A large-scale genomic study focused on the Surma Valley in the northeastern Indian subcontinent has uncovered a unique genetic transition occurring approximately 6,500 years ago. Analysis of skeletal remains indicates that early Neolithic settlers in this region developed specific immune-system adaptations to combat pathogens endemic to high-humidity, high-altitude riverine environments.
The study, led by an international consortium of paleogeneticists, found that these adaptations coincide with the first evidence of local millet and tuber cultivation. This suggests that the transition to sedentary farming in the northeast was not just a cultural shift but a biological one, enabled by a rapid selection for genes that protected against regional parasitic loads. These findings rewrite the history of early migration pulses from Southeast Asia into the Indian peninsula.