Dating Rock Art

Abstract To understand the spatial history of rock art and the cognitive evolution of our species, we must obtain accurate and reliable dates from rock art across the globe. However, in most environments, the oldest styles of art are particularly difficult to date, requiring new approaches and the adaptation of existing methodologies. The Kimberley region of northwest Australia hosts one of the richest collections of Indigenous rock art in the world. In this setting, researchers face several challenges when applying dating techniques, with pigments often lacking organic material, and art commonly found in exposed, sandstone shelters. Despite these difficulties, recent advances in Australian rock art research have dated a kangaroo motif to around 17,300 years old, indicating that representational motifs were being made in the Kimberley region by the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. Here, several dating techniques are examined in the context of adaptations and advances in the methodologies applied to rock art dating in the Kimberley region. The common limitations, criticisms, and future directions for each technique are also identified and are relevant to researchers working in similar environments across the globe.