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Ages for Australia's oldest rock paintings
Damien Finch1, Andrew Gleadow2, Janet Hergt2
1The School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. damien.finch@unimelb.edu.au.
Nature Human Behaviour
|February 23, 2021
Summary
The oldest Australian Aboriginal rock paintings, featuring naturalistic animals, are now dated using radiocarbon analysis of mud wasp nests. This research reveals paintings proliferated between 17,000 and 13,000 years ago, with a kangaroo motif being the oldest dated artwork.
Area of Science:
- Archaeology
- Geochronology
- Art History
Background:
- Naturalistic animal depictions are prevalent in ancient rock art globally.
- Australian Aboriginal rock paintings are among the world's oldest, yet quantitative dating has been limited.
- Previous dating efforts lacked precision for early Australian rock art phases.
Observation:
- This study analyzed 27 radiocarbon dates from mud wasp nests.
- These nests overlaid and underlay 16 motifs from the earliest rock painting phase in the Australian Kimberley.
- A specific kangaroo painting was dated using multiple wasp nest layers.
Findings:
- Radiocarbon dating of mud wasp nests provides precise age constraints for Australian Aboriginal rock art.
- Paintings in the Kimberley region are dated between 17,000 and 13,000 years ago.
- A kangaroo painting is the oldest in situ rock painting in Australia, dated to 17,500–17,100 years ago.
Implications:
- Establishes a minimum age for figurative rock art in Australia.
- Provides a chronological framework for understanding early Australian artistic expression.
- Highlights the potential of bio-chronological methods for dating ancient artworks.
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