AFRICAN ORIGIN THEORY: ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The theory of the African origin of the settlement of America is one of the hypotheses related to the subject. It has been raised in the light of archaeological discoveries made in different Brazilian locations. Toca de Esperança and Pedra Furada are two of the excavations that have given the most to talk about this theory.

The specialists have raised three scenarios about the origin of human beings in America. The first is that of the entry of Asian groups through the Bering Strait, to the north of the continent. The action is located about 16 thousand years ago, when human groups took advantage of an ice bridge.

The second theory states that the original population arose within America itself by natural evolution; of this there are only conjectures, but no hard evidence.

The third is based on the discoveries made in Brazil: evidence has been found there indicating human presence on the continent for some twenty thousand years.

Origin of the theory

Since the mid-90s of the 20th century, the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro made excavations in the northeast of Brazil. These were later complemented by those of the Museum of the American Man in Brazil.

In these excavations initially remains of large prehistoric animals were found, but later the findings were greater.

In Sao Raymundo Nonato, in the state of Piauí, a wall 30 meters high was found; it was called Bloqueirao de Petra Furada. At the site there were remains of man-made items.

These remains are estimated to be between 20,000 and 48,000 years old. There was a ceremonial center of Prehistory, it has numerous polychrome cave paintings and is currently an open-air museum.

Human coprolites

One of the discoveries was in the fossilized stool samples, human coprolites, found there. These coprolites contain a parasite called Ancyclostoma duodenale, which is of African origin and cannot withstand very low temperatures.

This fact strengthened the approach made by several scientists in the mid-20th century. They had pointed out the possibility of the entry of Africans to the American continent through the Atlantic waters.

There are also experts who support the hypothesis of the displacement of the masses. They start from the idea that America and Africa were initially a single continent.

Due to tectonic adjustments, this continent was fractured. They are based on the profiles and the way the two continents fit together, just like a puzzle. That would explain the presence of remains of large prehistoric mammals typical of Africa in Latin America.

characteristics

Prejudice is the main problem that science has gone through on the subject of the settlement of America. The Eurocentric vision qualified the Old Continent as the only one with the technical capacity for long journeys.

This vision came about because for a long time it was their research centers that had control of knowledge. However, with the addition of more open-minded scientists, the discoveries were turned upside down.

For example, there is the case of Tibitó, in Colombia. Stone artifacts and remains of American horses, deer and mastodons belonging to the late Pleistocene have been found there. This indicates the presence of humans in America since the beginning of the interglacial period that we live today.

African genes

An interesting piece of information emerged from recent studies by the English University of Cambridge on human genetics. In this study it was determined that all the inhabitants of the planet carry original genes from the African continent.

Likewise, an analysis of 6 thousand skulls of indigenous populations from Alaska, South America, Africa, China and Australia was made, with identical conclusions. That is why the theory of the initial settlement of America by humans from Africa takes more force.

How did the African settlement occur in America?

One of the arguments speaks of the marine currents that move between both continents. It is speculated that migrant populations could use them with small ships to cross the Atlantic.

Another argument points to the ability to navigate that Australians had thousands of years ago, and then the possibility arises that they had entered the continent through Patagonia, in the South Antarctic.

Before Homo sapiens there were older populations, such as Homo erectus and Neanderthal; both were originally from Africa.

It is thought that they moved into other spaces and mixed with less evolved groups. This generated a miscegenation that allowed them to adapt to other physical environments.

Findings in Brazil

The truth is that in America, specifically in Brazil, the investigations are becoming increasingly complex. A skeleton was found in the Grotto Sitio de Antoniao in the Piauí with about 9500 years old.

Burials of children who were cremated were also found. The tests have been done dating the coal and in Rio Grande del Norte a prehistoric indigenous necropolis was found with 23 skeletons between 4700 and 8280 years old. There they also find numerous cave paintings.

In the Mirador Shelter, a trousseau with bone necklaces and shells of 9410 years old was also found.

Current research

Archaeologists and anthropologists continue their studies after searching for population origins; The debate continues between traditional scientists and the more open-minded. The strongest emerging evidence indicates that there was possibly much more mobility of human groups than previously thought.

Different techniques are being used to date the findings, but mainly human remains are being searched for their genetic makeup.

It is increasingly perceived that the continent was not inhabited by a single wave; there were several, some historically very separate from the others.

It is also argued that there is no single origin. Ultimately, scientists are committed to keeping an open mind, as new evidence and more revelations emerge every day.

References

1. Dias, AS (1930). Diversify to Populate: The Brazilian Archaeological Context in the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. Complutum, 15, 249-263. Recovered in: magazines.ucm.es
2. Martin, G. (1992). The antiquity of Man in the northeast of Brazil. Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, (2), 7-12. Recovered in: magazines.usp.br
3. Politis, G. (1999). The structure of the debate on the settlement of America. Bulletin of Archeology of the Fian, 14 (2), 25-51. Recovered in: publications.banrepcultural.org
4. Stringer, C. (1991). Is our origin in Africa? Research and Science, 173 (2), 66-73. Recovered in: Evolucion.fcien.edu.uy
5. Vázquez Calzada, José L. (2014). The population growth of Puerto Rico: 1493 to the present. Journal of Social Sciences 12. Retrieved from: encyclopediapr.org