Figure 4 - uploaded by Robert G. Bednarik
Content may be subject to copyright.
Composite photograph of part of the Malangine Cave ceiling petroglyphs that had been concealed under a thick reprecipitated calcite skin which had subsequently become exfoliated.
Source publication
Modern rock art dating began with the analysis of secondary calcite deposits in an Australian cave that are directly and physically related to petroglyphs sandwiched between them. Since then, further work has been conducted but has resulted in more questions than answers. This paper summarises the research so far conducted on the isotopic geochemis...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... test the proposition of isotopic rejuvenation through calcification, and at the same time obtain the first direct data for the age of the rock art in Malangine Cave, two samples from that site were analysed for their isotopic carbon composition in 1980. One was from the laminated and comparatively dense ceiling deposit that separates the two basic art traditions present near that site's entrance (Figure 4). It yielded an adjusted age of 5550 ± 55 years BP (Hv-10241) which might best be described as a highly conservative minimum mean age for the entire lamina. ...
