EVIDENCE of human settlement dating back more than 1300 years has been uncovered at one of five archaeological sites being studied in Nagaland, along the Myanmar-India border, the Morung Express reported last week.

Radiocarbon testing found charcoal remains at the Laruri site, which is about 10 kilometres from the Myanmar border, dating back to the seventh century, according to Dr I Anungla Aier, the project coordinator at the Anthropological Society of Nagaland, which is based in the Nagaland capital Kohima.

Testing at the other sites revealed habitation from 920 to 1670AD, the newspaper reported on July 1.

The project was launched in April 2007 and was carried out by the Anthropological Society of Nagaland and sponsored by the government of Nagaland’s Department of Art and Culture.

The first phase of the project covered the tribes from the Kohima, Phek and Mokokchung Districts. Phek is the closest to Myanmar, situated about 30km from the border.

The radiocarbon testing was performed by Beta Analytic from Miami, Florida, and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The press release hailed the results as a major breakthrough in archaeological work in northeast India.

Another significant recent discovery is an early Neolithic cave site in the Naga Ophiolite Belt area in Kiphire District, which also borders Myanmar. Neolithic tools, ash deposits, cord-marked pottery, animal bones and a human burial site have been excavated at the limestone cave since January 2009. Radiocarbon testing placed the age of the site at 4460 to 4430BC, which pushes back the beginning of the Neolithic era in the region.

“Thus far, no Neolithic site of this antiquity has been reported from the Eastern and Northeastern region of India,” the newspaper reported.

The Anthropological Society of Nagaland said the Indo-Myanmar border is considered “an important corridor for human migration” and further excavation will be undertaken later in the year.