Sundaland connection.
Posted on 10/17/2022 5:21:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Taiwan famously features an indigenous population of Austronesian people whose history on the island stretches back 5,000 years.
But among these people, oral traditions have referred to another civilisation that seemed to be far older. They were often referred to as “pygmies” or tiny people and were described as having dark skin, curly hair and a diminutive stature.
For centuries, they only existed in fables , although they popped up with remarkable consistency over an extremely long period of time.
In early October, scientists proved they existed in Taiwan.
According to a paper published in World Archaeology, a peer-reviewed journal, archaeologists analysing skeletons from a cave in southeastern Taiwan built a strong argument that those remains belonged to “Negritos”, an ethnic group that still exists in the Philippines, Malay Peninsula and Andaman Islands.
“Prior to our work, some people knew about the legends of the ‘small black people’ of eastern Taiwan who reportedly lived there long ago, but the stories were unclear and generally regarded as a mystery,” said Hung Hsiao-chun, a senior research fellow of Archaeology and Natural History at the Australian National University, and an author of the study.
Hung said the teams’ discovery represented proof that this ancient hunter-gatherer population had lived in Taiwan for centuries, and possibly tens of thousands of years before the island was later inhabited by the Austronesian people, who are the ancestors of modern indigenous groups.
The term “Negritos” is a direct Spanish translation meaning “small-black” and is the widely accepted scientific and historical name to refer to this ethnic group.
Negritos are believed to be descendants of the First Sundaland People. They are an important group of people for researchers studying the “Out of Africa” theory, as their ancestors are believed to have migrated eastward by following the coastlines stretching from Africa, through South Asia and eventually East Asia.
The scientists confirmed that the skulls found in a Taiwanese cave, called Xiaoma, are consistent with other Negrito skulls and, by analysing the femur bone, the team estimated that the skeletons were about 139cm (a bit under 4’6”) tall.
Hung said that the earliest known inhabitants of Taiwan arrived around 30,000 years ago when an ancient land bridge connected the island with modern-day mainland China. However, the land bridge disappeared about 10,000 years ago after being cut off by the sea.
“At several cave sites of eastern Taiwan, the ancient archaeological layers have shown that hunter-gatherers had been living in this area at least since 30,000 years ago. Therefore, the findings at Xiaoma around 6,000 years ago represented people of the same ancient hunter-gatherer population but at a much later time period,” said Hung.
Previous histories of Taiwan usually feature a major gap from about 15,000 years ago to 7,000 years ago. The Negrito skulls are around 6,000 years old, while Austronesian populations migrated to the island in significant numbers about 5,000 years ago.
This significant time gap raises intriguing questions. Were the Negrito cave dwellers descendants of those first humans who arrived 30,000 years ago? Or, did this tribe manage to sail to Taiwan before other ethnic groups? At this point, there is no evidence providing a definitive answer to those questions.
That being said, Hung said there was likely a crossover between the Negritos and the first Austronesian populations who landed in Taiwan around 5,000 years ago.
“At least some overlap and contact very likely occurred, although we do not yet know the details of these relations,” she told the South China Morning Post.
The legend of the Negrito people in Taiwan is quite interesting. Of the ethnic groups, about half of the Austronesians viewed the Negritos as enemies, while another half thought of them as either allies, neutrals or ancestors. However, one ethnic group, the Saisiyats, had a remarkably complicated relationship with the Negritos.
One of the larger caves in Xiaoma. PHOTO: Mike T. Carson The Saisiyats, of which a small population still exists in Taiwan today, have a tradition called the “Pas-ta’ai” – a ritual to “honour the Short People”.
According to legend, the ancient Saisiyats and “dwarf-sized Ta’ai people” were neighbours, and the Ta’ai people taught the Saisiyats the basics of medicine, singing, dancing and other cultural traditions.
However, the legend says the Ta’ai people harassed the Saisiyat women, and eventually the ancient Saisiyat people decided they had enough and killed almost all of the Ta’ai people.
The myth says the Saisiyats then experienced a terrible famine, which they attributed to “vengeful pygmy spirits”. Now, every two years, the Saisiyats hold the “Pas-ta’ai” ritual to beg for forgiveness for their ancestors’ crimes.
The Pas-ta’ai traditional ceremony practised by the Saisiyat people in mainland China in 1936. PHOTO: National Taiwan University Hung said the Negritos likely died out because their hunter-gatherer lifestyle clashed with increasingly sedentary agricultural societies. Over a few generations, they were likely pushed out of their habitat and struggled to adapt to the new way of living.
This was not uncommon to the experience of other Negrito populations in Asia, as Negritos in Southeast Asia also became endangered populations with the advent of widespread agriculture, albeit those populations did not go extinct like the tiny people in Taiwan did.
SHORT PEOPLE!
Don’t quit your day job
Donna Shalala and Barbara Mikulski’s ancestors.
I was stationed in the PI from ‘83-’85. As a Naval Aviator I had the opportunity to go to JEST, (Jungle Environment Survival School). The Negrito instructors were excellent. Short in stature, but wise in the ways of the jungle. I learned which jungle vines I could cut and get fresh water from. I learned how to get water from the broad leaves of certain plants. I learned the things you could eat and survive on, and the things not to eat. They taught me how to make a hammock out of jungle vines to sleep on, to keep me away from the creepy crawlies on the jungle floor. I spent 2 of the worst nights of my life getting eaten alive by bugs, but I learned a lot. Miserable, but excellent training. 3rd best training I ever had in the military.
Navy flight school, which was super challenging and shaped my life and provided me with a career is #1.
2nd best training was SERE School, (Survivor, Evasion, Rescue, and Escape). It’s notorious for the waterboarding. There’s a lot more to it than that. Most of my fellow newly winged aviators came away from that school with one of 2 attitudes. 1. I’m going to ride it in, or 2. I’ve learned that I can survive anything. Bring it on. I was in the latter group.
Anyway, back to the Negritos, they were excellent in their role as instructors. After the school I had the opportunity to buy some of their blow guns, cross bows, and a cool machete which was made from an old leaf spring from a military jeep. I still have that, and have put it to good use over the last 40 years. The rest I gave away as gifts, and I wish I still had them.
The Negritos were recognized as a separate people in the PI back then, and it doesn’t surprise me that they settled Taiwan, too.
We know at least two of their names: Bilbo and Frodo
“However, the legend says the Ta’ai people harassed the Saisiyat women, and eventually the ancient Saisiyat people decided they had enough and killed almost all of the Ta’ai people.”
LOL.
The article does not contain a description of how tall they were.
Article says the remains were about 4’6” tall.
Evolution always on the move now we have many large people and small brains all over the place.
Sundaland connection.
Thanks Roccus!
I’ve driven by the SERE school at Fairchild AFB. That was the extent of my contact with it. I know that school attendees also train in the Colville National Forest.
One of the Homo floresiensis researchers said he saw one, and other researchers told him they had seen them too. He said they were afraid to say it because of their reputations. Apparently while they were on site doing research they think they have seen them in the woods watching them. He said he thinks they still live in the jungles, but avoid people, and just have not been seen recently.
My son while in Special Forces took a torture Survival course. He did so well his CO urged him to take the advanced course. Not being a masochist, my son said, “Naah.”
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-year-old-skull-cave-taiwan-possibly.html
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4100890/posts?page=2#2
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