16 hours ago
Nagaland Univ launches studies to explore prehistoric Naga life
Guwahati: Nagaland University has launched archaeological studies to explore the life of prehistoric Naga communities, seeking to uncover climate adaptation methods that could bolster current food security in Nagaland.
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The Australian Research Council is supporting this interdisciplinary community research from 2025 to 2028.
The study examines life dating back 11,000 years (Holocene epoch) and the Anthropocene period when humans began affecting the environment significantly. Researchers are investigating two site types — prehistoric locations potentially containing pre-agricultural evidence and Naga ancestral village sites typically located beneath present-day village settlements.
Researchers note these ancestral locations represent pre-colonial indigenous habitation and serve as collective memory repositories for descendant groups, particularly in migration narratives from key dispersal points.
"We work with communities to uncover the deep history of their villages, to see how their food systems changed through time and to identify any past adaptations they made to altered climatic conditions.
Using this knowledge and wider scientific studies, our research will include suggestions and advice that may assist indigenous communities towards further adaptation in the face of an increasingly environmentally unstable future," said Prof Alison Betts from The University of Sydney.
This project combines past studies, community involvement, agriculture and sustainability. While distinctive in structure, the researchers felt that it could serve as a template for comparable research elsewhere.
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Prof Tiatoshi Jamir from Nagaland University's department of history and archaeology reported completing initial research at Langa village in Shamator district.
"As part of our work targeted towards public outreach, we produced a short community archaeology film documenting the traditional oral history of the village and the archaeology of this ancestral site with the collaborative efforts of the local communities of Langa, Kuthur, and Yimkhiung Tribal Council.
Further study of a similar nature is also ongoing in New Phor (Burakha), Meluri district, with the support of the local community of New Phor and Pochury Hoho," he added.
This collaborative study involves Nagaland University, University of Sydney, La Trobe University, University of York, and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, supported by Nagaland's department of art and culture.
