A research team from the Inter-University Accelerator Centre has introduced a novel Samarium-146/Neodymium-142 isotopic dating methodology to refine the timeline of Neolithic transitions in the Brahmaputra Valley and surrounding highlands. This technique allows for the precise dating of silicate-rich sediments and toolkits that are often difficult to calibrate using standard radiocarbon methods.
The results, published in Paleo-Dating Reports, push back the initial onset of the Neolithic in the region to approximately 8200 BCE. This recalibration suggests that the development of specialized microlithic toolkits and early plant management in Northeast India was contemporaneous with the earliest agricultural experiments in the Fertile Crescent, indicating an independent center of innovation.