Dating Palaeolithic cave art: Why U–Th is the way to go

Abstract

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The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art

“…In terms of the minimum ages provided by U-Th dating of overlying calcite flowstones (e.g. Hoffmann et al 2016; 2018a; Pike et al 2017), handmarks and finger dots currently appear to be the oldest tangible examples of art, apparently predating the depictions of animals in Palaeolithic Europe and Australasia by at least several thousand years. In Europe, minimum ages of 40,000 bp have been obtained from the Great Panel of Hands in El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain), located in proximity to younger animal depictions, and minimum ages of 64,000 bp have been obtained for colour washes on stalactites in Ardales cave (Andalusia), hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura) and a scalariform motif comprised of small dots in La Pasiega cave (Cantabria) (Hoffmann et al 2018a).…”

The Timing and Nature of Human Colonization of Southeast Asia in the Late Pleistocene

“…As such, the calculated age will represent an average age for those events. Further, it is important to note that while the radiocarbon and uranium-series dating methods may be used on the same calcium carbonate sample, in most cases the former method cannot be used as a control for the latter (see Pike et al 2016).…”

Gravettian Figurative Art in the Western Pyrenees: Stratigraphy, Cultural Context, and Chronology

“…In recent years, a growing number of accurate dates for Palaeolithic rock art has been obtained by the application of AMS radiocarbon measurements on charcoal used in the production of art (Clottes et al, 1992; Valladas et al, 1992; Clottes, 1994; Ochoa, 2011), and by uranium-thorium measurements on calcium carbonate flowstones associated with it (Aubert et al, 2014; Pike et al, 2012, 2017). These new techniques provide absolute dates in the case of the former, assuming an association between the production of the charcoal (which the date reflects) and the use of it to create art, and minimum or maximum ages for the art when dated flowstones are stratigraphically related to the art.…”