A new research paper in the Journal of Marine Archaeology details the use of a refined 'Amino-Acid' Racemization technique to date submerged coral-stone formations in the Gulf of Mannar. The study, led by an international consortium of marine geologists, has successfully dated several man-made causeways and foundations to approximately 13,000 BCE, during a period when the sea level was significantly lower.
The precision of the new dating methodology confirms that these structures were not natural reefs but deliberate maritime engineering projects designed to manage tidal surges and facilitate coastal navigation. This discovery pushes back the timeline of large-scale maritime infrastructure by several millennia, suggesting that Pleistocene coastal communities in the Indian Ocean were capable of sophisticated geomorphological modifications well before the traditionally accepted start of the Neolithic period.