Mass-spectrometric radiocarbon dating has arguably been the most successful technique for dating cave art, in the rare cases where it is possible to directly date charcoal or other pigments containing carbon (2).

Can you carbon date cave paintings?

Dating cave paintings can prove extremely difficult. Radiocarbon dating can be destructive to the artwork and can only be used to date carbon-containing pigment—usually charcoal. This method also gives you the age of the felled tree that made the charcoal, rather than the age of the charcoal itself.