Faces of the ancestors revealed: discovery and dating of a Pleistocene-age petroglyph in Lene Hara Cave, East Timor.
O'Connor, Sue ; Aplin, Ken ; St Pierre, Emma 等
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Introduction
One of the largest and most diverse concentrations of rock art in
Island Southeast Asia is found near the small village of Tutuala, at the
eastern end of East Timor (Figure 1; O'Connor 2003). Over 20
individual shelters and caves containing art have now been recorded, but
to date only pigment art had been found here, as elsewhere in East Timor
(O'Connor 2003; O'Connor & Oliveira 2007).
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
In 2009 a small group of petroglyphs was discovered during sampling
of breccia deposits in Lene Hara Cave. Despite multiple seasons of
excavation by several teams and many visits to photograph the painted
rock art, the petroglyphs had previously eluded discovery. Local
landowners accompanying our team were also unaware of their presence. On
being shown the petroglyphs, which take the form of human faces, they
expressed the view that the ancestors had revealed themselves to us.
Here we describe the petroglyphs and the results of Uranium/Thorium
(U/Th) dating of the speleothem substrate on which the art was engraved.
The dating of one of the faces to the terminal Pleistocene begins to
bridge the apparent disparity in the antiquity of early artistic
production between Island Southeast Asia and the western Pacific on the
one hand, and Australia on the other.
History of research at Lene Hara Cave
Lene Hara is a massive, vaulted tunnel cave that extends into the
side of an east-facing hillside (Figures 2 & 3). The parent
limestone is predominantly fine-grained and well bedded, but bands of
conglomerate are embedded in the limestone at the rear of the cave. The
floor of the cave is broadly flat but slopes gently down from the rear
to the entrance. The roof at the cave entrance rises to over 6m above
the current floor. A number of large speleothem columns are present
within the cave, one cluster towards the rear and a second group near
the entrance. A larger number of short stalactites hang from the roof,
generally with flattened drip surfaces below.
Lene Hara Cave was first excavated by the Portuguese anthropologist
Antonio de Almeida in the early 1960s. He subsequently published a brief
report of the excavation (de Almeida & Zbyszewski 1967) and some
painted rock art motifs at Lene Hara as well as three other shelters in
the region of Tutuala: Ile Kere Kere, Sunu Taraleu Scarp (also known as
Suntaleo) and Tutuala Scarp (de Almeida 1967). Ian Glover (1972) also
visited Lene Hara with John Mulvaney in 1967 and examined Almeida's
still open trench. He photographed the cave and some of the painted art
(Glover 1972: 42).
[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]
O'Connor, Spriggs and Veth initiated the East Timor
Archaeological Project in 2000 and carried out the first scientific
excavation at Lene Hara, positioning a 1 x 1m test pit adjacent to
Almeida's excavation area, in the south chamber (Figure 2). This
excavation produced Pleistocene-age deposits with cultural finds dating
back to 35 000 BP comprising marine shellfish, animal bone and stone
artefacts, and a thin upper layer that contained the same range of
materials, as well as earthenware pottery (O'Connor et al. 2002).
In 2002 three additional test pits were excavated revealing that
different areas of the site had different occupational and chronological
histories and that the site had a rich record of fauna and material
culture spanning the Holocene, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and
terminal Pleistocene (O'Connor & Veth 2005; O'Connor &
Aplin 2007).
Further research on the pigment art was also carried out which
described the range of motifs, and supported Almeida's earlier
suggestion that the Lene Hara art displayed some distinct features that
set it apart from the cliff-edge shelters of the same region
(O'Connor 2003). Notable differences were the location of motifs,
which in Lene Hara included paintings deep within the cave; the
depiction of complex composite motifs combining figurative and geometric
elements; a different set of geometric designs; and a lack of small
anthropomorphs depicted in profile (O'Connor 2003). O'Connor
(2003) also discussed the comparison drawn by Almeida between the x-ray
art of Lene Hara and those of Arnhem Land, and pointed out the
similarity between the Lene Hara fish and those in the McCluer Gulf
region of Papua (Roder 1956, 1959), and that several other complex
figurative motifs were shared between these two regions.
