Researchers at the University of Cambridge have announced a major refinement in archaeological dating using an innovative Argon-37 and Argon-39 pulse methodology. By applying this technique to microscopic inclusions in metallurgical slag from the Belan Valley, the team has successfully pushed back the chronology of the Neolithic-to-Copper Age transition to 3800 BCE. This adjustment places the origins of complex metallurgy in Central India significantly earlier than previously accepted timelines.
The new methodology achieves unprecedented precision by measuring the radioactive decay of argon isotopes generated within the mineral lattice of copper artifacts. This allows for the dating of the actual moment of smelting, bypassing the traditional errors associated with associated organic materials. The study, appearing in Scientific Reports, suggests that the indigenous development of copper-based technology in the Indian subcontinent was an independent and early occurrence, separate from external influences.