Talk:Negrito

1212

The 1212 purchase of rights to settle implies that the Negrito also had boats. How else could these peoples survive, genetically. There must have been some diversity in the gene pool.

Not African?

IT is weird that people would say, Negritos have no connection to africans simply because they don't look like africans. According to biology, race is meaningless because race doesn't determine genetics; a person of one race isn't necessarily more closely related to members of its own race, than others. The idea of race is just a social concept. Negritos are supposed to be the pygmies in Asia, and Negrillos is what they called the pygies in Africa. Saying Negritos are not related to Africans would be like saying Americans are not relate to Europeans, because they are now breeding in a new area with a diffrent population. Negritos migrated from Africa just like other humans.

The funniest thing about this, is that anti-black sentiments take a nose dive on this topic. Black people obviously are regenerated in various genetic arenas. How is it that two very distant groups of people can look so similar? BEcause the human condition is not by default "white". When we take a white point of view, we try to explain how humans relate to it. Obviously the human point of view would explain how different people relate to the Black ancestors. - Zaph

So the pygmies, a nomadic tribe discovered south east asia before any european explorers? and they did it without any ships nor any knowledge of sea travel.....................LMAO!! Angryafghan 12:08, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

This page seems to be geared towards the negrito of the Philippines. It needs to have a more global view. I'm not an expert on the subject by any means, but, like the info I've added to the page, negritos lived in China as well. I found one online article that says Arab merchants came to china accompanied by negrito slaves. At some point, these negritos became involved in a type of literary prose that portrayed them as heroic. I've recently purchased a book on the connection between Africa and China. I'll probably add more info to the page later. (Ghostexorcist 01:34, 4 March 2007 (UTC))

Of course they have a connection to Africans. That connection is in fact a distant one. That's it. Somebody2love (talk) 01:03, 5 May 2010 (UTC)Somebody2love

Let's see the DNA for proof!--86.29.251.10 08:24, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Zaph, DNA tests prove they are not related to africans..... just like some mexicans and arabs look alike but have totally different DNA...141.155.160.29 (talk) 22:52, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

They are related to Africans, they just happen to be more closely related to Asian people. Somebody2love (talk) 01:03, 5 May 2010 (UTC)Somebody2love

Mitochondrial DNA study on the origins of modern humankind

Well this caption is misleading as I don't learn anything about the contribution of Negrito's mtDNA in our understanding of the human race. Please expand this section! Thanks! Meursault2004 28 June 2005 20:57 (UTC)

Incoherent

Something went wrong with the paragraphs on mitochondrial DNA. They now give the misleading impression that there is something peculiar about the mDNA of Negritos. In particular the last sentence makes no sense:

"Thus the Negritos are treasured for this source of information about our origins, as the genetic drift of their their mtDNA is then a measure of the time which has elapsed from the generation of their common mother, to our own era."

What is "our own era"? Who is this "us" that apparently does not include the Negritos? Some term such as "this era" or just simply "today" would be better.

I believe what this means to say is that the genetic drift in Negrito mDNA can be used to measure the time that has elapsed between the lifetime of our common mother (the theoretical common mother of all humans) and now. I would edit the article so that it said this more clearly, but I am not at all sure that such a "mitochondrial Eve" theory is well enough established to be stated as fact.

Sergeirichard 06:37, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I reworked the paragraph, starting from the last sentence, which is now in subjunctive mood. Ancheta Wis 09:08, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Is this DNA stuff just bunk?--86.29.251.10 07:32, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Semang image

I regret your position on the the Semang statue in the Field Museum. These peoples need all the support they can get. A sympathetic rendering of them from whatever quarter is valuable. If you dislike the image, perhaps you can find a better, and post it. The Semang, the Aetas, the Andaman Islanders (who perhaps have a better chance for survival as a group) need public awareness for their personhood. What better way than images. Ancheta Wis 12:28, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Copyvio- passages excised

I have excised several passages which would appear to be in violation of copyright, as they are taken word-for-word from a site maintained by the Andaman Association - see here and here. The Andaman Association site states:

• Text and figures of this book are ©1997-2005 The Andaman Association, Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved.

