How scientists actually figure out how old a tree is

In this reel

Some trees alive today were saplings before written history existed Drop your guess below — how old do you think the oldest living tree is?

Transcript

Some trees were alive before Rome existed. Each ring in a stump is one year — that's dendrochronology. So for living trees, scientists drill a tiny core — no cutting needed. Thin rings mean drought years; thick ones mean good rainfall — it's a climate diary. Follow for more wild science facts like this.