African and Asian Origin - Essay Sample

Historical scholars have linked our immediate ancestry of the walking apes to be Africa, but the recent discovery of a new primate in the ancient swamplands of Myanmar proves otherwise. This has surfaced a new idea that the primate family that evolved to human beings is rooted in Asia (Ramdin 67). In case this is true then all the anthropoids originated in the Asian continent and made the arduous journey to Africa about 40 million years ago. However, there is also a link to the evolution of modern man in various locations including both Africa and India, but the lines that exist among different species are blurred to conclude that Homo erectus evolved to Homo sapiens.

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Until a decade ago, a fossil of every suspected anthropoid was found in Egypt then dated back to about 30 million years ago. In the early 1990s, petite remains of primates were discovered in China and other Asian countries. This indicates that the ancient people may have risen in Asian then moved to Africa some million years later. However, again, there is no substantial evidence to show when and how the anthropoids trekked from Asia to Africa. In 2005, an international team of researchers discovered a molar the size of kernel popcorn in Myanmar dated 38 million years ago and was linked to the new species of the ancient human in Africa and Asia (Jayasuriya, Shihan and Jean-Pierre 87). Several years later, the team discovered another four molars linked to anthropoid and named Afrasia djijidae. These four molars convinced the team that Afrasia had a relation with another primitive anthropoid that lived during that time, but in Africa (Afrotarsius libycus).

A close analysis of the two primates (Afrasia djijidae and Afrotarsius libycus) under a microscope indicated that they had similar size, shape and belonged to the same species of primate. This showed a unique resemblance between Asian and African anthropoids hence supporting further migration allegation from Asia to Africa. Further examination on the fossil showed that the new molars from Asia Afrasia were more primitive as compared to the Libyan Afrotarsius. The primitive traits plus the greater diversity of the early human species suggest that the group originated in Asian and migrated to Africa about 37 to 39 million years ago. Ideally, this out-of-Asia situation may have been complicated and according to the team, many species migrated from Asia to Africa during the same time since there are at least two anthropoids that were alive at the time and were not closely related o Afrotarsius or Afrasia. The reason behind this can be that once they reached Africa, they found conducive conditions with few carnivores and undergone through progressive evolution. The similarities used between the species majorly rely on the four molars found and teeth are the most reliable way of measuring relatedness. Some researchers are yet to be convinced that Afrotarsius in Libya is the stem anthropoid rather than a mere ancestor and thus more distant relation.

For many decades the historians across the world have said the first inhabitants of Asia were black Africans. The Negros at some point in their early lives traveled to China and South of India, and thats why the south of Indo-China is inhabited with pure Negros. The sacred Manchu dynasty also shows some aspects of Negro strains with various reports that the Chinese chronicles are reporting the existence of Negro empire in the southern part of China at the dawn of their history. Substantial evidence also indicates the existence of Africans in early China with various kingdoms being ruled by blacks as documented in the main Chinese publications. All these theories have been, however, neglected due to supremacy among the white and the inferiority that existed among the Africans.

As a result of these, a team of specialist proved the origin of Africans in Asia through DNA tests that involved the inhabitants of both China (Asia) and Black Africans. The team concluded that Chinese originated from Homo erectus independently. After collecting a sample from about 150 various ethnicities and over 10000 samples from Asians to authenticate their history, a significant number of the Asian occupants carried the single genetic marker hence the African origin. The team further discovered that the ancient humans belonged to a variety of species, but the modern human was discovered from East Africa species. This implies that about 100,000 years ago, human beings started moving from Africa through Southeast China to China and as a result about 65 different branches of the Chinese were formed carrying similar DNA mutation and spread across Asia. From the research, it is indeed evident that Asians, Africans and other races across the globe are not so unlike from each other and are indeed close relatives with African origin (Harding et al. 771).

A team of scientists set out to prove that Chinese evolved from Homo erectus independently from other human races but this proved otherwise. The DNA results indicate that the early Chinese were composed of some African aspect. Out of 12,000 DNA samples, there was a stunning similarity to the people of Southeast Asia and those from Africans. There existed no single sample that could be considered a descendant of Homo erectus from the Chinese DNA species. Rather, everybody descended from Africa. Another collection of skeletal remains found indicates that the Chinese and other Asian occupants originated from Africa. There exist Negroid remains dating back to the periods of early Chinese history in areas around Pearl River Delta, Shangdong, and Yunnan. This does not only serve as a substantial evidence for the presence of early Africans in Asia, but their changing location indicates how widespread the Africans were in China and Asia in General.

