New perspectives for 14C dating of parietal markings using CaCO3 thin layers: An example in Nerja cave (Spain)

Abstract For the first time direct 14 C dating was undertaken on two black parietal marks in Nerja cave (Malaga province, Southern Spain). Analyses were conducted on charcoal splinters (conifer wood) from the marks but also on the carbonate deposits underlying and overlying one of them. The satisfactory correlation between the ages of the black marks and those of the carbonate deposits validates the use of 14 C to date these two materials in Nerja and other decorated caves. The ages of the two marks fall in the same time range, between 20,000 and 18,000 years cal BP, evidencing human presence during the Early Magdalenian period in the upper galleries of Nerja cave.