[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
Context and description of the Lene Hara petroglyphs
The petroglyphs were defined in two groups (A & B) carved into
near vertical faces of speleothem columns located near the cave entrance
(Figures 2 & 3). One group (A1-A3) is located on the inward-facing
surface of an in situ remnant of the partially collapsed column at the
cave entrance. There is no evidence of recent calcite accumulation on
this column; to the contrary, its outer surfaces are extensively pitted
and locally exfoliating. A second group of two petroglyphs (B1-B2) is
located on an intact column (B) standing well within the dripline
(Figures 2 & 3). The surface of this column is variable in
character; some parts are discoloured and pitted, while others are
fresher and unpitted, suggestive of more recent phases of calcite
deposition. Column B sits upon a flowstone-covered pedestal that is
slightly raised above the surrounding unconsolidated cave floor
sediments. A third larger, intact column sits atop a more elevated,
flowstone-covered platform (Figure 2). No petroglyphs were located on
this column which appears subject to more widespread recent calcite
accumulation. Columns at the rear of the cave are clearly active and
display no pitting or discolouration.
[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]
Description of the petroglyphs
All the petroglyphs are frontal, stylised faces, and include eyes,
noses and mouths and one (B1) has a circular headdress with rays,
framing the face. Group A faces are carved on what appears to be a
continuous sheet of calcite approximately 1cm thick (Figure 4). A few
small areas show minimal weathering and remain essentially smooth but
much of the surface is marked by discrete pits or deeply corroded
through an aggregation of pits. The extent of weathering of the
petroglyphs in Group A corresponds with the local degree of weathering
of the surface and this observation suggests to us that the motifs were
engraved into an essentially unweathered surface. The engraved calcite
sheet is exfoliating on the right side of the panel and it is possible
that part of an original panel has been lost. What remains are a minimum
of three faces and a maximum of six, the three ambiguous motifs
indicated on the more weathered parts of the surface by suggestive
linear alignments of pits and general symmetry of weathering features.
If there are six faces in this cluster, they are aligned in two series
of three, the upper series on a more vertical face and the lower series
on a gently rounded bench.
[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]
Details are best preserved in face A1 (Figure 5) which is located
in an area of minimal weathering. On this motif the nose and lips are
outlined by a regular series of discrete pits, presumably formed by a
drilling or pecking action. In contrast, the major outline of the face
and the outer circle of the eyes are formed by more continuous grooves
that enclose numerous pits of variable size. Some of these are probably
due to subsequent weathering but it is possible that some are remnants
of a two-part manufacturing process that involved drilling or pecking
followed by abrasion to create a continuous groove.
The three definite faces in Group A are highly stylised. All appear
triangular, being wide and flat at the top and pointed towards the chin.
The clearest of the faces in Group A, A1, has the eyes formed from two
concentric circles with a deep pecked hole in the centre of the inner
circle (Figure 4). The outer circle of the eye socket extends into and
forms a continuous line with the line forming the top of the head. The
nose is a triangle and widest at the base. The mouth is oval with a deep
linear groove placed centrally as if to show an open mouth. The chin
area is indistinct due to weathering. The features of A2 are harder to
determine. They seem generally similar to those on A1 but the face has
two diagonal lines running from the base of the nose. A3 is too
indistinct to describe the features other than to say the face is also
triangular.
[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]
Column B features a clearly discernible 'sun-ray' face
motif, B1, centred 1.6m above ground level on the north face (Figure 6),
and a second very indistinct circular motif, B2, centred 1.7m above
ground level on the south face. B1 is carved into the surface of a
speleothem boss which has a lower fringe of small, finger-like lobes.
The carved surface shows algal discoloration and is extensively pitted,
the latter extending onto the lobules and clearly post-dating their
formation. Little definite evidence remains of manufacture except to
note that the shape of the nose is made using the intaglio technique
whereby the stone is removed from the entire feature, leaving it in
negative. Importantly, the incised surface is also irregularly pitted
thus leaving little doubt that the weathering post-dates the creation of
the motif.
