Early Indians
Author | Tony Joseph |
---|---|
Country | India |
Language | English |
Subject | Human population genetics |
Genre | Popular science Non-fiction |
Publisher | Juggernaut Books |
Publication date | 20 December 2018 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 256 |
ISBN | 938622898X |
Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From is a 2018 non-fiction book written by Indian journalist Tony Joseph,[1][2][3] that focuses on the ancestors of people living today in South Asia.[4][5] Joseph goes 65,000 years into the past – when anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), first made their way from Africa into the Indian subcontinent.[6][7][8] The book relies on research findings from six major disciplines - history, archaeology, linguistics, population genetics, philology and epigraphy, and includes path-breaking ancient DNA research of recent years.[9][10] The book also relies on the extensive study titled "The Genomic Formation of Central and South Asia", co-authored by 92 scientists from around the world and co-directed by geneticist David Reich of Harvard Medical School, in which ancient DNA was used.[11][12][13] The book was later released in different languages like Tamil, Hindi, Oriya, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Gujarati etc.[14][15][16]
Description[]
The book discusses four prehistoric migrations in India.[17][18] The book posits that the Harappans were a mixture of Zagros agriculturists (from the modern-day Iran area) and First Indians,[19] a wave of migrants who came from Africa into Arabia and then reached India around 65,000 years ago.[20][21] Citing recent DNA evidence, the book traces the subsequent large migrations of anatomically modern humans into India—of agriculturalists from Iran between 7000 and 3000 BCE and Indo-European languages speaking pastoralists from the Central Asian Steppe (Aryans) between 2000 and 1000 BCE,[22] among others.[23][24] Joseph uses the layers of a pizza as a metaphor to explain the make-up of subcontinental society.[25]
The book also discusses about similarities and differences between Indus Valley civilization and early Vedic civilization.[26][27] The book mentions that "Aryan" culture was most likely the result of interaction, adoption and adaptation among those who brought Indo-European languages to India and those who were already well-settled inhabitants of the region, and that Sanskrit and the Vedas developed in the Indian subcontinent.[28] According to Joseph, Proto-Dravidian is related to the Elamitic language of Iran.[29] The caste system in India is a recent social system, reflected in sharply reduced inter-marriage (endogamy) and genetic mixing after 100 AD. This book also takes into account the path-breaking DNA research and findings from geneticist David Reich's research.[30]
Reception[]
The book was well received by readers and many critics.[31] Sujatha Byravan wrote in The Hindu that the book tells a compelling story of our forefathers based on genetic evidence.[32] Razib Khan of India Today said that the book presents a clear understanding of Early Indians.[33] Swaminathan Aiyar of The Times of India thought that the book helps us understand how all Indians have African, Harappan and Steppe Asian genes in different doses.[34] Author Gurcharan Das said that the book helps us understand that Indians are composed of a large number of small populations.[35] Kesavan Veluthat of The Hindu stated that the book shows a firm basis on which the study of Indian history can begin. This is of especial importance in the context of the post-truth conditions of the present, when myth-making seeks to replace authentic knowledge.[36] Nobel Prize winning structural biologist Venki Ramakrishnan described the book as a "very readable account".
Awards[]
- Best non-fiction books of the decade (2010-2019) - The Hindu[37]
- Book of the Year Award (non-fiction), Tata Literature Live, 2019 - The Wire[38]
- Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2019 - The Indian Express[39]
- Atta Galatta Award for best Non-Fiction, 2019 - Deccan Herald[40]
- One of the 10 Best New Prehistory Books To Read In 2020, as identified by bookauthority[41]
See also[]
- The Horse, the Wheel, and Language - 2007 book by anthropologist David W. Anthony
- Proto-Indo-European language
- Peopling of India
- Haplogroup R1a
- Shahr-e Sukhteh
- Who We Are and How We Got Here - 2018 book by David Reich (geneticist)
- Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
- Recent African origin of modern humans
References[]
- ^ "A Question of Identity". 2019-02-09.
- ^ "The first Indians".
- ^ "New reports clearly confirm 'Arya' migration into India".
- ^ "Can the arrival of the Aryans in India explain the disconnect between Harappan and Vedic culture?".
- ^ "Where Do We Actually Come From? 'Early Indians' Author Explains".
- ^ "'Early Indians' review: Who we are and where do we come from".
- ^ "Excerpt: These Rocks in MP Reveal Secrets to Our Origin as Indians".
- ^ "'We are a multisource civilisation, not unisource': Tony Joseph".
- ^ "Early Indians on hindsight".
- ^ "Video The story of our ancestors and where we came from: A masterclass with author Tony Joseph".
- ^ "1 The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia" (PDF).
- ^ "How We, The Indians, Came to Be".
- ^ "How Science Has Destroyed the Foundation of RSS' Idea of India".
- ^ "Hindi edition".
- ^ "Marathi Edition".
- ^ "Tamil Kindle edition".
- ^ "Four prehistoric migrations shaped India's population".
- ^ "The x, y and gene of pre-historic India".
- ^ "How ancient DNA may rewrite prehistory in India".
- ^ "The battle over the early Indians".
- ^ "How the First Farmers Changed History".
- ^ "We Are All Migrants, We Are All Mixed: Tony Joseph, Author Of 'Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors...'".
- ^ "Migrant Nation".
- ^ "Horse sense on Harappa: An excerpt from Tony Joseph's book "Early Indians"".
- ^ "We are like pizza. Early Indians were just the base: Tony Joseph".
- ^ "How genetics is settling the Aryan migration debate".
- ^ "Too early to settle the Aryan migration debate?".
- ^ "Examining the evidence for 'Aryan' migrations into India: The story of our ancestors and where we came from".
- ^ "Who built the Indus Valley civilisation?".
- ^ "From the Aryan migration to caste, two books offer fascinating insights into India's ancient past".
- ^ ""Early Indians: The Story Of Our Ancestors And Where We Came From" by Tony Joseph".
- ^ "'Early Indians' review: Who we are and where do we come from".
- ^ "Review: The Indians Before India".
- ^ "So much for Hindu Rashtra".
- ^ "Who are we Indians? Genetics is bringing bad news for the politics of identity: We are all migrants".
- ^ "Of India's genetic roots".
- ^ "Best non-fiction books of the decade".
- ^ "Writer Shanta Gokhale Honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at Tata Literature Live".
- ^ "Tony Joseph's Early Indians wins Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2019".
- ^ "Four authors get Atta Galatta-BLF awards".
- ^ "10 Best New Prehistory Books To Read In 2020".
External links[]
- Human evolution books
- Last common ancestors
- 2018 non-fiction books
- Genetics books
- Human population genetics