Utah's Great Gallery rock art younger than expected, say scientists [1K-2K]

Phys dot org ^ | August 25, 2014 | Mary-Ann Muffoletto

[SunkenCiv]

"The most accepted hypotheses pointed to the age of these paintings as 2,000 to 4,000 years old or perhaps even 7,000 to 8,000 years old," says Pederson, associate professor in USU's Department of Geology and lead author on the paper. "Our findings reveal these paintings were likely made between 1,000 to 2,000 years ago."

The USU-led team's findings strike a key point about the art's creators: They may have co-existed with the Fremont people, who are credited with carving distinctly different pictographs found in the same region. "Previous ideas suggested a people different from the Fremont created the paintings because the medium and images are so different," Pederson says. "This raises a lot of archaeological questions."

For his part, Pederson is focused on the geology that sheds light on the timing of the artwork's creation. "First, we examined two approaches that enabled us to 'draw a box' around a probable window of time," he says. One approach involved analysis of stream deposits that pegged the paintings' age as younger than surrounding sediment. The other utilized the fact the paintings were older than a rock fall that occurred at the site.

"Luminescence dating allowed us to document the timing of these geologic events," Pederson says. "A third, new approach allowed us to narrow the window even more." With assistance from colleagues at Denmark's Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, the Aggies estimated the exposure time of rock surfaces at the site that provided the study's final results.

[SunkenCiv]

Utah State University geologist Joel Pederson gazes at the 'Holy Ghost' grouping of human-like figures painted on a rock face of the Great Gallery of Canyonlands National Park’s Horseshoe Canyon in southern Utah. Pederson is lead author on a paper in the Aug. 25 issue of the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggesting the prehistoric Barrier Canyon-style rock art is younger than previously thought. Photo courtesy of Joel Pederson/Utah State University.

[SunkenCiv]

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

How mysterious. I've never heard of this.

The image on the right reminds me of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

[CrazyIvan]

Very interesting use of perspective.

[reaganaut]

Lamanite ping

[Godzilla]

[Elsie]

"The most accepted hypotheses pointed to the age of these paintings as 2,000 to 4,000 years old or perhaps even 7,000 to 8,000 years old," says Pederson,

This is news to ME!

[Elsie]

Doesn't look like a Jewish virgin to me!

 

[Elsie]

[Elsie]

...colleagues at Denmark's Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating...

This; a new variation in SPEED dating; is concerned with the glow given off by certain radiant females.

[Elsie]

... the glow given off by certain radiant females.

[Elsie]

Utah STATE???

Everyone knows that BYU is the master of study of rock art!

Just LOOK how DARK them figgers are!

Alma 3: 6

'And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.'

[Elsie]

... consisted of Nephi, Jacob and Joseph, and Sam, who were ...

Good old Sam... who could EVER forget him?