If create new revisions is checked under Publishing options, editing a node will create a revision of that node. Users that have view revisions or administer nodes permissions will get a Revisions tab on node viewing pages. The Revisions tab interface supports viewing of individual revisions, reverting to a prior revision, and deleting a revision.
Here is an example that illustrates the reverting process:
Prior to Drupal 4.7 the node table included body and teaserfields. As of 4.7, these fields are moved into the node_revisions table.