Journey of the Early Man - Africa to America

Prof. Pitchappan, a Senior Professor from thehunter-gatherers arrived. They were
School of Biological Sciences in India played ancomparatively tall, straight-haired and dark
important role in the discovery of first coastalskinned, with very little body hair. Named
migration of the early man from Africa toCarpentarians, they colonised northern and central
Australia through India, which had taken placeAustralia. The Carpentarians might be the
50,000 years ago and the second migration toproto-Dravidian who populated most of India and
Central Asia around 45,000 years ago.north and central Australia. This group ultimately
The second wave of the early man's migrationcame from Sudan in Africa.
expanded in Central Asia leading to dispersalThe Tasmanians were mixed Murrayians and
towards Europe, the Americas, South Asia andBarrineans.
China.The early man from Africa in different waves
His research confirmed the first coastal migrationcrossed to Australia through Asia and then to the
from Africa to Australia, through India. He cameAmericas by crossing the Pacific Ocean. The first
out with evidence by genetics that could not behint of an American aborigine settlement of South
obtained by archaeology. Even there were otherAmerica came from cave paintings in Brazil. The
researchers who came out with various findingspaintings, which some archaeologists claim are
along with genetic ones. Their studies showed thatolder than the supposed date of arrival of the
there were three waves of early humans fromSiberian migrations to the area and the depict
Africa that swept across India and Australia.rituals never before seen in native American art.
There were three major waves of migration ofThe ritual costumes shown in the paintings are
quite different ancient people who came to theclaimed to be similar to those used by Australian
Australian continent from Southeast Asia. Moreaborigines today.
than 40,000 years ago, when sea levels wereAnthropologists Walter Neves and Mark Hubbe
much lower and Australia, New Guinea andstudies confirm the oldest settlers of the
Tasmania comprised one landmass.Americas came from different genetic stock than
The first to arrive were a slightly-built people ofmore recent Native Americans. The Africans
pygmoid stature with dark skin and very frizzycrossed the Atlantic and reached various parts of
hair. They were Negritos and they provided thethe Americas as well.
initial population for the whole of the AustralianThere were a number of Black tribes including
continent. The frizzy-haired pygmoid Negritos orWashitaw Naton, the Black Californian, the
Barrineans still survive in Northeast Queensland,Yamassee of Georgia, the Caracole, Guanini, and
Australia and in the Andaman Islands.Black Caribs of South America dwelling from
About 20,000 years ago, a second type of peopleSouth America to the Mississippi Valley, the
arrived from Asia. These newcomers, calledEastern United States, California and Florida, came
Murrayians, were comparatively lightly skinned,to Americas before Columbus and mingled with
wavy-haired, and stocky in build, with a lot ofthe present South and North American population
body hair. They drove the Negritos who cameand passed the beneficial genetic traits.
before them until the latter retreated to theRecent studies show the presence of partial
highlands of New Guinea, the rainforests of NorthWhite ancestry in some groups of Amerinds by
Queensland and to then ice-capped Tasmania. Thethe Pre -Colombian European migrations towards
Murrayians became the dominating population onthe Americas. The early European Cro-Magnon
the east coast of Australia and the openpeoples probably crossed by sea into the
grasslands of the south and west of theAmericas, as it is seen in the odd DNA relationship
continent. The Murrayians or Veddoids still surviveof some Amerindian tribes and North-Western
mostly in Southern Australia and in Sri Lanka.Europeans.
Then, about 15,000 years ago, a third wave of