The passages were first introduced by User:Karukera on 15 Nov 2003, in a series of edits starting with this one. Although subsequent editors have modified the text a little (such as changing "We believe" for "others believe"), the text is substantially the same. Karukera has not edited since Dec 2003: Special:Contributions/Karukera, and is unlikely to have anything to do with the source of the material. The article was in need of a good overhaul anyway...--cjllw | TALK 06:41, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Cleanup

Needs complete overhaul. For a start, this article should presumably discuss the anthropological term "negrito", which has been applied to various peoples, not just those in Philippines & Malaysia. Would need to also cover whether the term has validity in anthropological /racial classification sense, what the problems with this are, what specific evidence there is that these disparate groups have some genetic heritage in common, etc etc. The topic can also use a more sensitive and scientific analysis than is provided at present. I removed the EB1911 quote, this view is rather dated and at best warrants inclusion only in terms of demonstrating how perceptions have changed, rather than to put forward as an acceptable contemporary view of these peoples.--cjllw | TALK 01:08, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Ok I think it has fufilled these requirements. If not, add them. The term "negrito" is described. The terms significance is that it reminds the readers that there are Black people in East Asia. Black people have a wide genetic heritage, so trying to relate or distance them from a West African or "true" Negro is meaningless. - Zaph

I restored the cleanup tag- the idea of these is to notify and hopefully attract other editors to pitch in and improve the article to at least some minimal standard of coverage. Since nothing had actually been added since the tag was first applied, I don't see how removing it will help.--cjllw | TALK 02:11, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Revisting African link

There is significant evidence that shows the negritos from Africa and Asia are of one negrito race. Half of the links here already claim it and most book and encyylodpedia or dictionarys state that the african negritos and asian negritos are all basically one race of negritos. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jmac800 (talk • contribs) 19:55, 15 December 2005.

There is much speculation, but little hard evidence, that the various widely-dispersed peoples who have at various times been identified as "negritos" or "negritoid" may have some common (but distant) genetic heritage. I don't disagree that notable sources which entertain such claims should be presented here, however this needs to carefully done to reflect just what sort of connection is claimed, and what the evidence (such as it is) actually allows. For example, although I think George Weber from the Andamans site (whose material was previously plagiarised here) is a reasonable-enough thinker, he is not by his own admission an expert in the field. If you actually read through his extensive coverage on the topic, there have actually been very few genetic studies made, and there is certainly no linguistic or archaeological evidence which can tie these dispersed groups together. In the main it remains a hypothesis, which might well be true, but the evidence is mostly unavailable. A far more rigorous treatment on what it means to classify a group as "negrito" would also be required.--cjllw | TALK 02:20, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

not realted

take from some non-copy righted site

[quote]African Pygmies—the most numerous Pygmy population, estimated variously at 150,000 to 300,000—are believed to have lived in the Congo Valley before the arrival of other peoples. The best-known tribe, the Mbuti or Bambuti, are the shortest of all human groups, averaging about 130 cm (about 51 in) in height. Non-African Pygmy populations, often called Negritos, may also represent archaic populations. Blood typing and other studies indicate that the African, Asian, Oceanian, and Indian groups are genetically distinct from one another and have independent origins.[/quote]—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.220.52.101 (talk • contribs) 27 December 2005.

realted to African-Pygmy groups?

