High precision U/Th dating of the rock paintings at Mt. Huashan, Guangxi, southern China

Rock art at Mt. Huashan, part of the UNESCO-listed Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, dates to between 1856±16 and 1728±41 years ago, placing its creation during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220). This finding suggests that rock painting practices at this site persisted for over a century. Researchers used high-precision U/Th dating on secondary carbonate layers above and below the paintings, analyzing their mineralogy and isotopic compositions to determine these ages. The study also indicates that Zuojiang’s rock art is younger than similar sites in Yunnan Province by 1–10 centuries.

Shao, Q.-F., Pons-Branchu, E., Zhu, Q.-P., Wang, W., Valladas, H., & Fontugne, M. (2017). High precision U/Th dating of the rock paintings at Mt. Huashan, Guangxi, southern China. Quaternary Research, 88(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2017.24