Rock art is of great importance in many cultures and can be found in numerous regions of the world with variance in style and subject manner. Rock art is often the subject of many archaeological studies as it reflects ancient experiences, identities of cultures and relationships to land, thus it is essential to accurately date rock art. There are two main categories of dating methods for rock art, relative dating and absolute dating. Absolute dating, also referred to as qualitative dating, is based on the physical and chemical properties of the studied artifact and was first implemented in archaeological research in the 1980s. Relative dating refers to non-chronometric methods that produce seriation based on stylistic comparison and stratigraphic assumptions. This essay will discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of both these dating methods with real world examples of rock art dating.
Relative dating is a traditional approach used to date artifacts based on iconography, …show more content…
In a pioneering study conducted by Roberts et al.(1997), OSL dating of quartz grains from mud-wasp nests was used to determine the minimum age for associated Wanjina style paintings. OSL dating is based on the time dependent accumulation of trapped electrons in the crystal lattice of minerals such as quartz, and their proportional discharge once exposed to enough light. This dating method has provided and innovative and promising avenue for rock art dating, however it is not without its flaws. In order to obtain accurate dates with this method, one needs to demonstrate a clear relationship between the rock art and the quartz grains. OSL dating of wasp nests requires large nests where grains extracted need to be from the core of the nest, where this often challenging as nests found around rock art are often in the magnitude of
Relative dating is a traditional approach used to date artifacts based on iconography, …show more content…
In a pioneering study conducted by Roberts et al.(1997), OSL dating of quartz grains from mud-wasp nests was used to determine the minimum age for associated Wanjina style paintings. OSL dating is based on the time dependent accumulation of trapped electrons in the crystal lattice of minerals such as quartz, and their proportional discharge once exposed to enough light. This dating method has provided and innovative and promising avenue for rock art dating, however it is not without its flaws. In order to obtain accurate dates with this method, one needs to demonstrate a clear relationship between the rock art and the quartz grains. OSL dating of wasp nests requires large nests where grains extracted need to be from the core of the nest, where this often challenging as nests found around rock art are often in the magnitude of