• some scientist say that they are realted to them, but how can that be? African-Pygmies only live in central-Africa and especialy in congo very deep in the jungles, and they are extremly isolated. I doesn't make sens that they just sudenly decide to move to some islands on the other side of the globe. Pygmies of South-East Asia and Ociena must have evolved like that due to environmental conditions on their native islands.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.220.52.101 (talk • contribs) 28 December 2005.
• And what evidence do you have that the African-Pygmies never traveled outside of Africa? There is plenty of physical evidence to proved that they did. Look at the color of skin, eyes, hair, nose and even cutoms, traditions, etc. By the way there are NO jungles in AFRICA. Forests and low grassy plains. [Nita June 20, 2006 1:14pm CST] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.22.199.86 (talk • contribs) 20 June 2006

• No jungles in Africa? Jungle simply means a densely overgrown tropical forest. Pygmies live in the most densly forested region in Africa – the central African rain forest. --Ezeu 07:55, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

no the pygmies of Africa did not discover east asia before any european explorers which is basically what you are saying, is it so hard to believe that there are more than one examples of insular dwarfism on the planet, each isolated group is an individual case and there are several in South east asia Angryafghan 12:01, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

removed last sentence

I removed the following sentences: "They do not have a permanent place to live in because of food shortage. It depends upon the place where they live, if it can still provide them enough food." Thees sentences formed a seperate paragraph unrelated to any previous or subsequent subject, and were grammatically incorrect. Additionally, it is unclear who "they" refers to, and the entire paragraph is vague, fragmentary, and generally unhelpful.

If this is a real concern, it should be explained lucidly and with regard to the different populations and areas involved.

Melanesian link?

Sorry im not too informed on this, but isnt there a connection between Negritos and Melanesian people? eg those from Timor or Flores in Indonesia? They really look similar. but why no mention about either terms in either articles? kawaputra^tok2me 15:58, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Updated

I've rearanged a lot of the article so it reads more easily. Also added a pic and some info on their origins. I think the media section is completely irrelevant though, and will delete it unless anyone has any objections. --Matt Oid 12:49, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Kunlun is in fact an ancient Chinese term applied to black people, but their portrayal in legend is as strong and large. The small Negritos are the least likely identification. The Kunlun material would be good in another article, but not this one. --JWB 16:14, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

I've moved the section to its own page here: Kunlun Nu

--Matt Oid 09:21, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Temporary editing until sources are provided.

I have placed sources needed comments as well as studies that state the opposite of what is being claimed. In the words of Dr. Bulbeck who has done extensive studies in the area in his . The long shadow of skin colour As noted towards the start of this paper, Coon’s (1962) proposal of ‘Australoid’ relics in Southeast Asia is not supported by modern studies in physical anthropology. In addition, studies in craniometry have consistently found that Philippine ‘Negritos’ cannot be distinguished from other East Asian populations (e.g. von Bonin 1931; Hanihara 1993; Bulbeck and Adi 2005; and see below). Yet the belief that the Negritos of Island Southeast Asia represent an Australoid population that held sway before a mid to late Holocene Mongoloid immigration is widespread, and not infrequently cited as straightforward fact (e.g. Diamond 1997: 332–8). We suggest that this view is a retention of the hoary belief that human races can be classified by skin colour, given that a dark skin (along with a different hair form) sets the so-called Negritos apart from other Southeast Asians.

