Origin of the Dravidian People: Gene Migration Pathway.

Everyone is curious about their ancestors, where they acquired their good qualities, and their innate superior attributes. So, it is normal that everyone is interested in this topic. The archaeological evidence is complex and sparse for the early part of human civilisation. That does not mean that this should remain a mystery forever. The recent emergence of genetic studies, including genetic fingerprinting, is helping in many ways. Genetic fingerprinting is helping to solve many crimes. Similarly, it can also be used to trace our ancestors.

Book of Spencer wells – on gene migrations

“The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey” (Wells, 2003), by Spencer Wells, is an essential resource for understanding the migration patterns of ancient peoples. (1) Surprisingly, many long-forgotten issues have been cleared and clarified by his book. Many of the research papers by various geneticists have been taken into consideration in this book, as Spencer Wells arrives at major conclusions. One of the significant questions which bothers our minds is the question of the Origin of Man. Is it Africa, Central Asia, or China? Are the Chinese, Africans and Europeans (Caucasian) different? The book states that all humankind originated from a single family as recently as 50,000 years ago in Africa, which resolves the problem of the Origin of Man. A small group consisting of 100-200 migrated out of Africa and populated the entire earth.

Out of Africa Theory

Now, the other question is: How did they migrate? Moreover, what route did they take? This book explains that there were waves of migration out of Africa during periods of drought. The first migration occurred approximately 50,000 years ago. The man, identified as M168 (the specific Mutation was named M168), migrated out of Africa with his family. He migrated along the coast and rushed during the Ice Age. During the Ice Age, it was cold everywhere in Europe and Asia, but it was dry in Africa. Due to the dryness of the land, the migrating wild beasts, such as zebras and Thomson’s gazelles, as well as other resident animals, died out in large numbers. However, it appears that the M168 family were fishermen who lived in the coastal areas of Eastern Africa. They relied on fishing for food and survived the severe drought in Africa at that time.

First group out of Africa – M130

The first group of people migrated into the southern tip of Arabia (Aden), but moved on through coastal Iran and India with a new mutation called M130 (50,000 years ago), reached the Andaman Islands and the Andaman tribes existing in these islands are evidence of that event. This population, characterised by the genetic marker M130, is found in large numbers in the coastal areas of India, particularly in the South Indian coastal states. Finally, this population with the M130 marker reached Australia and settled there. The presence of Australian Aborigines attests this fact. (Most probably) These people were fishermen who used boats, which explains their rapid movement along the coast and their island hopping and settlement on islands. It is not that they settled only in coastal areas; they also intruded into the Indian subcontinent through all the major river valleys and into the deeper interior regions of the Indian subcontinent. They were the first inhabitants of India. However, they made little headway due to a shortage of metal tools and a lack of agricultural knowledge.

The later-day agriculturist made a real inroad into the interior plains of India because they could clear the forest using metal implements and cultivate the soil, which supported a large population. Now the second migration is out of the M 168 men who were settled in Mesopotamia. After reaching Mesopotamia, the M168 population had grown in number, multiplied and flourished. In this population, a distinct mutation occurred again, facilitating the identification of the movement of this population. This mutation, designated M89, occurred approximately 45,000 years ago.

Gene migration table

M168 African clan	50,000 years ago	Homo sapiens migrating out of Africa, because of prolonged drought conditions.
M130 Coastal marker	50,000 years ago	Entry into Arabia, coastal people migrating along the coastlines, rapidly moved and reached Australia; the present-day Australian Aborigines attest to that fact. The Andaman tribes are remnants of this movement. Today, this marker comprises only 5% of the population in India, primarily found in the coastal areas of South India.
M89 — Mesopotamian marker	45,000 years ago	M89 people enjoyed a settled life in Mesopotamia, in the land of two rivers, with sufficient water and wild cattle to feed on, during the hunter-gatherer stage.
M9 —Turan Basin clan	40,000 years ago	M9 people came out of the Mesopotamian population and moved into the Turan basin area around this time.
M45 –Central Asian nomads	35,000 years ago	M45 people multiply and form the nomads of Central Asia. Steppe lands are full of wild herd herbivores and mammoths, which support the population growth and multiplication of steppe nomads.
M173	30,000 years ago	The Central Asian M-45 population (Central Asian nomads) divide into two groups. One group with the M173 marker moved into Europe.
M20-Early pastoral Dravidian clan	30,000 years ago	Dravidians entered India. The Early Dravidians were primarily hunters and cattle-rearers. 50% of the South Indians have this Mutation. This mutation originated from the M9 population (Turan Basin clan).
M172— Neolithic Anatolian Farmers	10,000 years ago	Neolithic Anatolian people migrated into Europe via Greece and other coastal areas of Europe. They were the earliest known agriculturists, and they domesticated the wild cattle and goats. On the eastern side, they formed Sumerian farmers and later-day farmers of the Indus region. This gene marker is found in equal frequency to that of M20 and M17 in India. (Wells, 2003, p. 167). They may be termed as Sumerian farmers in India
M17 —Indo Europeans	10,000 years ago	The emergence of Indo-European people in Southern Russia and Ukraine (most likely) learnt agriculture through cultural diffusion, rather than conquest, as they likely learned agriculture from the Anatolians. The Renfrew model, also known as cultural infusion, originated in Anatolia. These people domesticated the horse. These people are the heroes of Aryan theory. The PCT theory of Alinei proposes that this so-called ―Kurgan‖ People are intruders from the Uralic region, and were originally Turkic people. (People from Turkmenistan of Central Asia)