The sun-ray face, B1, incorporates both curvilinear and rectilinear
design elements. It is curvilinear in that the motif is constructed
around a series of concentric circles. However, the rays dissecting the
circles framing the face are rectilinear. While difficult to distinguish
due to the severity of weathering, it appears that the face was
originally ringed by three rayed circles. Only two are still clearly
visible. The face is roughly circular but narrows towards the chin. The
eyes are formed by concentric circles with deep horizontal linear
grooves in the centre. The nose is triangular, wider at the base, and
appears to extend to the edge of the inner circle framing the face. Two
straight lines extend from either side of the nose, passing through the
inner rayed circle, and making up part of the rayed infill. They may
continue through the outer circle. The second motif of Group B, B2, has
a diameter of approximately 30cm but was too indistinct to trace in the
field or draw out from photographs. However, the circular shape and
suggestion of radiating lines in the motif point to a greater degree of
similarity with the sun-ray face B1, than any of the motifs in Group A.
Dating the Lene Hara petroglyphs
Samples of calcite were taken from columns A and B to establish a
chronological context for the Lene Hara petroglyphs using U/Th
determinations, reported with 2 sigma errors and shown in Table 1. A
maximum age determination of 36.76 [+ or -] 1.3 ka was established for
the petroglyph Group A based on the age of the surface calcite
(LH09-1-3c) on which the petroglyphs are carved. Ages of 29.4 [+ or -]
0.53 ka and 39.62 [+ or -] 1.2 ka for powder samples from the periphery
(LH09-1-1) and the truncated top (LH09-1-2) of the speleothem mass
respectively, indicates a complex growth history. The timing of calcite
deposition occurred unevenly across the speleothem mass, with calcite
continuing to be deposited at its periphery up to 10-7 ka after calcite
deposition ceased at the truncated top and vertical surface on which the
petroglyphs are carved.
Five high precision U-series age determinations were produced for
Column B with the sun-ray face petroglyph. The lobe samples (LH09-2-1a
and b) taken from the calcite fringe immediately below B1 returned ages
of 13.72 [+ or -] 0.16 ka and 12.63 [+ or -] 0.22 ka indicating that
growth of the fringe lobe spanned a period of at least 1000 years; the
younger of the two dates is taken as a maximum age for the petroglyph.
The sample (LH09-2-2a-c) from the fresh calcite sheet adjacent to B1
produced a tight duster of three age determinations of 10.10 [+ or -]
0.35 ka, 10.17 [+ or -] 0.19 ka and 10.18 [+ or -] 0.20 ka. This sheet
thus appears to have formed quite rapidly. Although it did not directly
overlap the petroglyph itself, removal of a small piece from the margin
of the fresh calcite sheet demonstrated superimposition over the calcite
layer into which the petroglyph is carved. Furthermore, the underlying
calcite surface displayed an equivalent degree of weathering to that
affecting both the carved surface and the petroglyph itself. Deposition
of the sampled calcite sheet, which itself shows minimal pitting, thus
appears to have taken place after the petroglyph was carved and
subsequently weathered. These determinations are therefore thought to
constrain the age of production of petroglyph B1 to within the period
between c. 12.5 ka and c. 10.2 ka.
[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]
Comparisons with pigment and petroglyph art in East Timor
Pigment art recorded previously, including that in Lene Hara cave,
comprises a mixture of linear decorative motifs, anthropomorphic
figures, boats, hand stencils and animals (O'Connor 2003; Lape et
al. 2007). Most of the paintings utilise red ochre although black,
yellow, brown, orange, white and even in one instance green pigments
occur. The more complex of the designs and human figures incorporate
more than one colour. Although anthropomorphs are the most common of all
figurative motifs in the East Timor painted art corpus, they are
predominantly small full body figures shown in profile or frontally
(O'Connor & Oliveira 2007). Some figures are a composite of
linear designs and human bodies such as the anthropomorph with a large
scroll design in place of the head at Lene Hara (O'Connor 2003).
Human faces are rare, but of the three known face depictions, two occur
in Lene Hara cave and a third at a nearby shelter, Kurus. The Lene Hara
painted faces are simple outlines in red pigment showing eyes, mouth and
in one case a nose (Figure 7). The Kurus face has eyes, a nose and an
elaborate headdress but no mouth (Figure 8).
Human heads made of wood, and occasionally coral and stone, were
traditionally carved in East Timor and many are now in museum
collections (Barrkman 2009). Although the precise function of these is
uncertain, they are described in the literature as 'masks'.
They are hollowed out at the back of the face and usually have holes for
attachments at the sides or a short handle below the chin. These masks
are thought to have been worn by Timorese warriors in rituals associated
with inter-clan raids and to have been worn into battle to obscure the
face of the warrior and instil terror in the enemy (Barrkman 2009: 121).
