Page:Prehistoric Ancient And Hindu India.djvu/26

From a historical viewpoint the four regions differ greatly. Since early times the sea coast has been the abode of enterprising foreigners, who have crossed over from other lands. The rich fertile coast land has seen the rise of many different civilizations. The Deccan plateau and the three mountain systems which gird it have afforded a safe refuge to conquered races from time immemorial, and its barren and unproductive soil has repelled invaders, while the broad fertile plain of the basins of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra has attracted hungry nomads from outside India from the very dawn of the history of mankind. Like the third region, the secluded valleys of the mountain-girt Himalayan region have sheltered the remnants of conquered races of different historic periods. The languages, manners, and customs of the different inhabitants of these alpine valleys of India afford very great help in the reconstruction of the history of her prehistoric past.

Being really a continent, India is inhabited by peoples of different races, who speak many different languages. The oldest of these peoples are the inhabitants of the Andaman The Islands, who belong to the Negrito branch of the Negro race.

The Negritoes

Their language does not show any affinity to any other language of the world. The Negritoes are to be found on the sea coast of Makran, between India and Persia, in the Malay Peninsula, and in the Philippines. Formerly they lived along the entire sea coast from Arabia to China, but now they have been either driven inland or have been exterminated or enslaved and absorbed by people of many other races. The Negritoes lived entirely by fishing and hunting, and the ancient Greek writers called them Ichthyophagoi or fish-eaters. They pos-