Human skeletal remains, along with fragments of earthen pots, have been discovered in Thingkuang cave, located in the Thingkuang forest near North Khawlek village, along the Mizoram-Manipur border. The significant find was made by a local villager who stumbled upon the remains inside a cave situated on a steep cliff, approximately 50 feet above the ground.
The Mizoram chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) reported that carbon-14 testing has placed the age of these remains between 1260 and 1320 CE, indicating they are over 750 years old. The analysis was conducted by Beta Analytic, a renowned radiocarbon dating laboratory based in Florida. Rin Sanga, the INTACH Mizoram convener, confirmed that the samples dated to the late 13th or early 14th century. Further comprehensive tests, including DNA sequencing, are planned to identify the individuals and shed light on their origins, potentially offering profound insights into the ancestry and migration patterns of early settlers in the Mizoram region.
This discovery is particularly noteworthy as it predates the commonly accepted timeline for the Mizo people's entry into Mizoram by approximately 400 years. It is also about 200 years older than the previously oldest known remains found at Vangchhia in the Champhai district, which date back to 1485 CE. The find is expected to prompt a re-examination and potential revision of the historical narrative of the Mizo people.
Mizoram's history is rich with evidence of ancient human settlements, with archaeological findings at sites like Vangchhia suggesting sophisticated cultures and social structures dating back to 600 BCE. The migration of Tibeto-Burman speaking peoples from the Chin Hills in present-day Myanmar has shaped the region's heritage. The carbon-14 dating process, utilized by laboratories like Beta Analytic, relies on the known half-life of carbon-14 to determine the age of organic materials. Beta Analytic, established in 1979, is a global leader in radiocarbon dating, employing Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) for accurate measurements, even with small sample sizes.