Isolates in India: their origin and characterisation

Abstract

The peopling of India The discovery of lithic and bone tools of the Early Stone Age and subsequent periods from almost all over the country establishes beyond doubt that man has existed for a very long time in India, and the recent discovery of osseous remains of Homo erectus in central India shows the presence there of his antecedents also. Archaeological and historical evidence further establishes that several waves of immigrants from west and central Asia, and to a lesser extent from north and southeast Asia, came to India during at least the last 10,000 years. The immigrants came primarily by land, but also used sea routes, and mainly settled in the river-valleys and plains. These immigrants brought a variety of cultural as well as biological traits. There is perhaps no other subcontinent in the world that harbours such a rich array of ethnic elements as India. In classical terms all the major races of mankind - Europoid, Mongoloid and Negroid - have contributed in the biological constitution of the people of India (Malhotra, 1978). Numerous anthropometric studies conducted on contemporary Indian populations, and on the prehistoric skeletal remains from different periods and geographical areas, suggest the existence of, or the presence of contributions from, the following ethnic elements among the people of India: i Negritos (Andaman Islands) ii Australoids (west, central and southern India) iii Europoids (all over the country) iv Mongoloids (north-east and sub-Himalayan region) v Negroes (west coast and southern India, numbering around 15,000)