Rock Art Research
THE 2017 ROCK ART MISSION IN HUBEI PROVINCE, CHINA
(1)
International Centre for Rock Art Dating (ICRAD), Hebei Normal University, China
(2)
Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
(3)
International Centre for Rock Art Dating (ICRAD), Hebei Normal University, China
(4)
Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
(5)
Secretariat of Huangdi Hometown Culture Research Association, Xinzheng, Henan, China
(6)
Rock Art Society of India, Agra, India
(7)
International Centre for Rock Art Dating (ICRAD), Hebei Normal University, China
Abstract
The first direct-dating work of rock art in Hubei Province, China, is reported. A series of over one hundred rock exposures were investigated in the Huai River area near the town of Tongbai, a hilly and wooded granite terrain, using microerosion analysis. Cupules dominate the extensive petroglyph traditions and eight preliminary age estimates obtained from seven of them suggest that the majority of the petroglyphs in the study area are likely to be between 600 and 1500 years old.