Nick

Indian people have many different complexions. Some are black like the Africans, some have Middle Eastern features, some look East Asian, and others are very light skinned, almost white. Over the centuries many different races have colonised India, including the Aryans, Alexander's Greeks, Persians, Mughals and British.
What race were the first people to colonise India? Where did they come from? And was there anyone living there before the Indus civilisation?

corrocamino

The Australian Aborigines colonized Down Under around 70,000 years ago, I think. Presumably their ancestors came across southern Asia, some staying put there in all likelihood. But a lot of migration happened after that, no doubt.

sylla1

Homo sapiens came out of Africa no later than 100,000 years ago and colonized the Indian subcontinent at least 70,000 years ago.

Modern ethnic groups were mostly not fully developed; local dermal pigmentation was high.

Nick

So the Indians are descended from the ancestors of the Aborigines?

TinyTim1

They were of course black.

Jhangora

The first people to colonise India came from Africa. Early humans took the coastal route. Some tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands may be representative of what first Indians looked like. Among these Sentinelese still resist outside contact.

This is what different tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands look like.

Great Andamanese



Sentinelese



Onge



Jarawa




Shompen





My guess would be that the first 4 tribes would be closer in terms of looks to the first people who colonised India than the Shompen.

Toltec

Different complexions do not make races.


Human



The Indus civilisation dates from around 2,500 BCE, India has been inhabited for almost 90,000 years.

I suggest you check out here, look at the top post and click "Open the Map".

corrocamino

I didn't say that, and did not intend to imply it. I said a lot of migration since.

I don't know.

Rosi

I read somewhere the people of the Indus Valley civilisation were descended from those living in those parts since before. Say, the primitive man who progressed through various ages -- paleolithic, neolithic, etc. and in due course "ascended to civilisation".

The variety you speak of could be a result of the fair amount of Turko-Mongol proliferation that happened in waves. I think that includes the Aryans as well as some of the later Muslims.

Precognition

The first people to inhabit India were primitive Asiatic Mongoloids.

Then the Australoids passed through and the Aryans invaded and now you have the mixed gene-pool that is inherent in India today.