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Problems with Radiometric “Time”: Dating the Initial Human Colonization of Sahul

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

R. Esmée Webb
R. Esmée Webb*
Affiliation:
Yamaji Language Centre, P.O. Box 433, Geraldton, WA 6531 Australia
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Abstract

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Until recently, the only chronometric technique applied to Sahulian archaeological sites was 14C dating; the ages obtained rarely exceeded 40,000 bp. Belief that the region was first colonized around that time has recently been shaken by luminescence dates from several archaeological sites in northern Australia that suggest people arrived between 60,000 and 55,000 bp. The ensuing debate over their validity revealed that some participants misunderstood luminescence dating and the temporal limitations of 14C dating, illustrated here through a discussion of the tempo and mode of Sahulian colonization. Radiometric techniques cannot distinguish between the models proposed because they are unable to resolve temporal issues that occur within their limits of error.

Type
Part 2: Applications
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 40 , Issue 2: 16th International Radiocarbon Conference June 16-20, 1997 Part 2: Applications, Conference Editors: Willem G. Mook Johannes van der Plicht , 1997 , pp. 749 - 758
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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