The craniometric analysis that supposedly aligned Negritos with Australo-Melanesians merits some discussion. Brace et al. (1991: 251, 259) took twenty-four measurements but decided to remove nine of them after converting them to indices (see Fig. 3). Four of their indices are the same as or similar to commonly employed indices – three that relate the length, breadth and width of the cranial vault to each other (16/17, 16/18, 17/18) and one that expresses the sagittal projection of the uppermost nasal saddle (nasion) as a proportion of the breadth between the orbits (22/23). Two of their indices, however, are idiosyncratic. One such index expresses the forward projection of the upper jaw as a ratio of the forward projection of the point at the top of the nasal aperture (6/19). The purpose of this index might be to gauge the relationship between the nasal bones and upper jaw in terms of their anterior projection, but the measurements are likely to be highly autocorrelated owing to the proximity of the utilized landmarks, and the probable effect would be to remove both measurements from analysis. The second unusual index expresses the forward projection of the top of the nasal aperture (with respect to the upper lateral orbits) as a proportion of the breadth between the orbits at their lateral midpoints (13/21). No explanation is given as to why these two particular measurements are chosen for representation as an index. The analysis by Brace et al. thus employed six indices, of which two are highly unusual, along with fifteen measurements not involved in the six indices. No attempt was made to justify including indices and direct measurements (chords and subtenses) in the same analysis. The only conceivable justification is that the analysis yielded the result that Brace et al. (1991: 259–60) wanted, in that Andaman Islanders and Philippine Negritos formed a distinct cluster with Australo-Melanesians, relatively distinct from their South Asian sample and well removed from their Jomon-‘Mongoloid’ cluster. This is the result they favoured, even though direct analysis of their original measurements aligned Andaman Islanders with South Asians (as confirmed by Wright 2002: 6) and found that Philippine Negritos could not be distinguished from Mainland East Asians (Brace et al. 1991: 254, 260–1). It is also the result that several commentators have chosen to emphasize, without noting the dubious aspects of this particular analysis or the other conflicting results obtained by Brace et al.Matsumura and Hudson, who believe that the original inhabitants of Indo-Malaysia were closely related to Australo-Melanesians, report that Brace et al. ‘advocated that Philippine Negritos are closely related to Australo-Melanesians’ (Matsumura and Hudson 2005: 204). Bellwood (1997), who believes that the original inhabitants of Indo-Malaysia belonged to the Australo-Melanesian race, went considerably further. ‘Brace et al. (1991) offer no doubt from craniofacial evidence that the Southeast Asian Negritos are most closely related to Australians and Melanesians’ (Bellwood 1997: 72).

We are not advocates of the notion that Indo-Malaysia has been free from immigration from northerly sources. Our own research strongly suggests some level of immigration over the last two thousand years (e.g. Bulbeck 2000: 33, 2004: 252; Rayner and Bulbeck 2001: 37–8), just as historical sources indicate some level of Chinese immigration into Indo-Malaysia throughout that period. The point we emphasize is that the supposed evidence relating Southeast Asia’s ‘Negritos’, or earlier inhabitants of Indo-Malaysia, specifically to southwest Pacific populations is meagre and contradictory Figure 3 Cranial measurements converted by Brace et al. (1991) into indices. Note that the measurements depicted in (b) are not chords, but are subtenses measured between the projections of the indicated anatomical points onto the median sagittal plane. 128 David Bulbeck et al. (http://arts.anu.edu.au/bullda/roonka.html). As reflected in the minority ‘Mongoloid’ component among the Coobool Creek crania, we suggest that the distinctiveness of Indo-Malaysian and southwest Pacific populations is predominantly the effect of cumulative differentiation following the colonization of Sahulland, a process that has continued throughout the Holocene.

Races of Homo sapiens: if not in the southwest Pacific, then nowhere David Bulbeck, Pathmanathan Raghavan and Daniel Rayner —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salsassin (talk • contribs) 11:05, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

I do not doubt what you say. But you cannot address the reader or refer to yourself in the article. You must voice your concerns on the talk page and not the actual page. Plus, there are tags used for when something needs to cited. Instead of ^{source needed} you should use {{Fact}}. Feel free to re-add the appropriate fact tags where needed and your info provided it is correctly cited. And please sign your name with four tildes like "(~~~~)". Thank you. --Ghostexorcist 11:18, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Not sure how to do all that. Here is what I changed.

A number of features would seem to suggest a common origin for the Negritos and African pygmies, especially in the Andamanese Islanders who have been isolated from incoming waves of Asiatic peoples. These features include short stature, very dark skin, woolly hair, scant body hair and occasional steatopygia. The fact that Andamanese pygmoids closley resemble Africans in their cranial morphology adds significant weight to this theory.^{source needed} This claim is disputable as studies such as those of Walter Neves and the Lagoa Santa remains of Brazil tangentially place Andamanese as closer to some Asians and Polynesians cranially than Africans.Graphs showing the 95% confidence interval dispersion as seen through the first two principal components. (A) Analysis of males, with size and shape considered. (B) Analysis of males with size effect corrected. (C) Analysis of females, with size and shape considered. (D) Analysis of females with size effect corrected. Notice that once size effect was corrected, both males and females categorized closer to the Atayal of Taiwan, the Ainu of Japan, etc. Furthermore, studies have show that Andamanese such as the Onge are brachyiocephalic to mesocephalic while Africans are dolychocephalic in their vast majority. Cephalo-facial Variation Among OngesFrontal and Facial Flatness of Major Human Populations