The ancient Chinese had significant similarities with the Negros. There were numerous importations of Negro slaves into Asia during the Tang dynasty and the Manchu dynasty. The lower part of the face of Emperor Pu-Yi, a direct descendant of Machu rulers had some Negro strain. The early artistic works in China were also done in the image of Africans. It is more unlikely for a group of people to make a collection of people in the image of people they have never encountered. This is the reason behind some African figures in the early history of Asia, and according to Runoko Rashidi, a famous historian, there exist some statues of African-like dancers with spiral hair that seem to twirl around with one of their arms in the air with a clenched fist. These are true statues or images of black dwarfs who existed in early China.

History indicates that Africans build some of the earliest Kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The builders were known as the Khmers, a name that is linked to the ancient Kmt from Egypt. Just as many earlier descriptions of the Chinese, the ancient kingdom builders were described as small and black indicating that they were Africans. Additionally, the Shang dynasty that marked Chinas first dynasty described the Chinese people and Asians in general as Black and with oily skin. The ancient China rulers were also referred to as Xuan Di a term that translates to black emperors.

The Chinese and the Asian people have been over the years identified with the slated eye which historians trace back to African civilization. The Egyptians describe the slated eye as Negritic, and other history scholars have found it a common feature in West Africa among the Kong-san Bushmen and in other parts of Africa. Furthermore, some of the early Chinese sages were described as black (Rushton 56). Even though it is easier to find literature on Lao-Tze or even Laozi as a great Asian philosopher who revered as a deity in Chinese religion, the fact that he was black has been neglected by many scholars and researchers. However, according to one of the history books known as Human Origins, Lao-Tze was described as being black in complexion.

The origin of anthropoids or higher primates which, historically is the origin of humanity has been debated for years. Even though the fossils were unearthed from Egypt, other bones revealed over the last decade raises the possibility that Asia may be their origin. Currently, an international team of scientists has unearthed new fossil in Asia that may prove further that the origin of Africans and Asians is Asia, shedding light on the pivotal step in human evolution. The new fossil is named Afrasia djijidae. The famous four molars were recovered after about six years of continuous shifting through tons of sediments. One of the teeth dates about 37-million years and closely resembles those of the early anthropoids discovered in Sahara desert of Libya. Further discovery shows that anthropoids found in Libya were more diverse at that time in Africa that the scientist had expected to indicate that they originated elsewhere. These similarities, therefore, indicate that the early anthropoids colonized Africa from Asia.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the migration from Asia to Africa and the rest of the world has set a stage for the evolution of apes. Africa is the home of all man while Asia emerges to be the origin of the far ancestors. The existing similarities that exist between Afrasia and Afrotarsius indicate that anthropoids colonized Africa from Asia. The fossils show that these animals probably ate insects. Furthermore, a close analysis of the two primates (Afrasia djijidae and Afrotarsius libycus) under a microscope indicated that they had similar size, shape and belonged to the same species of primate. This showed a unique resemblance between Asian and African anthropoids hence supporting further migration allegation from Asia to Africa. Out of 12,000 DNA samples, there was a stunning similarity to the people of Southeast Asia and those from Africans. There existed no single sample that could be considered a descendant of Homo erectus from the Chinese DNA species. Rather, everybody descended from Africa. Another collection of skeletal remains found indicates that the Chinese and other Asian occupants originated from Africa. Researchers have suggested that earlier fossils were present between Myanmar and Libya but are yet to be unearthed as a result of security reasons such as insecurity in Afghanistan.

Works Cited

Harding, Rosalind M., et al. "Archaic African and Asian lineages in the genetic ancestry of modern humans." American journal of human genetics 60.4 (1997): 772.

Jayasuriya, Shihan S, and Jean-Pierre Angenot. Uncovering the History of Africans in Asia. Leiden: Brill, 2008. Print.

Ramdin, Ron. Reimaging Britain: 500 Years of Black and Asian History. Pluto Press, 1999.

Rushton, J. Philippe. Race, evolution, and behavior: A life history perspective. Transaction Publishers, 1995.