1930-1942

Dendrochronology, the science of assigning precise and accuratecalendar dates to annual growth rings in trees (Stokes and Smiley 1968), was the firstindependent dating technique available to prehistorians. Archaeological tree-ringdating came of age at a time when North American archaeologists concerned themselvesprimarily with time/space systematics (Willey and Sabloff 1980) and yet had no absoluteand independent dating techniques available to guide their analyses. Histories of archaeology typically have not considered the development ofarchaeological tree-ring dating in detail. Willey and Sabloff (1980:12) devote oneparagraph to the development of Southwestern archaeological tree-ring dating, as doesSteibing (1993:261). Trigger (1989:305) considers dendrochronology (in the sense of theDouglass method) only in light of radiocarbon dating. Textbooks and regional historiesof archaeology do a little better in their treatment of dendrochronology, thoughdiscussions typically focus on the interpretation of tree-ring dates and not on thedevelopmental history of the technique itself (e.g. Cordell 1984:88-90; Fagan1991:129-133; Lyon 1996:46; Michels 1973:116; Thomas 1979:190-194). Scott (1966:9)argues that 'the story of the discovery of archaeological tree-ring dating by A E.Douglass and others has been told and retold and is now familiar to scientists andlaymen alike'. I beg to differ