Genetic testing, however, allies Negritos only occasionally with African Negroids^{Source Needed, ALL studies I have seen place them among Asian/Pacific Island populations}. Cranial tests of pygmoids from Southeast Asia to New Guinea place them in the Australo-Melanesian branch of humanity. A study on blood groups and proteins in the 1950s suggested that the Andamanese were more closely related to Oceanic peoples than Africans. Genetic studies on Phillipine Negritos, based on polymorphic blood enzymes and antigens, showed they were similar to surrounding Asian popultaions. These findings can, however, be largely attributed to a level of interbreeding between the Negritos and later waves of people arriving from the Asian mainland, and are not necessarily an indication of ancestry. ^{Source needed again for this claim. Most genetic testing in populations that do not show admixture still show ancestry from a common ancestry, as well as dental patterns such as the sundadont.}

Maybe you can edit appropiatly Salsassin 11:37, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 16:30, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

The term "Negrito" in reference to Africans.

I do not have access to the book used as a reference (will check at the library later). Could anyone (ie User:Ghostexorcist) let us know what African people are Negritos? --Ezeu (talk) 22:27, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

According to the book, Tang Dynasty sources refer to the east African slaves brought to China via Arab traders as "Kunlun". It states Kunlun was a term used to describe dark-skinned people from Southeast Asia and Africa. I have provided another source in the etymology section that states Kunlun means Negrito. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 22:38, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

So someone claims that someone in China, around the year 900 AD referred to dark skinned people by a word in a Chinese language, that you deduce to be equavalent to the word "Negrito", a term that was contrived by seventeenth-century European sailors to refer to dark skinned people they came across in Asia, to mean that hence there are African tribes of Negritos? --Ezeu (talk) 02:12, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

I was not the person who connected Kunlun with Negrito, it was a Chinese professor. Please see the etymology section. There is also this publication. It names specific african tribes and categorizes them under Negritos. There is also this book passage. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 10:56, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

According to the book passage you just cited, the term Negrito was specialized to refer to Asian peoples and not Africans after 1887.

Kunlun legends describe large men of great strength. (See book "The Star Raft".) Also dark-skinned people coming from various parts of Africa and Asia to China would not be all of small stature. All the Asian Negrito and African Pygmy tribes live in inland areas and would not have been likely to become sailors. It is misleading to say that Kunlun "means" Negrito - at most the term may have applied to some Negrito people as well as many larger people. Please provide the actual quote and full context from Liu's book. --JWB (talk) 04:40, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

I provided two sources, not just the one you are referring to. Read the first one too. Here is another one. I have "The Star Raft", it is cited in the article. Liu's mention of Negritos is in a footnote, it reads "The name K'un-lun is generally believed to mean 'Negrito'." Apart from Liu's book, there is also this source. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 12:53, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

None of your references say that Negritos include people in parts of Africa. The short statured people in Africa are Pygmies and San. The only community in Asia with recent African ancestry (ie not part of the "Out of Africa" migrations) are the Siddi in India, and they are not Negritos. I ask you to list what people IN Africa are generally referred to as Negritos. Your claims are fringe to say the least. --Ezeu (talk) 13:34, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Fringe? That's funny. I'm afraid that it is not my theory. I suggest that you read this one again. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 20:29, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

I am afraid that ancient anthropological text you refer to (full text) does not even remotely corroborate any of your claims. --Ezeu (talk) 21:05, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

So, that text says Negrillos. My source says Negrito. I am more inclined to believe the book scan instead of a random archived transcript. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 23:32, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Read the scan. --Ezeu (talk) 23:59, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

