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Of lasting genes and lost cities of Tamil Nadu Papri Sri Raman (Indo-Asian News Service)Chennai, January 5 India's East Coast, especially along Tamil Nadu, is increasingly drawing the attention of archaeologists and anthropologists from across the world for its evolutionary and historical secrets.The focus has sharpened after genetic scientist Spencer Wells found strains of genes in some communities of Tamil Nadu that were present in the early man of Africa.In the "Journey of Man" aired by the National Geographic channel, Wells says the first wave of migration of early man from Africa took place 60,000 years ago along the continent's...

Submerged city may be older than Mesopotamia Utpal Parashar Dehra Dun, December 3 A submerged coastal city near Poompuhar in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, is the focus of a major expedition being conducted jointly by the Indian Naval Hydrographic Department (INHD) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Both the organisations are trying to piece together the city's past, which some noted marine archaeologists consider to be the birthplace of modern civilisation. The once flourishing port city is located about one mile off the Nagapattinam coast. "We have been able to locate a section of the city at a depth of...

Of lasting genes and lost cities of Tamil Nadu Papri Sri Raman (Indo-Asian News Service) Chennai, January 5 India's East Coast, especially along Tamil Nadu, is increasingly drawing the attention of archaeologists and anthropologists from across the world for its evolutionary and historical secrets. The focus has sharpened after genetic scientist Spencer Wells found strains of genes in some communities of Tamil Nadu that were present in the early man of Africa. In the "Journey of Man" aired by the National Geographic channel, Wells says the first wave of migration of early man from Africa took place 60,000 years ago...

Indian town sees evidence of ancient tsunamiOnce-powerful city on same spot 'swallowed by the sea' Gautam Singh / APThis ancient Thirupallavaneeswaram Temple is one of the few remnants of ancient Poompuhar, which was a thriving capital city until it was "swallowed by the sea" more than 1,500 years ago.The Associated Press Updated: 2:33 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2005POOMPUHAR, India - For generations, the people of Poompuhar have spoken of the days when their sleepy fishing town was the capital of a powerful kingdom, and traders came from Rome, Greece and Egypt to deal in pearls and silk. .