The contamination of Pleistocene radiocarbon determinations in Australia

Abstract

Previous articles in ANTIQUITY have taken different views of the dating pattern for the human settlement of Australia. Is the apparent limit in the region of 35–40,000 years ago visible in the radiocarbon determinations a real date for the human presence? Or is it an artificial result of the dating method? A comparative study of the dating pattern in archaeological as against non-archaeological contexts may inform.