Incredible Stories the Oldest Tree Rings Tell

Written by Mike Edmisten
Updated: July 29, 2023
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This ancient tree has stories to tell. Stories of history, survival, human error, and lessons learned. These are the stories of Prometheus and its rings, the oldest living tree ever discovered.

The setting for these stories is a rocky, inhospitable peak in Nevada’s Snake Range. This is where you’ll find a boscage of old-growth trees. They are Bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva), now recognized as the world’s longest-lived trees.

These trees, twisted and gnarled by the mountain winds, have stood in the Snake Range for millennia. This is where a tree, nicknamed Prometheus, stood. Named after the mythological Greek god, this tree stood on Wheeler Peak in the Snake Range until 1964. It was then that its stories were revealed to the world, but only through a tragic mistake.

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Trees

This grove of Great Basin Bristlecone pines grows in the Snake Range of Nevada.

©Daryl A. Horton/Shutterstock.com

A Well-Meaning Researcher

A graduate student at the University of North Carolina named Donald Currey climbed Wheeler Peak to study the Bristlecone pines. He was attempting to pinpoint the age of the region’s glacial features. By studying the trees, he believed he could come closer to an accurate date since the trees could not have taken root until the glaciers receded.

Dendrochronology is the study of tree rings to determine a tree’s age, as well as the climate conditions it endured. A tool known as an increment borer is used to remove a thin core from the tree trunk. It allows the tree to be studied while causing no lasting damage to the tree.

Using this core, dendrochronologists can determine the tree’s age by counting and crossdating the rings. As trees grow, they expand outward. Rings within the trunk mark this outward expansion. This is what Donald Currey set out to do, but it’s also where the story took an unfortunate turn.

Dendrochronology is the science of counting and crossdating tree rings.

Dendrochronology is the science of counting and crossdating tree rings.

©iStock.com/Mehmet Gökhan Bayhan

A Tragic Mistake

The details are a bit fuzzy, and there are multiple versions of this part of the story. Donald Currey wanted to study the oldest tree he could find on Wheeler Peak. He zeroed in on a tree that he labeled WPN 114. It was the tree that would later come to be known as Prometheus.

Methuselah is not just the oldest tree in the world, but the oldest living thing on earth

The ancient Great Basin Bristlecone pines are the world’s longest-lived trees.

©doliux/Shutterstock.com

It has been said that Currey attempted to remove a small core from the tree trunk using an increment borer, but the tool got stuck in the tree. He didn’t want to lose this expensive, highly-specialized tool. The only way to retrieve it was to cut the tree down with a chainsaw.

In other iterations of the story, Currey did retrieve a core from the trunk. However, due to the twisted, gnarly growth of the tree, he was unable to accurately count the rings. That’s when he asked the U.S Forest Service if he could take down the tree to view a cross-section of the rings. They agreed.

Still, other variations of the story say a ranger with the Forest Service came with a chainsaw at Currey’s request. But, after seeing the tree, the ranger refused to cut it down. Another Forest Service staff member felled the tree the next day.

It’s difficult to separate fact from fiction in this part of the story, but one thing is certain. Either by Currey’s own hands or at his direct request, this tree was indeed cut down.

Chainsaw chain on the tire close-up. Saw teeth for cutting wood on a blurred background. Agricultural tool

There is debate about how it happened, but we know for certain what happened: Prometheus was sawed to the ground.

©iStock.com/Vladyslav Varshavskiy

A Horrifying Realization

After the tree was felled, Currey brought a cross-section of the trunk back to his hotel room. He began the tedious process of counting and recording the tree’s rings, some of which were paper-thin. 

After carefully examining his findings, Currey was horrified when he realized what he had done. He had cut down a tree that was over 4,900 years old, older than any living tree on record.

The rings of this tree revealed that it began growing near the end of the Stone Age or very early in the Bronze Age. What a staggering thought! 

The tree was growing on Wheeler Peak when, on the other side of the world, the written word was invented in Mesopotamia. Stonehenge was constructed during its lifetime, as were the Great Pyramids.

Great PYramid of Giza with the Great Sphinx

Prometheus was growing before the construction of the Great Pyramids.

©AlexAnton/Shutterstock.com

As this tree quietly stood in these scraggy mountains, Moses led the Israelite exodus. Confucius and Buddha were born. Alexander the Great led his conquests. The tree was alive when the Roman Empire was founded and also when it fell.

It was growing in these hills when Jesus Christ was born, when Charlemagne rose to power, and during the rampages of Genghis Khan.

