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"Archaeologists at Mesa Verde use a technique called tree-ring dating to find out how old trees are. They know that all trees of the same type put on the same thickness of growth ring each year, according to what the weather is like. In a dry or cold summer, the ring will be narrow, but in a wet summer it will be much broader. Starting with a section of a tree trunk of known age, they then try to match its tree ring pattern to that on a section of another tree trunk. They are able to tell almost exactly when a piece of timber was cut. They can also tell which were the dry summers and which were wet." (Martell 1993, p14)
Using this technique, archaelogists have tested pieces of wood found in the various dwellings such as ladders or rails ( as featured in the photograph ) and are able to pinpoint the time in which the village or cliff dwelling was constructed.
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