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Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From

Tony Joseph

4.36 · Rating details · 525 ratings · 126 reviews

Who are we Indians ? Where did we come from ? Many of us believe our ancestors have lived in South Asia since 'time immemorial'. But, as it turns out, 'time immemorial' may not have been all that long ago. To tell us the story of our ancestry, journalist Tony Joseph goes 65,000 years into the past—when a band of modern humans, or Homo sapiens, first made their way from ...more

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Hardcover, First, 256 pages

Published December 18th 2018 by Juggernaut Publication (first published December 2018)

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Mar 26, 2019 Nandakishore Varma rated it really liked it

Indians are a people who are always a bit confused about their identity as “Indians” – maybe because the nation itself is a relatively recent construct (not ignoring the mythical “Bharata”) and the regional and caste identities are more strongly embedded. Ever since the West discovered the mystic East, there have been attempts to create an Indian past which is wholly spiritual – based on the mythical, Vedic “Aryan” – by the proponents of the enlightenment. In colonial times, this “Aryan” became ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Abhinav Gupta rated it it was amazing

India has had a weird relationship with its history prior to Mauryan empire. History by its nature is imprecise but, in this case, confusion is compounded by the fact that Harappan script remains undeciphered and there are very few archaeological remains of Vedic society. The confusion has only been furthered by ideologically motivated or imaginative thinkers who have colored this phase of history with their own agendas. Top example remains forcibly trying to conflate Harrapans with Vedic ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Jayaprakash Satyamurthy rated it it was amazing

Everyone in our subcontinent - Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis - please read EARLY INDIANS by Tony Joseph. Understand where we're coming from, how rich and diverse our roots are and how superficial our divisions are. And it's all based on scientific evidence, not ideological wishful thinking.

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Jan 03, 2020 Raghu rated it it was amazing

As India enters the third decade of the twenty-first century, one would presume that modern science would form the focus of an emerging nation of young people, like India. But, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and advanced medical research do not dominate the conversations. Instead, India is bogged down by questions such as 'who is acceptable as an Indian citizen,' and 'how to build a very tall temple in Ayodhya', etc. The ruling elite is busy pushing the idea of 'one nation, one ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Mr. ALC rated it did not like it

Tony Joseph’s new book “Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From” attempts to sell the colonial Aryan Invasion Theory's insidious 21st-century version - the Aryan Migration Myth - on the basis of racist, Hinduphobic Harvard geneticist David Reich’s thoroughly discredited research.

The legendary Russian archaeologist Leo Klejn has thoroughly debunked Reich’s pro-AIT research.

The New York Times has exposed Reich’s dubious, deeply flawed research methodology, alleged ...more

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Nov 20, 2019 Sravan Devathi rated it did not like it

The whole book was based on the Aryan Invasion theory. It is good to note that there is some evidence which debunks this theory-Rakhigarhi DNA study questions Aryan invasion theory, claims the author
The findings are based on the study of the ancient genome in the skeletons excavated from Rakhigarhi.

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articles...

In the later parts of the book, the author claimed there was a shred of archaeological evidence that the native people of Indus valley worshipped The whole book was based on the Aryan Invasion theory. It is good to note that there is some evidence which debunks this theory-Rakhigarhi DNA study questions Aryan invasion theory, claims the author
The findings are based on the study of the ancient genome in the skeletons excavated from Rakhigarhi.

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articles...

In the later parts of the book, the author claimed there was a shred of archaeological evidence that the native people of Indus valley worshipped a tall pillar-like structure probably Lingam- which is considered as phallus worship then Aryans dismantled the indigenous beliefs and points out the denouncing of SHISHNA-DEVA- literally phallus worship. I was fortunate enough to be doing a course on Vedas and Upanishads in Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies Online and asked a scholar about the above claim.
Daniel Simpson who is one of the teachers replied to me:
As far as I am aware, the Rig Veda only makes a couple of references to shishnadeva (a compound formed from śiśna, meaning "tail" or "penis", and deva, a term for a "deity", related to the English word "divine"). It can be understood as "one whose god is the phallus", but might just mean "lustful".

One of these references (in a hymn to Indra - Rig Veda 7.21.5) was translated in the 19th century as "let not the lewd approach our holy worship." A more recent translation by the scholars Joel Brereton and Stephanie Jamison says: "Sorcerers do not incite us, Indra, nor sycophants with their knowing wiles, o most powerful one. He [=Indra?] will vaunt himself over the stranger, over the race contrary (to our ways). Let the phallus-worshipers not penetrate our truth."

They explain this as follows: "Here various threats to the 'truth' of our people are rendered helpless by our resistance and Indra’s power: threats internal to the community, namely sorcerers and flatterers, and the 'stranger' (an Ārya but an enemy), people who deviate from our ways, and phallus-worshipers (presumably non-Āryas) outside it."

It is not at all clear what this means. There is no mention of lingam worship in the Rig Veda as it is understood today (i.e. involving a symbol linked to Shiva). It seems more likely that this line just distinguishes the Vedic religion from pre-existing folk traditions, perhaps including what scholars call "fertility cults".

