Geochronologists have introduced a revolutionary Chlorine-38 cosmogenic surface dating technique that allows for the dating of stone structures with sub-decadal precision. The first application of this method was conducted on the massive Neolithic menhir alignments found in the southern Korean Peninsula. The results have refined the construction dates of these megaliths to exactly 4300 BCE, nearly 500 years earlier than previously estimated using conventional radiocarbon dating of associated organic material.
This new methodology measures the accumulation of short-lived isotopes generated by cosmic rays hitting the surface of the granite blocks. Unlike carbon-14, which can be contaminated by later organic infiltration, the Chlorine-38 signal provides a direct record of when the stone was first exposed to the sky. This breakthrough is expected to transform the study of prehistoric maritime cultures in East Asia, providing a much-needed chronological framework for the migration and settlement patterns of early agrarian societies in the region.