Prehistory of Manipur

The prehistory of Manipur is the period of human history between the first use of stone tools by early men and the time just preceding ancient Kangleipak.

This, however, is disputed, and Northeast Corridors are proposed by some scholars to have played a defining role in early hominid migrations and peopling of India.

[5] However, Manjil Hazarika, in his 2017 survey of prehistory of Northeast India, rejects that there exists any plausible ground to deny presence of Paleolithic culture in Manipur.

[8] Evidence of Paleolithic habitation was discovered in five archeological sites, Songbu, Khangkhui, Machi, Nongpok Keithel Manbi and Singtom.

[3][11] Multiple neolithic sites have been identified in Manipur; they include Nongpok Keithelmanbi, Napachik, Laimenai, Naran Siena, and Phunan.Considered to be part of a larger Southeast Asian complex, the identifications are primarily accorded on the basis of stone tools and pottery (esp.

[23] Hazarika notes the Manipuri sites to have an abundance of three-legged pottery and cord-impressed ware, very similar to the ones found in Southern China and Thailand, and hypothesizes that Manipur might have been the melting pot of Neolithic impulses from adjoining regions.

[24] Roger Blench, in agreement with George van Driem's reconstructions of archeo-linguistic history of Southeast Asia, proposes that Northeast India accommodated a diverse group of foragers since neolithic age, who learned agriculture and animal rearing c. 4000 B.C before migrating eastwards and establishing the TB phylum.