Luminescence Dating of Neolithic Pottery in North East India

Imprecise chronological data have long been affecting archaeological studies in Assam and Meghalaya, North East India. Relative dating methods have been used to study the antiquity of stone tools and ceramics found in the archaeological sites of these two areas. Both the areas are important as the eastern Asiatic Neolithic complex of double-shouldered celts and cord-marked pottery was first reported in India from Daojali Hading, Assam (1961), Garo Hills, Meghalaya has the highest concentration of prehistoric sites found in North East India. Optically stimulated luminescence dating offered an excellent opportunity for dating the ceramic samples recovered during the first excavations in 1961 (Daojali Hading in Dima Hasao district Assam) and 1999 (Gawak Abri, Garo Hills), as the method provided a direct age estimate of the time of last exposure of quartz or feldspar minerals to light or heat, and the purity of the etched quartz (i.e. any feldspar contaminations) can be confirmed by infrared stimulated luminescence technique. Date obtained from Daojali Hading is 2.7 ± 0.3 ka (LD1728) and that from Gawak Abri is 2.3 ± 0.2 ka (LD1727).