Yet another possible explanation is that the wood originated in and was harvested from the forests of northern Croatia. After examining the violins with X-rays, the researchers found that these violins all have extremely consistent density, with relatively low variation in the apparent growth patterns of the trees that produced this wood. In 2008 Dutch researchers announced further evidence that wood density caused the claimed high quality of these instruments. Two researchers – University of Tennessee tree-ring scientist Henri Grissino-Mayer and Lloyd Burckle, a Columbia University climatologist – published in the journal Dendrochronologia their conclusions supporting the theory on increased wood density. Further evidence for this "Little Ice Age theory" comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments. Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, has proved this false.Ī more modern theory attributes tree growth during a time of global cold temperatures during the Little Ice Age associated with unusually low solar activity of the Maunder Minimum, circa 1645 to 1750, during which cooler temperatures throughout Europe are believed to have caused stunted and slowed tree growth, resulting in unusually dense wood. Over the centuries, numerous theories have been presented – and debunked – including an assertion that the wood was salvaged from old cathedrals. Various attempts at explaining these supposed qualities have been undertaken, most results being unsuccessful or inconclusive. Nonetheless, some maintain that the very best Stradivari have unique superiorities.
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