The masks were believed to embody the powers of the ancestors and could
cause illness or even death (Barrkman 2009: 121). Some also incorporate
carved decorative designs that may represent tattooing (Figure 9).
Carved wooden and stone statues of men and women shown in frontal stance
were also traditionally carved in East Timor and represent the
ancestors. They are still made today on the island of Atauro and
elsewhere in East Timor (Barrkman 2009:115). At the eastern area of East
Timor near Lene Hara Cave, ancestor posts with simple stylised features
are carved by ritual specialists for placement on ceremonial platforms
and graves where offerings are made to them (Barrkman 2009: 60-1;
O'Connorpers. obs.). The antiquity of this carving tradition is
unknown as no examples have been found in archaeological contexts.
[FIGURE 8 OMITTED]
Comparisons with petroglyphs elsewhere in Island Southeast Asia and
the Pacific
Specht (1979: 63) was the first to identify the west vs east
division between engraving and pigment art, noting that pigment art
dominated in mainland Papua New Guinea and to the west in Island
Southeast Asia whereas petroglyphs were more common to the east. Well
known PNG mainland examples include the petroglyphs in the Sogeri area
of Central Province, which include deep pits with central incisions,
cupules, concentric motifs, rayed stars and anthropomorphs, and the
geometric designs and scrolls found on boulders in Goodenough Bay
(Rosenfeld 1988: 128, 130). Petroglyphs in the form of face designs have
been reported on Umboi Island, Morobe Province (Wilson 2002: 60).
Petroglyphs are abundant in the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomons,
Vanuatu and New Caledonia (Rosenfeld 1988:131) and include face-like
forms (Specht 1979: 74). Face motifs in New Britain and New Ireland
include the heavily carved faces with relief in New Britain (Wilson
2002: 66, 70). Wilson's (2002: 154) quantitative analysis of
petroglyphs in Vanuatu identified the 'face' as the most
common figurative motif. Specht (1979) characterised the widespread body
of engravings sharing a number of characteristics, in particular an
emphasis on curvilinear motifs, an association with open locations and
water sources and a distribution corresponding with Austronesian
language-speaking areas, as the Austronesian Engraving Style.
[FIGURE 9 OMITTED]
Petroglyphs are also extremely common in the eastern Pacific in the
Marquesas, Hawai'i, New Zealand and Easter Island and occur in
Fiji. Hawai'i for example has more than 70 petroglyph sites and
some have over 20 000 individual motifs. Simple human face designs occur
amongst the petroglyphs found in most of these areas (Lee & Stasack
1999:164).
In Australia petroglyphs have a wide distribution, but human face
motifs are relatively uncommon. Face motifs predominantly occur in a
wide band across the arid zone, stretching from the Burrup Peninsula in
the coastal Pilbara to the Cleland Hills in the central Desert, with a
small outlier group at the Jalibang 2 site, over 1000km to the north of
the Cleland Hills (McDonald 2005: 130). Remarkably, the Australian
archaic faces show some similarities in form and manufacturing technique
with the Lene Hara faces, particularly face A1. The Australian
engravings are generally characterised by heart- or pear-shaped face
outlines, with the eyes formed by small deeply pecked depressions which
are surrounded by one or more concentric circles formed by pecking, or a
combination of pecking and abrading. They have mouths and some also show
the nose and ears. In some examples features are created using the
intaglio technique. Rare examples with headdresses are also known
(McDonald 2005).
