An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.t2.18

v1.c9.s6.t2.18

There is hardly any reliable information on the origin of the Neolithic culture in this region. It has been thought that there was a cultural diffusion from further e., i.e. S.-E. Asia (Krishnaswami, 1960). This hypothesis is probable and the presence of shouldered celts is a pointer. It is proposed that the diffusionary mechanism of the Neolithic tradition from S.-E. Asia came later and mixed with the local Neolithic tradition. The basic substratum of the Neolithic in this region might have started independently because the origin of cultivation of rice set forth in this fertile region (Chatterjee, Ray and Ghosh, 1977). [Also see 2.2.3.]