A pioneering paleogenomic study published in Nature Communications has sequenced the oldest human remains ever recovered from the Brahmaputra Valley, dating back to 10,000 BCE. Researchers identified a unique set of genetic markers specifically evolved to provide immunity against river-borne fluvial pathogens. This discovery suggests that early populations in the region had already developed a complex biological relationship with the flood-prone ecosystem of Northeast India during the late Pleistocene.
The study, led by an international consortium of geneticists, utilized advanced High-Throughput Sequencing to extract DNA from skeletal fragments found in a cave complex near the Assam-Arunachal border. The analysis reveals that these ancient foragers were genetically distinct from both Southeast Asian and North Indian populations of the same era, representing a previously unknown "ghost lineage" that thrived in the unique humid-subtropical niche of the valley.