This Bristlecone pine was alive when Gutenberg invented the printing press, when Luther launched the Reformation, and when Shakespeare was born. It stood firmly rooted in the Snake Range through the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the American Civil War, and World Wars I and II. 

This tree that began growing when the written word was invented was also alive when the silicon chip was created in 1959, paving the way for the computer age. It boggles the mind!

How Does a Tree Live for Thousands of Years?

Many tree species can live for hundreds of years. Some even for thousands of years, like the famous sequoias in Sequoia National Park. But no tree on earth can survive as long as the Great Basin Bristlecone pines, which grow exclusively in Nevada, Utah, and California.

Their longevity is actually a direct result of the harsh conditions in which the trees grow. The colder and drier the climate, the slower the trees grow. Bristlecone pines are extremophiles, a scientific classification for organisms that grow exceptionally slowly. A Bristlecone pine tree no taller than three feet may already be 700 years old!

The slower the trees grow, the denser the wood becomes. This density makes these trees practically impervious to disease and tree-killing insects. It also allows them to withstand extreme weather and climatological changes over millennia. 

Because they grow in such poor soil, little else grows in the area. With no other trees or vegetation to speak of, the risk of wildfire proliferation is exceptionally low. Yet one more reason why the Bristlecones can survive for an absurdly long time.

Landscape at Great Basin National Park, Nevada. Horizontal image shows a scenic view of Wheeler Peak. A large Bristlecone Pine tree in the foreground. A blue clouded sky above.

The harsh conditions of its native range are actually the key to the Bristlecone pine’s long life.

©iStock.com/AvatarKnowmad

Dead, and Yet Alive

The other secret to the Bristlecone’s longevity is found in the way water and nutrients are delivered through the tree. There are passages that travel vertically inside the tree, through which water and nutrients flow. This means that, though some parts of the tree may die, others may live on. 

Because the wood is so dense and resinous and because of the arid climate of this mountain range, the wood of Bristlecone pines doesn’t rot when it dies. Instead, it is blasted, smoothed, and shaped by the wind until it takes on a shiny, almost stone-like appearance that can last for thousands of years.

The Bristlecone Pines that grow in the Spring Mountains are some of the oldest trees on earth.

Bristlecone pines that may appear dead are usually still alive.

©iStock.com/Florian Schipflinger

Since these trees are so resistant to decay, a Bristlecone pine may be more than 90% dead, yet it still stands with only a single strip of bark covering the cambium, the lifeline for the survival of any tree. As long as that one strip remains alive, delivering water and nutrients to possibly a single branch, the tree lives on. Such a tree may appear dead, but Bristlecone pines can live for thousands of years like this.  

Some experts theorize that unless a tree is struck by lighting or some other extraordinary event occurs, there is no biological reason that a Bristlecone pine tree would ever die. These trees take on an immortal, almost eternal nature.

Public Backlash

Sitting in a hotel room in 1964, Donald Currey was overwhelmed as he came to grips with what he had done. He had killed the oldest known living organism on Planet Earth.

As news of the event spread, there was a public outcry. Some even labeled Currey a “murderer.” Attempts were made to deflect the outrage against Currey. Researchers tried to find a living tree older than Prometheus, but none were found. This event would dog Donald Currey for the rest of his life. Some people were now grimly referring to Prometheus as the “Currey Tree.”

Donald Currey went on to a notable scientific career, though he never forgave himself for the Prometheus episode. He spent the remainder of his professional life studying salt flats, which just so happen to be inhospitable places where trees cannot grow. It seems like Donald Currey wanted to move as far away from trees as possible, and one tree in particular.

A story is told about Currey in his later years when a local TV news reporter was interviewing him about his work on the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. During the interview, the reporter dredged up the painful past by asking Currey a question about the Prometheus tree. Currey immediately ended the interview and ran away as fast as he could. It appears Donald Currey spent his entire life unsuccessfully trying to run away from this ancient tree.

Currey went on to study salt flats, where trees can never grow.

©iStock.com/ablokhin

What Prometheus Taught Us

The death of Prometheus, while tragic, did open new learning opportunities. It also led to a more robust appreciation and protection for the ages-old Bristlecone pines of Grand Basin National Park.

Age

Further examination of the cross-sections Currey harvested have led dendrochronologists to determine that the tree was actually more than 5,000 years old. In particularly harsh years, Bristlecones may not add a new ring of growth. So, by counting and crossdating the existing rings, along with estimating the years when new rings did not appear, scientists concluded that the tree was over five millennia old.

