![]() In 1888, the British government set in place a policy of "organized gift giving" that continued in varying forms until the islands, as part of the British Raj, gained independence from the British Empire. By 1875, the Andamanese were already "perilously close to extinction". In the 19th century, a measles epidemic killed 50% of the Andamanese population. ![]() ![]() Epidemics of pneumonia, measles and influenza spread rapidly and exacted heavy tolls, as did alcoholism. Lacking immunity against common infectious diseases of the Eurasian mainland, the large Jarawa habitats on the southeastern regions of South Andaman Island experienced a massive population decline due to disease within four years of the establishment of a colonial presence on the island in 1789. The Andamanese's protective isolation changed with the establishment of a British colonial presence on the islands. Colonial era Īn official 1867 British government communication requesting the formation of an expeditionary party to search for shipwrecked sailors from the merchantman Assam Valley. Their commonalities could be the result of evolutionary convergence and/or a shared history. The existence of a specific Negrito-population is nowadays doubted. The Andamanese were considered to be a pristine example of a hypothesized Negrito population, which showed similar physical characteristics, and was supposed to have existed throughout southeast Asia. It was previously assumed that the Andaman ancestors were part of the initial Great Coastal Migration (South-Eurasians or Australasians) that was the first expansion of humanity out of Africa, via the Arabian peninsula, along the coastal regions of the South Asia towards Insular Southeast Asia, and Oceania. the Andaman archipelago was likely settled by modern humans from northeast India via the land-bridge which connected the Andaman archipelago and Myanmar around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a scenario in well agreement with the evidence from linguistic and palaeoclimate studies. Map of human migration routes, showing the proposed routes of Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups.Īccording to Chaubey and Endicott (2013), the Andaman Islands were settled less than 26,000 years ago, by people who were not direct descendants of the first migrants out of Africa. ![]() They live on flesh and rice and milk, and have fruits different from any of ours. And I assure you all the men of this Island of Angamanain have heads like dogs, and teeth and eyes likewise in fact, in the face they are all just like big mastiff dogs! They have a quantity of spices but they are a most cruel generation, and eat everybody that they can catch, if not of their own race. The people are without a king and are Idolaters, and no better than wild beasts. Venetian explorer Marco Polo wrote of the Andamanese in 1294, in The Travels of Marco Polo: The various tribes and their mutually unintelligible languages thus are believed to have evolved on their own over millennia. Until the late 18th century, the Andamanese culture, language, and genetics were preserved from outside influences by their fierce reaction to visitors, which included killing any shipwrecked foreigners, and by the remoteness of the islands. The Andamanese are a designated Scheduled Tribe in India's constitution. Only the Jarawa and the Sentinelese maintain a steadfast independence, refusing most attempts at contact by outsiders. Today, only roughly 400–450 Andamanese remain, with the Jangil being extinct. ![]() In the next century, they experienced a massive population decline due to epidemics of outside diseases and loss of territory. At the end of the 18th century, when they first came into sustained contact with outsiders, an estimated 7,000 Andamanese remained. The Andamanese peoples included the Great Andamanese and Jarawas of the Great Andaman archipelago, the Jangil of Rutland Island, the Onge of Little Andaman, and the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island. It is suggested that the Andamanese settled in the Andaman Islands around the latest glacial maximum, around 26,000 years ago. All Andamanese traditionally lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and appear to have lived in substantial isolation for thousands of years. The Andamanese peoples are among the various groups considered Negrito, owing to their dark skin and diminutive stature. The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia. ![]()
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