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by Khalifa A.Khaliq
1280 AD Silk handscroll painting of a black Mongolian horseman (Yuan dynasty) |
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Black Mongols
The roots of the Black Mongolian presence in Asia can be traced back to the Aurignacian culture. This cultural complex
originated 32,000 to 25,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period in Africa. The Aurignacian Blacks introduced several
significant innovations to early man's history. The culture was marked by a great diversification and specialization of hand tools.
It gave birth to stone engraving tools called burins. The Aurignacian Blacks also developed body ornaments. Carved bone pendants,
bracelets, ivory beads and pierced shells have been excavated at their sites.
The Aurignacian was a hunter-gatherer culture. The early hunters of this period aggressively pursued big game animals. Cave bears
and mammoths were some of their targeted prey.
In ancient times, the Sinai, Asia Minor and the Levant served as a connecting corridor allowing early African migrants from Egypt
to enter Asia. Anne and Bernard Spitzer of the American Museum of Natural History writes:
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The first modern humans to leave Africa probably left through what is now Egypt... Once modern humans left Africa, they moved
quickly into Asia.
Even as late as 1416 black migrants from Egypt were sighted in the Sinai. A German chronicler described them as
"Lords of Little Egypt" with "very black skin".
Migration Routes during the Paleolithic Period
Towards the end of the last Ice Age Aurignacian Blacks entered Europe and Asia. Various archaeological sites in these areas
atteste to their wide dispersal. In reference to the Russian site of Kostenki, K. Krist Hirst writes:
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Typically, the Aurignacian is the oldest component associated with modern humans at the archaeological sites in
Europe...researchers are convinced that Kostenki does represent one of the earliest outpost by early modern humans
outside of Africa.
What droved these Paleo-African peoples to migrate across great distances is still the subject of debate. Some experts
have speculated they were following herds of bisons and other animals which served as a food source. Inspite of their
wide dispersal, these early Blacks maintained a cultural uniformity. Common cultural markers noted with them have
simultaneously highlighted their African ancestry. For example:
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The practice of shamanism. Although these Paleo-African peoples were dispersed over great distances, "Kam" was the term
commonly used for their shaman priests. "Kam" was also a designation for ancient Egypt. Their shaman priests were also
viewed as magicians or sorcerers. It is more than mere coincidence that ancient Egypt was often called "the land of magic
and sorcery".
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A snake, serpent or dragon mythology. A large concentration of these Paleo-African peoples resided in northern Asia and a
snake or serpent mythology was prominent amongst them. Although quite abundant in Egypt and Africa in general, the snake
is not found in, nor is it indigenous to northern Asia.
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Distended and perforated ear-lobes. This is an African practiced. It is still maintained by many African groups today.
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"Venus" figurines or statuettes. These clay figures often depicts steatopygous females (excessive accumulation of fat
on the buttocks). A physical trait associated with women of African descent. The mere fact that these peoples depicted
themselves in this fashion attest to their African ethnicity.
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Paleolithic Venus figurine
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Paleolithic Venus figurine
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