Climate Changes

The rings also reflected climatological changes that occurred during its lifespan. Wider rings grow in rainy years, and narrower rings during dry times. Using the rings of Prometheus and other living and dead Bristlecone pines, scientists have constructed a record of rain and drought conditions in the American West dating back 10,000 years.

Major climate events can be observed in the tree’s rings, as well. Events such as a cataclysmic volcanic eruption in 2036 BC, the eruption on the island of Thera circa 1600 BC, Alaska’s Okmok volcano eruption in 43 BC, the Late Antique Little Ice Age in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, and a solar superstorm in 774 AD are all reflected in the rings of Prometheus.

Cataclysms, such as volcanic eruptions, are reflected in the rings of Prometheus.

©Wead/Shutterstock.com

Today

The rings of living Bristlecones are expanding more rapidly now than in past millennia due to climate change. There is less concern about how a changing climate will affect the Great Basin Bristlecone pines than many other tree species, though. Their hardy survival of climate adversity has quite a long track record.

Along with valuable climate data, the falling of Prometheus also spurred a new emphasis on responsible conservation. Great Basin Bristlecone pines are now a protected species. It is a federal crime to cut down one of these trees or to remove any wood, living or dead, from Great Basin National Park.

The Curse?

And if the law isn’t enough of a deterrent, there are also whispers of a curse. Urban legend states that you will be cursed if you handle the wood of a Bristlecone, leading to your premature demise.

That sounds nonsensical. It has been noted, though, that Edmund Schulman, the scientist who first established the ancient age of the Great Basin Bristlecones, died at 49. Other researchers studying these trees have passed at rather young ages. And then there is the story of a 32-year-old Forest Service employee who suffered a fatal heart attack while helping Donald Currey remove pieces of the fallen Prometheus from Wheeler Peak.

Whether it is a curse, federal law, or a combination of both that deter people, the Bristlecone pines of Great Basin National Park are now protected. They continue to grow peacefully in the same mountains where they have for much of recorded history.

Bristlecone Pines Today

The stump and some of the remains of Prometheus remain on Wheeler Peak, though they are unmarked. You can, however, view a cross-section of Prometheus at the Great Basin Visitor Center.

With the demise of Prometheus, the next oldest individual Bristlecone pine has been identified and given the name Methuselah, after the oldest individual mentioned in the Bible. Dendrochronologists have determined this tree is over 4,800 years old. It is now recognized as the oldest non-clonal living organism on Earth. While other Bristlecone pines may be older than Methuselah, none have been officially documented. This tree was originally marked with a sign, but that sign was quickly removed when tourists began taking pieces of the tree as souvenirs. 

You can still see the tree when hiking through the White Mountains, but you must know exactly where it is and exactly what you’re looking for. Without the aid of an expert, you are unlikely to identify the individual Bristlecone pine known as Methuselah. And maybe that anonymity is for the best. After all, a shroud of mystery seems rather fitting for the oldest living thing on this planet. 

Methuselah was rooted in the rocky soil of the White Mountains long before any of us were born. And it will still be standing in that very same spot long after we’re all gone. Silently marking the passage of time, unbothered by the foibles and follies of the human race, this tree has stood and will continue to stand its ground. 

Methuselah grows extremely slowly - something that actually contributes to its long lifespan

Methuselah is now recognized as the oldest living non-clonal organism on earth.

©dlhca/Shutterstock.com

A Lasting Legacy

The indescribable endurance of these trees causes us to reflect on the brevity of our own lives. The seeming immortality of these gnarled ancients makes us realize our own finitude. It forces us to reckon with our responsibility to care for and protect the natural world, ensuring that future generations can stand in awe of these same marvels. 

And maybe, just maybe, the wonder of these trees will cause us to slow down enough to recognize life’s trivialities and recenter our lives around the things that really matter.

If that happens, then the story of Prometheus is still impacting our world for good, nearly six decades after it fell.

Detail of a bristlecone pine tree at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Bishop, California, USA

Bristlecone pines inspire wonder in all who view them.

©iStock.com/Pedro Carrilho

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Riderolga


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About the Author

Mike is a writer at A-Z Animals where his primary focus is on geography, agriculture, and marine life. A graduate of Cincinnati Christian University and a resident of Cincinnati, OH, Mike is deeply passionate about the natural world. In his free time, he, his wife, and their two sons love the outdoors, especially camping and exploring US National Parks.

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