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RADIOCARBON DATES FOR BEESWAX FIGURES IN THE PREHISTORIC ROCK ART OF NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
Author(s) -
NELSON D. E.,
CHALOUPKA G.,
CHIPPINDALE C.,
ALDERSON M. S.,
SOUTHON J. R.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1995.tb00733.x
Subject(s) - radiocarbon dating , accelerator mass spectrometry , prehistory , archaeology , beeswax , period (music) , geology , rock art , geography , art , chemistry , organic chemistry , wax , aesthetics
Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages have been taken for a test suite of small samples of material removed from some of the ‘beeswax’art figures found in rock shelters in northern Australia. The results indicate that we can reliably date this unique form of rock art with no noticeable damage. We had not expected to find figures of any great antiquity, and so we were surprised to find that the ages obtained spanned the time period from the recent past to about 4000 BP.