Aizawl, Sep 2: Over 700-year-old human bones, including skulls and femurs, were recovered from a cave in northern Mizoram near the Manipur border, which may redefine the history of the Mizo people, heritage conservation organisation INTACH said on Tuesday.
The discovery breaks the record of the oldest skeletal remains found in the state, Convenor of the Mizoram chapter of Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Rin Sanga said in a press conference here.
Sanga said the organisation decided to go for an in-depth study on the skeletons to re-examine the Mizo history.
The skeletons included nine human skulls, several femurs and other bones. Besides, ancient artefacts, including ‘dao’, knife and segments of broken pots, were also discovered at the site, said Vanlalhuma Singson, an archaeologist in the state art and culture department.
The skeletal remains which were found buried inside an elevated cave in Thingkhuang forest area, a few km from North Khawlek village in Saitual district, dated back to between 1,260 CE and 1,320 CE as per carbon dating test.
Those were discovered by a local when he was out hunting in Thingkhuang forest on January 11 this year, Sanga said.
The hunter later informed local leaders, who then approached the INTACH, Mizoram chapter.
The conservation group sought the help of the state Art and Culture department, which sent an archaeologist and expert to the site on May 2, he said.
The archaeologist, Vanlalhuma Singson, told PTI that the cave is about 1,228 meters above sea level and is not easily accessible by people as it is in a gorge.
He said that samples of the skeletons were sent for a Carbon-14 dating test, a method used to determine the age of organic materials, to a laboratory in the United States.
The laboratory test results were received in August, and the results showed that the skeletal remains dated back to 1,260 CE to 1,320 CE, he said.
Sanga, who is also a retired IAS officer, said that the discovery has highlighted the need to re-examine and redefine the history of Mizoram and the Mizo people, as it is about 400 years older than the commonly accepted theory of the time when the Mizo people entered Mizora.
It is also about 200 years older than the oldest skeletal remains found at an ancient site at Vangchhia in east Mizoram’s Champhai district, he said.
“The skeletons are much older than those discovered at Vangchhia, which dates back to 1,485 CE. The new discovery also highlights the need to re-study and redefine Mizo history as most Mizo historians describe the Mizo people as having entered Mizoram about 1,700 CE,” he told the news conference.
With the help of the state government and experts, DNA sequencing will be done to find out which race or descendants the skeletons belong to, he added.(PTI)