Earliest civilisation

What is the place of origin of the earliest civilisation? Is it from Egypt or Mesopotamia? Generally, the Fertile Crescent has been the source of civilisation. The genetic studies confirm that the Mesopotamians were the first people to increase in number, but they do not reveal how culturally advanced they were. Fortunately, the genetic route map coincides with the cultural route map of human beings. More or less, the earliest civilised society existed in Sumeria, and then migrated to Egypt. Based on this genetic study, the conclusion is stated with reasonable accuracy; otherwise, it remains a highly debatable point, and no solid evidence exists in this regard.

Egypt is the storehouse of evidence.

Mesopotamia is an open plain and is situated at the crossroads of all surrounding countries. This centrally located area was frequently invaded by various peoples, destroying ancient cultures. Even in modern days, the devastating effects of the two wars on Iraq can be seen. The old government and institutions of Iraq were utterly destroyed, and the process of destruction is being continued. It will result in the creation of a new order in that country.

The destruction of old ideas is a common recurring theme in ancient Mesopotamia, whereas the Egyptians, settled in one corner of the Levant, were less disturbed by invasions and destruction. Egyptians had time to adapt to the new situations, war and equipment. They were able to preserve specific ideas to a limited extent. The process of change was slow and tolerable in Egypt. The Egyptians had a chance to fight back against the enemies because the enemy had to come through Sinai and other inhospitable northern desert routes. The Nile valley was protected from the other sides by the Sahara Desert. Therefore, the Nile Valley served as a protective shelter. Furthermore, the dry climate protected many monuments and mummies, as well as other perishable materials, which provided valuable evidence for later-day archaeologists.

Next route

The next route for the M89 population to take should have been to move naturally into Europe via Turkey and the Bosporus Strait. However, it did not happen that way because Europe was in the grip of the Ice Age 50,000 years ago. Hence, this route was blocked by ice. Spencer Wells says that the M89 population took the other route out, through Central Asia. The M9 man of the Turan area followed the animal herds and migrated into Central Asia, where he survived and multiplied.

The M9 man was a Hunter, surviving by hunting wild game. Out of this “Turan man,” another mutation occurred, and new people emerged, who are identified by the gene marker M45. The majority of the Central Asian population has M45 Marker genes. This mutation, M45, occurred around 35,000 years ago. This central Asian population with the M45 marker was later divided into two branches.

One branch went into Europe and the other branch into Siberia. The European branch is identified as M173, a gene mutation that occurred approximately 30,000 years ago, whereas the Siberian branch emerged around 20,000 years ago. The Siberian branch then migrated further into America through the Bering Strait and gave rise to the Native Americans of America. The movement into America occurred around 10,000 years ago.

An important gene mutation occurred in Southern Russia and Ukraine, originating from the genetic stock of M-173, and was designated as M17. This important mutation, M17, occurred just 10,000 years ago. The maximum variations in satellite Chromosomes are found in Southern Russia and Ukraine. This concept of maximum variation located in a specific area is significant because it denotes the area of origin of these M17 people.

These M17 individuals are the nucleus of later-day Indo-Europeans. This M17 is found in India at a surprisingly high frequency, measuring nearly 35% in Delhi and major Hindi-speaking areas. The same M-17 gene is found everywhere, wherever Indo-European language-speaking people are settled, such as in Europe, Southern Russia, and Central Asia. However, the spread of the IE language should not be correlated with the population of M17 people. So far, it has been generally agreed that the general movement of people correlates with language. However, the issue of IE gene movement, along with IE language, is fraught with numerous dissenting arguments. Even after numerous genetic studies, Colin Renfrew remains committed to his theory that the spread of Indo-European (IE) languages originated from Anatolia, driven by cultural diffusion rather than gene invasion.

Origin of the Dravidian people in the Turan basin (M9-group)

Thirty thousand years ago, the M-20 people migrated from the Turan Basin into the Indian Subcontinent. The old Dravidian culture shows many similarities to that of Mesopotamia and Egypt. These cultural ideas could be from the M20 population as well as the M172 population. Generally, it appears that significant influence is attributed to Anatolian farmers (M172), who are believed to have founded the Indus Valley civilisation. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the 30,000-year-old culture of the M20 people (Turan people) may also have survived. It can be reasonably concluded that some of the cultural ideas preserved by South Indians are 10,000 years old.