Manipur is situated on the tertiary ranges of a branch of the eastern Himalayas running south and forms part of the compact physiographic unit following the great divide between the Brahmaputra and Chindwin valleys. Northeast India holds the key to the understanding the scope, depth, dimension and cultural diffusion between south Asia, southeast Asia, Polynesia and Micronesia which played a crucial role in transforming the northeast Indian ethnographic canvas from prehistoric times onwards. Manipur appears to have absorbed Bronze Age cultural traits from Thailand and Upper Burma where indigenous early metal age culture developed at a comparatively early date around 4000 BC.