Guwahati, July 20 -- An archaeological expedition in eastern Nagaland has pushed back the history of human habitation in the state, with researchers uncovering evidence that prehistoric communities occupied caves and rockshelters in present-day Noklak district nearly 3,500 years ago.

The discoveries, made in the limestone caves of the Naga Hills Ophiolite Belt, include ancient pottery, stone tools, hearths and carbonised grains, providing rare scientific evidence of how some of the earliest inhabitants of the region lived, farmed and adapted to the rugged Indo-Myanmar frontier.

The findings emerged from the first systematic archaeological exploration of the cave systems in Chiphur, undertaken in March by a joint team from Nagaland Unive...