Rock Art Research
MINIMUM AGE FOR A PETROGLYPH ON A BOULDER OF SIGNIFICANCE IN SOUTHERN KAKADU NATIONAL PARK, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA
(1)
Department of Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Australia
Abstract
A remarkable set of carvings has been surveyed and traced on a rounded boulder within a rockshelter in the southern Kakadu National Park region of northern Australia. The oxalate in the coating covering one of the cupules forming the heel of a pecked macropod track has been dated. The age determination indicates that the carving was most probably made prior to 6600 years ago. Another crust at a nearby site associated with a five-pronged ‘rake’ has also been dated at 3425 radiocarbon years bp. These age determinations are consistent with other measurements and observations for the production of rock carvings across the tropical north of Australia.