Before the current human species Eurasia was inhabited by other species. So it had been for more than 1.5 million years. This has given organisms some opportunity to adapt to humans. However, not to the same degree as in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several large mammal species disappeared from Eurasia at the end of the last ice age. But the extant ones still forms a relatively rich fauna.
This can also be applied to North Africa. As I have pointed out before the Sahara was a greater barrier than the Mediterranean. Egypt should not be lumped together with Sub-Saharan Africa. Agriculture there descends from the one arisen in West Asia. Same applies to Maghreb which consist the rest of North Africa. I once shared a compartment on a train with an Algerian and an Eritrean. Faced with the contrast I perceived the Algerian as white. Eritreans I consider black.
The current human species reached Eurasia by boat. People paddled across on rafts at the southern end of the Red Sea. This strait is no wider than one can see across. From there people continued to spread eastward by following the coast. South and Southeast Asia were taken over by the current human species. Some continued on rafts to Australia and New Guinea. Such humans gave rise to Aborigines and Papuans.
One has to remember that the world was considerably colder back then. To spread northwards the current human species needed to be able to make proper clothes. This became technologically possible through the invention of the needle. With the help of this it became possible to make clothes windproof. The needle was invented in West Asia which lowlands were relatively mild. Now our ancestors could also spread to the highlands. Shortly afterwards they started spreading both to the east and west. Those which went east gave rise to the Native Americans. Later they gave rise to East and Southeast Asians too. Those which went west gave rise to the Cro-Magnons. Such consisted Europe’s population before the introduction of agriculture.
More European-like people did not arise until after the origin of agriculture. Farmers from West Asia spread both to the east and west. In both cases some had children with an already existing population. Through such admixture and the following genetic drift present-day populations arose. These include Europeans, North Africans and South Asians. In the same way Malays arose out of immigrated farmers from the north. These now inhabit most of the Indo-Australian Archipelago.
In Eurasia agriculture arose in two different areas. These were in West Asia and what is now eastern China. The most important crops people got themselves from West Asia are:
• barley
• chickpea
• lentil
• pea
• wheat
After agriculture spread from there the descendants of the area’s framers came to grow additional crops. Such include horse gram, mung bean, oat, rye and turnip. Agriculture which arose in China was originally based on:
• rice
• soy bean
Also their descendants bred additional crops. These include giant alocasia, coconut palm, elephant foot yam, taro and ube. Banana and breadfruit were later imported from New Guinea. Out of these only the banana has got any larger spread on the mainland. Breadfruit was mostly cultivated on islands before colonialism went off.
Many domesticated mammals descend from Eurasia. Apart from being the dog’s sole origin these include most large animals:
• cattle
• dromedary
• gayal
• goat
• horse
• pig
• reindeer
• sheep
• two-humped camel
• water buffalo
• yak
In contrast the donkey is introduced from Sub-Saharan Africa. Goats and sheep are no larger or stronger than humans. Pigs can grow considerably bigger. However, they are relatively aggressive even for being domesticated. (Herding pigs was considered a risky occupation.) Other large mammals are used as riding, pack or draft animals. Moreover several are adapted to the extreme climate of their area of origin. All have given peoples in Eurasia an economic head start in the development of civilisation.
Copper extraction was invented in Serbia around 7,000 years ago. Less than a thousand years later it was independently invented in China. This was within the same area as agriculture had arisen. Within 400 years after copper extraction bronze was also invented in Serbia. 3,000 – 4,000 years ago iron smelting was invented in Turkey. Both bronze and iron smelting has been introduced to China trough Central Asia. The establishment of bronze tools often preceded those of iron. The later is considerably harder to make and shape into tools.
5,300 years ago a state society arose in Pakistan. Shortly afterwards arose state societies in Egypt and Iraq independently of it. 3,700 years ago one arose in northern China. Writing arose at about the same time as state society in Egypt. In China writing developed during centuries after state society. Unlike the writing system of Iraq it was definitely independently. Symbols existing before that are considered proto-writing. They could not be used to write about anything conceivable.
From there state societies have spread over the course of millennia. Rarely through colonialism as ethnocentrics so much want to believe. Usually, merged chiefdoms have imitated a selection of characteristics from a more complex culture. Cultural characteristics have in this way spread but not entire cultures. Same applies to inventions like writing, metalwork and wheels. People would still not in the long run take up an entire culture.
Many languages in Eurasia are relatively well-documented. Linguists have historically shown interest in them too. For this reason one can often tell if they are related to each other. Austronesian, Austroasiatic and Tai-Kadai languages spread by agriculture. I think it was the same with Afroasiatic, Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan languages. In contrast Indo-European languages were later spread by pastoralists. Same applies to Uralic and even later Turkic languages. Japanese and Korean are now seen as unrelated. Each of them is only related to small minority languages in Japan and South Korea.
The pre-historical and historical development in Eurasia was particular. Processes did not always take place in other parts of the world. Historically people took it for granted they would. It was presupposed that all peoples had the same opportunity to become civilised. One does not have to be white to make this mistake. Mohandas Gandhi was racist against blacks. (I still find him sympathetic since he avoided the hate trap.) It would not surprise me if East Asians made the same error. In reality different continents had different external conditions. Eurasia’s dominance was predetermined by climate belts, fauna and flora. That people would be born smarter does not makes sense to me.
Uploaded on the 4th of April 2025.
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This site was last changed on the 29th of June 2025.