Chronology of rock art in Island Southeast Asia/the western Pacific
Pigment art
Ballard (1992: 98) proposed that the painted rock art of his
western Melanesian region, including Timor, shared a number of key
locational and stylistic attributes which suggested shared origins. He
also noted the high correlation between sites with pigment art and
Austronesian language-speaking areas (however see O'Connor &
Oliveira 2007). On this basis Ballard (1992: 98) suggested a maximum age
for the art postdating the spread of Austronesian-language speakers into
the region c. 3500 years ago, with an age of c. 2000 years BP more
likely for the spread of the style to the eastern and western
extremities of the region. Thus he coined the term the Austronesian
Painting Tradition (APT) to describe the painted art across this region
which shared these features (Ballard 1992). However, in areas with a
long history of occupation, such as East Timor, there is no a priori
reason why older art should not be found. Indeed there are indications
of a much older rock art tradition in the region. Recent U/Th dating of
layers of calcite sandwiching red pigment on a detached wall fragment
from Lene Hara demonstrates that the practice of painting on walls
extends back at least 30 000 years (Aubert et al. 2007). Early pigment
art has also been found in Borneo where a programme of U/Th and
radiocarbon dating has produced minimum ages of e. 9800 BP for a range
of motifs (Plagnes et al. 2003). The dated motifs in Borneo are
hand-and-arm stencils with decorative infill and have been suggested to
have affinities with the rock art in northern Australia and New Guinea
(Chazine 2005). The painted rock art in Leang Sakapao 1, Sulawesi, is
also likely to be of Pleistocene-age based on the subject matter of the
art itself and the age of the cultural deposits in the cave
(O'Connor & Bulbeck in press). However, there has been little
in the way of detailed analyses or direct dating of rock art undertaken
to test this proposition.
Wilson and colleagues have carried out the only systematic dating
programme in the western Pacific and it focused exclusively on Vanuatu.
In 1997 Wilson sampled carbon-bearing substances relating to a series of
black hand stencils; the most common motif type in Vanuatu. All stencils
were from Hopnarop (MK4) Cave on Malakula and indicated that this motif
type was produced in the past 200-300 years and continued to be made as
late as the 1950s (Wilson et al. 2001). A broader dating programme
undertaken by Wilson and colleagues in 2000 acquired an additional 16
AMS dates (Wilson 2002: 170-2). Motifs dated include black pigment
stencils of hands, a fish and a stick as well as black linear designs.
Ages obtained ranged from 2200 [+ or -] 40 BP (OZE562) for a black hand
stencil, to modern for a simple linear motif (Wilson 2002, vol. 2: fig.
7.3). These dates from Vanuatu confirm that pigment art was being
produced by at least 2200 BE On the basis of the dating results and the
superpositioning of motifs, styles and colour, Wilson (2002) was able to
propose a relative chronology for the art in Vanuatu. In essence the
results of her statistical analyses and dating programme lent support to
Ballard's earlier proposition for the APT in relation to the
earliest body of painted art, but demonstrated that over time art styles
in Vanuatu diversified away from the design elements and other defining
characteristics of the APT.
Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs usually present even more of a challenge for dating
than pigment art. Petroglyphs are rare east of mainland New Guinea and
there are no previously published dates for this art form in Island
Southeast Asia. Williams (1931) described variability in patina on the
PNG Sogeri petroglyphs and suggested that this indicated that they
spanned a considerable time period. Rosenfeld (1988: 120) on the other
hand, stated that the 'occurrence of engravings in the Melanesian
islands on exposed limestone and other rock surfaces suggests that we
may not be dealing with high antiquities.'
In the western Pacific, connections have been drawn between the
designs on Lapita pottery and petroglyphs. These include the face
motifs, the visual similarity in form between cupules and dentate
impressions in pottery, the use of curvilinear designs, and stylistic
traits such as concentricity (Wilson 2002: 210). The oldest dated
petroglyphs in the western Pacific are from Northwest Guadalcanal where
a buried cupule-based motif at Vatulumu Posovi was dated to c. 3000 BP
(Roe 1992: 118, fig. 5). While on the one hand Roe (1992: 113) states
that the find gives 'some support to the putative association of
rock art, or its designs, with Austronesian-speaking groups, including
the bearers of the Lapita cultural tradition, in island Melanesia (cf.
Ballard 1992)'; he also allows the possibility that the art
predates the Lapita cultural tradition. The latter would seem to be a
real possibility in view of the fact that the Solomons were settled in
the Pleistocene and that the date of burial provides only a minimum age
for the art. For the rest of the Pacific the age of the art is obviously
constrained by the time period of human settlement--to the late
Holocene.
As well as the stylistic similarities already noted, the Australian
human face petroglyphs are the best candidates for being of a comparable
age to those from Lene Hara. While no absolute dates have been obtained
they are widely referred to as 'archaic faces' as they are
heavily weathered, sometimes patinated and the substrate on which they
occur is often geologically altered. Researchers documenting the
Australian archaic faces have consistently argued for their great
antiquity, with McDonald (2005: 130) recently suggesting that a terminal
Pleistocene age (c. 25 000-10 000 BP) seems likely for many of them.
