Why Do Old Dates Fascinate Prehistorians?

Archaeologists have always been interested in placing things into chronological sequences. Prior to the discovery of numerical dating techniques, the sequence of prehistoric events was only known relatively within large approximations and with high degrees of uncertainty. From the 1950s onwards, radiocarbon dating appeared as the most important method to obtain the chronometric age of prehistoric materials. Later, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) became the prevalent technique and began to be used to date rock art paintings. The precision of this method improved, and the age of much rock art was pushed back. New techniques based on luminescence (e.g., TL, OSL) and the disequilibrium in the U-series (e.g., U/Th) have been developed in the last years. Engaged in an international race toward the oldest dates, prehistorians from all over the world have seemed to move away from their primary objective, which is the understanding of past societies. In rock art studies, research is now shaped by the search for the ‘earliest art’ and the oldest manifestation of ‘symbolic behaviour.’ Through the examination of the different dating techniques developed in the second half of the twentieth century, several examples of this time-driven prehistory will be given. Behind an illusory mathematical rigor, the leaden weights of preconception and ulterior motive reappear in many cases, reminding us that prehistory is not only a ‘human science,’ but a science made by humans.