So we have the same book with different sayings. As would be expected, I am leaning towards my version. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 00:19, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

The text mentions Negrilloes (alt Negrillos), an outdated seldom used synonym for Pygmies. Even if the text called some Africans Negritos, which it does not, a century-old anthropological text is not an adequate reference, given that modern science shows that there is no genetic affinity between Negritos and Africans. And you have still not answered the basic question - what African populations are TODAY referred to as Negritos? --Ezeu (talk) 23:59, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Correction, your original big question was "I ask you to list what people IN Africa are generally referred to as Negritos." Notice the emphasis? The Encyclopædia Britannica scan I supplied states these tribes are the "Akkas, Batwas, Wochuas and others". Your view on the text's strengths or weaknesses is your opinion. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 00:40, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

What Britannica scan? The current version of Britannica says that the term Pygmy is loosely applied to so-called Negrito peoples of Asia - and says nothing about the application of the term Negrito to any African people. --Ezeu (talk) 00:50, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Count four replies down from the beginning of this discussion. It is the first link. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 00:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

That is the 1911 version of Britannica, which is out dated - and even it says nothing about African Negritos. Obsolete texts should not be used at all as a reference in anthropological articles. It is especially important when such texts are in direct contradiction to modern knowledge. Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a known problem here at Wikipedia because it contains information that is out of date, yet freely available (leading more people to find and use its outmoded content uncritically). If you are interested in writing a correct article, and not merely to push ancient and incorrect views, use up to date references. The current version of Encyclopædia Britannica would be a good start. Please also read Wikipedia:1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica where you can find this quote "Even in 1917 it was seen as an unreliable source when Willard Huntington Wright published his scathing Misinforming a Nation". --Ezeu (talk) 01:41, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Are we still going on about this? What are you talking about "it says nothing about African Negritos"? It states "Second are the large Negrito family, represented in Africa by the dwarf-races of the equatorial forests, the Akkas, Batwas, Wochuas and others, and beyond Africa by the Andaman Islanders, the Aetas of the Philippines, and probably the Senangs and other aboriginal tribes of the Malay Peninsula." If you feel it is outdated, then you need to delete the 1911 Britannica material that already adorns the main article at the bottom. This constant back and forth is really staring to get old. How about this, I'll just leave it up to you. But I like JWB's suggestion below. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 23:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

It is reasonable to say that some older usage of the word did not distinguish between African and Asian peoples. (For that matter, some obsolete usage of the word "Negro" includes some Asians or Pacific Islanders of similar physical type, while current usage does not.) But this should be distinguished from the current definition.

Also, the statement of Negritos in "parts of Africa" is currently referenced to The Star Raft. Does the book have a quote saying that directly? Or is this your own conclusion based on two statements "Kunlun are Negrito" and "some Kunlun were from Africa" from two different books? (As I remember, The Star Raft does not take the position that the Kunlun were exclusively what modern anthropology calls Negritos; in any case, the medieval Chinese probably did not have a clear idea of whether they came from Africa, Southeast Asia, or both.) --JWB (talk) 02:54, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I like your suggestion about the "older usage of the word". The 1911 Britannica reference can be used as a source, but I imagine that Ezeu will delete it since it's supposedly no good. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 23:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I have put the "older usage of the word" in the etymology section where it belongs. You are welcome to "imagine" what you want. Le mot juste is all I care about. --Ezeu (talk) 00:05, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Lead info plagiarized

The following passage from the lead paragraph has been blatantly plagiarized from this link, which is cited as a source.

"Negritos are arguably the most enigmatic people on our planet as they belong to an ancient stratum of Homo sapiens in Asia. No other living human population has experienced such long-lasting isolation from contact with other groups."

