Skip to main content

Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From

4 prehistoric migrations shaped India's population: Book - The Economic Times - https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/4-prehistoric-migrations-shaped-indias-population-book/articleshow/67299719.cms?utm_source=whatsapp_pwa&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialsharebuttons


"Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From" by Tony Joseph looks at how and when modern humans first arrived in India; what evidence they left behind; who their descendants are today; who else followed them as migrants to this land; how and when farming started and the world's largest civilisation of its time was built; when and why this civilisation declined; and what happened next.

The first modern humans arrived in India around 65,000 years ago as part of an Out of Africa migration that populated the entire world ultimately. The genetic lineage of these first migrants that the book calls ‘First Indians' still dominate the Indian population and accounts for 50-65 per cent of the Indian ancestry today.

The second major migration happened 9000 to 5000 years ago, when agriculturists from the Zagros region of Iran moved into India's northwestern part and mixed with the First Indians and helped speed up the farming experiments that were already beginning in the subcontinent.

The third major migration happened from southeast Asia around 2000 BCE, when farming-related migrations originally starting from the Chinese heartland overran south-east Asia and then reached India, bringing the Austroasiatic family of languages, such as Mundari and Khasi spoken in the eastern and central parts of the country.

The last major migration between 2000 and 1000 BCE brought central Asian pastoralists, who spoke Indo-European languages and called themselves Aryans, to India.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself.......

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. Because if not, there's absolutely no point. Not every argument is worth your energy. Sometimes, no matter how clearly you express yourself, the other person isn’t listening to understand—they’re listening to react. They’re stuck in their own perspective, unwilling to consider another viewpoint, and engaging with them only drains you. There’s a difference between a healthy discussion and a pointless debate. A conversation with someone who is open-minded, who values growth and understanding, can be enlightening—even if you don’t agree. But trying to reason with someone who refuses to see beyond their own beliefs? That’s like talking to a wall. No matter how much logic or truth you present, they will twist, deflect, or dismiss your words, not because you’re wrong, but because they’re unwilling to see another side. Maturity is...
Post a Comment
Read more

The battle against caste: Phule and Periyar's indomitable legacy

In the annals of India's social reform, two luminaries stand preeminent: Jotirao Phule and E.V. Ramasamy, colloquially known as Periyar. Their endeavours, ensconced in the 19th and 20th centuries, continue to sculpt the contemporary struggle against the entrenched caste system. Phule's educational renaissance Phule, born in 1827, was an intellectual vanguard who perceived education as the ultimate equaliser. He inaugurated the inaugural school for girls from lower castes in Pune, subverting the Brahminical hegemony that had long monopolized erudition. His Satyashodhak Samaj endeavoured to obliterate caste hierarchies through radical social reform. His magnum opus, "Gulamgiri" (Slavery), delineated poignant parallels between India's caste system and the subjugation of African-Americans, igniting a discourse on caste as an apparatus of servitude. Periyar's rationalist odyssey Periyar, born in 1879, assumed the mantle of social reform through the Dravidian moveme...
Post a Comment
Read more

India needs a Second National Capital

Metta Ramarao, IRS (VRS) India needs a Second National Capital till a green field New National Capital is built in the geographical centre of India. Dr B R Ambedkar in his book "Thoughts on Linguistic States" published in 1955 has written a full Chaper on "Second Capital for India" While discussing at length justfying the need to go for a second capital has clearly preferred Hyderabad over Kolkata and Mumbai. He did not consider Nagpur. Main reason he brought out in his book is the need to bridge north and south of the country. He recommended Hyderabad as second capital of India. Why we should consider Dr Ambedkar's recommendation: Delhi was central to British India. After partition, Delhi is situated at one corner of India. People from South find it daunting to visit due to distance, weather, language, culture, etc. If Hyderabad is made second capital, it will embrace all southern states. People of South India can come for work easily. Further, if Supreme Court...
Post a Comment
Read more