Conclusion
Stylised faces occur as engraved motifs in Melanesia, Australia and
throughout the Pacific. The age of the latter are constrained by the
date of initial human colonisation to the late Holocene; however, the
age of the face petroglyphs on the New Guinea mainland, the Bismarcks,
and within Australia, is likely to be significantly greater. While we
see no point in drawing stylistic comparisons between different media,
separated by thousands of kilometres, the Lene Hara faces clearly
demonstrate that this type of iconography and the techniques used to
produce it have deep antiquity in Island Southeast Asia and the western
Pacific, predating any Austronesian influence by almost ten thousand
years.
Across the vast reaches of Island Southeast Asia are hundreds of
islands with limestone caves and shelters. In most of these regions no
archaeological survey has been carried out. That such a comparatively
well known site as Lene Hara cave can produce a new discovery in 2009
hints at the potentially large numbers of art sites that remain to be
discovered in this region. Finding, recording and dating this rock art
should be a priority for future research.
Technical note on uranium series dating procedure
Samples
Samples taken from column A were: LH09-1-3c, a loose piece from the
margin of the exfoliating layer into which the petroglyphs are carved;
LH09-1-1, a powder sample drilled from the left periphery of the
speleothem mass; and LH09-1-2, a sample drilled from the truncated top
of the column. These samples were expected to yield maximum ages for the
petroglyphs on column A. The minimum age of this group of petroglyphs is
probably constrained by the time of onset of surficial weathering of the
engraved calcite layer. Unfortunately, at present we have no way of
estimating the time of onset of the weathering.
For column B, two samples were taken in proximity to the sun-ray
face petroglyph, B1. Sample LH09-2-1 (a and b) was taken from the inside
of one of these lobes, immediately below B1, and is expected to produce
a maximum age for petroglyph B1 and for the weathering of the surface.
Sample LH09-2-2(a-c) was taken from the edge of a relatively unweathered
calcite sheet that forms the outermost layer of the column to the
immediate left of petroglyph B1. As such, the calcite sheet is expected
to provide a minimum age for petroglyph B1 and samples LH09-2-1 and
LH09-2-2 thus represent probable bracketing ages for production of this
petroglyph.
Analytical procedures
Samples were crushed into 40-80 mesh with an agate mortar and a
pestle and rinsed three times with Milli-Q [H.sub.2]O. Samples were then
ultrasonically cleaned in Milli-Q [H.sub.2]O for 15 minutes and rinsed
three to five times until water was dear. Weathered samples (LH09-1-3c)
were ultrasonicated with 15% [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] for 20 minutes to
oxidise organics and loosen day minerals trapped in the sample
micropores. This procedure was followed by five to eight rinses with
Milli-Q [H.sub.2]O to remove all clay minerals.
Chemistry preparations for thermal ionisation mass spectrometry
(TIMS) U-series analysis of the samples are modified from Edwards et al.
(1987) and Ludwig et al. (1992) and follow those described in Zhao et
al. (2001) and St Pierre et al. (2009). In brief, weighed samples were
dissolved with diluted HN[O.sub.3] after spiking with a
[sup.229]Th[sup.-233]U-[sup.236]U tracer. Samples were refluxed at
70[degrees]C to ensure complete blending with spike tracer and
[H.sub.2][O.sub.2] was added to destroy organics. Iron hydroxide was
used to co-precipitate Uranium and Thorium and precipitates were
dissolved with 7N HN[O.sub.3]. Conventional anion ion-exchange column
chemistry was used to separate Uranium and Thorium, which were loaded
with graphite to single Re filaments for isotope measurement on a VG
Sector 54 TIMS at the Radiogenic Isotope Facility, University of
Queensland.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the landowners of Lene Hara cave for
granting us permission to undertake the sampling. Particular thanks go
to Mr Virgilio Simith, Secretary of State of Culture, and Mrs Cecilia
Assis, National Director of Culture, Ministry of Education of
Timor-Leste, for granting the permit to carry out the archaeological
research and for general assistance. Manuel Mendes, Chief of Staff of
Protected Areas and National Parks, Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries of Timor-Leste, granted the permit to undertake research in
the Nino Conis Santana National Park. Referees, Professors Pat Kirch and
Paul Tacon, are thanked for their useful comments which improved the
paper.