It is basically a patch work of different sentences taken directly from the linked research paper. For example:

"This is
the first molecular genetic evidence on the
affinities of the Andaman Islanders, arguably
the most enigmatic people on our planet."(pg. 2)

"Genetic studies on Philippine
Negritos, based on polymorphic blood
enzymes and antigens, showed that they were
similar to surrounding Asian populations and
rejected the notion that they belonged to an
ancient stratum of Homo sapiens in Asia." (pg. 2)

The first passage from page two only concerns the Andaman Islanders and not Negritos as a whole, so that makes the lead incorrect. The second passage from page two contradicts the lead and states that the negrito do not belong to an ancient stratum of Asian people. As it stands right now, even if he paraphrased the information, it is not usable because of all of the incorrect statements and contradictions.

I will continue to remove the information because it breaks copyright laws. I have warned User:Matt Oid, the person who added the info, in the past about plagiarism, but he continues to re-add the material after it's been deleted. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 11:40, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

Link I found somewhere

Yes, I am aware of the genetic research that proves thet Negritos, Melanesians and Aborigines are not related to Africans, but I found this link to a Melanesian website that says otherwise....[1]. The person writing seems to be a self-identified Melanesian, claiming African origin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maurice45 (talk • contribs) 16:42, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

what is a negrito

i was just wondering how negritos changed the world today and what it had to do with black history... Were negritos captured by the Europeans and sent on the Middle Passage way back when? idk... i just wanna know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.9.25.21 (talk) 18:48, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

No, Negritos are not actually from Africa. They are indigenous to their region of the world; although they may resemble certain African peoples, genetically they have more in common with Filipinos and Malays. The link I found seems to off my point a bit, and I would really much like to know its origin. --Maurice45 (talk) 14:51, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Melanesian & Papuans

Are these ethnicities also counted as being Negrito? actually- are they even related to Negritos at all? --Maurice45 (talk) 11:13, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Mongoloid?

The Spanish Wikipedia says that the Negritos are all Mongoloids. Is this really the case? 69.120.98.246 (talk) 18:31, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Odd phrase

"...descendants of one of the founder populations of modern humans."

Aren't we all? Am I missing something? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.241.214.138 (talk) 11:28, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, we all must be. However, that phrase was lifted directly from the Abstract in the cited supporting source: "The distinct genetic identity of the aboriginal populations of the Andaman Islands and other Asian and African populations deciphered by nuclear and mitochondrial DNA diversity suggest that (i) either the aboriginals of Andaman are one of the surviving descendents of settlers from an early migration out of Africa who remained in isolation in their habitat in Andaman Islands, or (ii) they are the descendents of one of the founder populations of modern humans." -- Boracay Bill (talk) 11:35, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

So we include nonsensical statements as long as they're sourced? That's not a formula for encyclopedic accuracy.

The source is still useful for its statement about the possibility of descent from early emigrants out of Africa; the rest can be snipped. (That statement might as well read: "They may even be members of Homo sapiens." That's how absurd it is.)

Suggested change:

Before: "...suggesting that they are either surviving descendants of settlers from an early migration out of Africa, or that they are descendants of one of the founder populations of modern humans."

After: "...suggesting that they may be the descendants of settlers from one of the earlier migrations out of Africa."

I say let people stumble across the silly statement on their own, if they bother to read the source. There's no reason to taint the article with it. What do you think? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.241.214.138 (talk) 12:58, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Map

I am extremely dubious of the "Geographical Distribution of the Chief Manifestations . . ." map. Not only is it from 1870, rendering it practically useless except as a primary source indicating what was thought in 1870, but there must be more recent maps that delineate current research on the distribution of human differences, based on genetics instead of surface features.

Even if there isn't such a map, I think this map should be removed or its date of origin commented on, since its use in this article is dubious. 76.16.81.30 (talk) 22:42, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

The term (like many in physical anthropology) is primarily historical, and the article may need to say this more clearly. --JWB (talk) 00:00, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Negrito is Spanish!

It would actually be negrinho in Portuguese.For example, the diminutive in Portuguese has been used in Ronaldinho.Domsta333 (talk) 13:27, 29 September 2010 (UTC)