Dendroclimatology is the study of tree rings to infer past climatic conditions, based on recent growth-climate relations.  For example, you may find that over the past 50 years (for which there are very good climate data) that there is a relationship between rainfall and tree-ring width.  Thus, if you study a 400 year old tree and find narrow rings early in its growth, there may likely have been a drought during that time period.  The oldest living trees in the world, Bristlecone Pines (below), have been used to reconstruct climates for thousands of years.

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