The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-02-28
View Of Pueblo Bonito, New Mexico.

prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washington. d. CD
TN THE isolated Indian pueblos Of
New Mexico and Arizona during
4 the past six years scientists have
been gathering data that have
been made it possible for them to
write one of the most fascinating de-
tective stories of science that has been
unfolded since scholars deciphered the
famous Rosetta Stone of Egypt. The
work, carried on by Neil M. Judd and
DIR. Andrew e. Douglass under the
auspices Of the National Geographic
society, has involved the collection
of thousands Of samples Of wood Of
living trees and of beams from ruined
Indian villages so that the tree rings
"the fingerprints Of time'-could be
studied and compared. AS result of
this work a unique tree-ring calendar
has been constructed which extends
known dates in the New World back
to time more than eight centuries
before the arrival Of the Spaniards
in what is now southwestern United
States.
BY translating the story told by the
tree rings laid down during the past
twelve and a quarter centuries the
scientists have established a chron-
ology, for that period more accurate
than if human hands had written down
the major events as they occurred.
T& ,,o,, xocc;blo laHnitaIv n
nounce the important dates in the his
tory of Pueblo Bonito, Oldest and
largest Of the great Indian commun-
tiles, in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico,
excavated and partially reconstructed
by the National Geographic society.
Furthermore, it is possible now to
date nearly forty prehistoric ruins in
the Southwest and reconstruct there
a succession Of major events through
which Indian settlements rose, passed
their heyday, and disappeared.
Just as the far-famed Rosetta Stone
provided the key to the written mys-
teries of ancient Egypt, so the collec-
ton of an unbroken series of tree
rings has made clear the chronology of
the Southwest.
Through this work we have learned
of some outstanding events in America
which were contemporaneous with the
conquest of Spain by the Moors, and
we know that certain Pueblo Indian
settlements were enjoying their golden
ages when William the Conquerer
faced Harold the Saxon at the Battle
of Hastings.
These researches have carried the
calendar back to A. d. 700 in the
Southwest, and they have provided
the beginnings Of a continuous wealth
er chart for 1000 years.
Tree Rings Tell Much.
Many a prehistoric jewel has been
given to the flames unwittingly be-
cause no one knew the Importance of
tree rings in recording the passage of
years. Where fuel was scarce, frag-
ments Of precious timbers at many an
ancient ruin in the American South
west have been used as firewood by
the sheep-herder, prOspector, and even
archeologist. They were scraps of
wood, nothing more. The Bible story
Of the stone which the builders re-
jected, but which became the head
stone of the corner, has found coun-
terpart in the wood that the modern
searcher overlooked, for it has be-
come key to prehistoric chronology.
Through long-past ages and with I'M
broken regularity, trees have jotted
down a record at the close Of each
fading year-a memorandum as to how
they passed the time; whether en-
riched by added rainfall or injured by
lightning and fire. By learning how to
read these records-specificall those
of the pineS-we have discovered
magic key to open mysterious books
and interpret the meaning Of their
writings.
In favorable regions, rings in trees
may be identified, each one in its APP
propriate year, and traced back till we
get to the utmost reach of living trees.
and then beams from ancient ruins
and buried logs carry the story back
for many more centuries.
Thus these tree records have pro-
vided us with an American calendar
reaching beyond the rise of Charles
Martel or the Mohammedan invasion
of India Some of these trees were cut
a thousand years ago. From them we
have learned the exact building dates
of major ruins of the southwestern
United States as definitely as we have
been able to fix the dates of Old World
monuments Of the ancients whose rec
ords are inscribed on stone.
Seen from one angle, the assembling
Of these tree-ring samples pushes back
the bounds of history in our Southwest
and gives US human activities-even
tragedies-among the native inhabi-
tants for hundreds of years. From an
other angle this history in trees tells
us the climatic story of the Southwest
with amazing accuracy.
When a real theory Of climate has
been developed and we can predict
drought and flood over a period Of
years. this Arizona story in tree rings
will have played a creditable part in
developing that climatic foresight
which is perhaps the most valuable
economic advantage yet lying beyond
our reach.
Reading the Records.
The method used in extending the
historical calendar of the Southwest
is the outcome of long attempt to
read the diaries of trees. Every year