Development and Application of the Uranium Method for Dating Ancient Rock Engravings

Radiocarbon dating has been used to establish the age of relatively recent Australian rock art, but the ages of ancient engravings cannot be measured beyond the limit of this method. Comparative radiocarbon and uranium-series assays will be made on pairs of test samples collected from natural mineral deposits at engraving locations constrained by the ages of lakes, lava flows, sedimentary deposits or ice. Using test samples with independent and radiocarbon age controls will give confidence in the uranium dating approach for reliably measuring the ages of similar coatings associated with ancient carvings and exposed rock surfaces throughout the world.