Received: 12 October 2009; Accepted: 31 December 2009; Revised: 15
February 2010
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Sue O'Connor (1), Ken Aplin (2), Emma St Pierre (3) &
Yue-xing Feng (3)
(1) Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the
Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2601,
Australia (Email: sue.oconnor@anu.eau.au)
(2) Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Division of
Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
(3) School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia,
QLD
4072, Australi.
Table 1. TIMS U/Th isotopic data and ages reported with 2[sigma]
errors. Note: all errors are quoted at 2 s.d. Ratios in parentheses
refer to activity ratios. All ages were calculated using Isoplot EX
3.6 program of Ludwig (2008) and decay constants of Cheng et at
(2000). All [sup.230]Th ages were corrected for the contribution of
non-radiogenic [sup.230]Th assuming a non-radiogenic 2[sup.230]Th/
[sup.232]Th atomic ratio of 4.40.83 [+ or -] 2.2 x [10.sup.-6] typical
of fine-grained sediments. Samples LH09-ST2-2a to LH09-ST2-2c are
three subsamples taken from the same thin sheet of calcite. Samples
LH09-ST2-1a and LH09-ST2-16 are subsamples of the fringe lobe.
Sample name Sample description U (ppm)
LH09-ST1-1 Powder, from side of 0.4599 [+ or -] 0.0006
Column A
LH09-ST1-2 Powder, from top of 0.6119 [+ or -] 0.0007
Column A
LH09-ST1-3c Piece, from vertical 0.3783 [+ or -] 0.0002
surface of Column A
LH09-ST2-1 a Piece, from Column B 0.8141 [+ or -] 0.0009
fringe lobe
LH09-ST2-16 Piece, from Column B 0.8712 [+ or -] 0.0010
fringe lobe
LH09-ST2-2a Piece, from Column B 1.5533 [+ or -] 0.0023
fresh calcite sheet
LH09-ST2-26 Piece, from Column B 1.6226 [+ or -] 0.0026
fresh calcite sheet
LH09-ST2-2c Piece, from Column B 1.6350 [+ or -] 0.0017
fresh calcite sheet
Sample name [sup.232]Th (ppb) ([sup.230]Th/[sup.232]Th)
LH09-ST1-1 16.43 [+ or -] 0.18 21.331
LH09-ST1-2 49.47 [+ or -] 0.51 12.654
LH09-ST1-3c 34.32 [+ or -] 0.21 10.495
LH09-ST2-1 a 8.497 [+ or -] 0.027 37.607
LH09-ST2-16 13.470 [+ or -] 0.023 24.058
LH09-ST2-2a 20.889 [+ or -] 0.086 23.011
LH09-ST2-26 22.966 [+ or -] 0.098 21.932
LH09-ST2-2c 25.05 [+ or -] 0.11 20.153
Sample name ([sup.234]U/[sup.238]U) ([sup.230]Th/[sup.238]U)
LH09-ST1-1 1.0275 [+ or -] 0.0011 0.2511 [+ or -] 0.0010
LH09-ST1-2 1.0514 [+ or -] 0.0015 0.3372 [+ or -] 0.0025
LH09-ST1-3c 1.0311 [+ or -] 0.0013 0.3138 [+ or -] 0.0010
LH09-ST2-1 a 1.0690 [+ or -] 0.0017 0.1294 [+ or -] 0.0006
LH09-ST2-16 1.0830 [+ or -] 0.0015 0.1226 [+ or -] 0.0007
LH09-ST2-2a 1.1037 [+ or -] 0.0012 0.1020 [+ or -] 0.0007
LH09-ST2-26 1.1038 [+ or -] 0.0015 0.1020 [+ or -] 0.0006
LH09-ST2-2c 1.1034 [+ or -] 0.0013 0.1020 [+ or -] 0.0013
Sample name corr. [sup.230]Th age (ka)
LH09-ST1-1 29.40 [+ or -] 0.53
LH09-ST1-2 39.62 [+ or -] 1.2
LH09-ST1-3c 36.76 [+ or -] 1.3
LH09-ST2-1 a 13.72 [+ or -] 0.16
LH09-ST2-16 12.63 [+ or -] 0.22
LH09-ST2-2a 10.17 [+ or -] 0.19
LH09-ST2-26 10.18 [+ or -] 0.20
LH09-ST2-2c 10.10 [+ or -] 0.35