The other reference (again in a hymn to Indra - Rig Veda 10.99.3) is even more obscure. It includes a line about someone, perhaps Indra, "smashing the phallus-worshipers" (in the latest translation), or saying he "slew the lustful demons" (in the 19th century version). However, there is plenty of war-like language in the text, and it's not reserved for shishnadeva. The nomadic tribes of early Vedic times were apparently asking gods for help in battles.

We know very little about earlier traditions because they left few records. The free-standing columns found in the Indus Valley don't really tell us much about the place of what Tony Joseph calls "phallus worship", so it seems a bit far-fetched to conclude that the Vedas sought to stamp it out based on these verses and some damaged archeological relics. ...more

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Feb 14, 2019 Suman rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, indian-history

There is an image of the famous dancing girl of Harappa on the cover of this book as a nod perhaps to common knowledge that "Early Indians" for most of us refers to the Harappan Civilization. Then, we are told, came the Aryans who somehow settled peacefully (or not) with the Harappans.

Think of it - have you ever asked yourself where did the Harappans come from?

The author tries to answer this rather grand question in 230 pages. Starting almost 300,000 years ago with the evolution of man - this There is an image of the famous dancing girl of Harappa on the cover of this book as a nod perhaps to common knowledge that "Early Indians" for most of us refers to the Harappan Civilization. Then, we are told, came the Aryans who somehow settled peacefully (or not) with the Harappans.

Think of it - have you ever asked yourself where did the Harappans come from?

The author tries to answer this rather grand question in 230 pages. Starting almost 300,000 years ago with the evolution of man - this breathless book attempts to combine everything that is happening in the world of ancient DNA, archaeology and linguistics to answer the question - who were the Early Indians and where or how the hell did they get here? That the book is up-to-date is an understatement. There are references to papers from 2018 (conjuring in me the image of Tony Joseph running to the press with yet another update as the exasperated printer looks annoyed.) But happily for us readers, every scrap of development included seems important. We are just not used to history working this way and this is exciting: the field of Ancient DNA is answering important questions about history at a pace that makes historians look like astronauts. It tells us that the first humans out of Africa came to India some 65,000 years ago (This, of course makes Harappans look positively modern.) and then goes on to tell the story of Early Indians in a rather comprehensive manner for such a slim book. Constantly digressing to provide primers on subjects such as mitochondrial DNA and Linguistic archaeology this ambitious book, though not exactly a romping read, nevertheless constructs an edifice that adds to the history of sub-continent. I suspect this is not the end of the line for such books - and we will see many more that will tackle the same subject, but this is the first I've read. My only criticism of the book is just that - it isn't a romping enough read. I wish Tony Joseph had brought to the writing of this book the same ability to tell a story he so brilliantly possesses in book discussions. That gap, for a book that could be classified as popular history, might alas reduce its audience. Besides this one observation I totally recommend this book to anyone who reads Indian history. ...more

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Jan 06, 2019 Sahil Pradhan rated it it was amazing

Who are we Indians ? Where did we come from ? Many of us believe our ancestors have lived in South Asia since ‘time immemorial’. But, as it turns out, ‘time immemorial’ may not have been all that long ago. To tell us the story of our ancestry, journalist Tony Joseph goes 65,000 years into the past—when a band of modern humans, or Homo sapiens, first made their way from Africa into the Indian subcontinent.

Citing recent DNA evidence, he traces the subsequent large migrations of modern humans into ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Abirami rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fic, history

This is a great book and it tells a fascinating story. The story of Indians. We're all migrants to this great land and this fact shouldn't perturb us in the least.
Disregard all criticism about how the Rakhigarhi DNA results have "debunked" this book. It hasn't. The results were widely misinterpreted by Indian news media. More about that here: https://caravanmagazine.in/commentary...
If anything it speaks of the quality (or lack thereof) of Indian journalism than anything else.
As to those claims ...more

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Feb 09, 2020 Yuvi Panda rated it it was amazing

Thoroughly researched book laying out archeological and genetic evidence for the origins of people who live in India.

The epilogue about the caste system is the most important part of the book.

I grew up in Tamil Nadu, so wasn't really exposed to a lot of this Aryan heritage stuff. I guess that makes sense - people here did consider themselves quite different from North Indians. This book practically confirms that, so that is nice? I guess it is debunking myths I didn't know about.

I'm more ...more

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Jul 17, 2019 Munjal Dalwadi rated it it was ok

First of all it’s good read and will increase your knowledge. Very good flow of the book and simplest possible explanation of complicated scientific/ Genetic terminology. As your read the book some questions generated in your mind and you will get answer very next moment or paragraph. Vey thought fully composed book and never bored you any time.
But I find few problems with book or author’s mind set or his intentions. Vey first thing he has problem identifying Yogi Mudra seal of harrappan as First of all it’s good read and will increase your knowledge. Very good flow of the book and simplest possible explanation of complicated scientific/ Genetic terminology. As your read the book some questions generated in your mind and you will get answer very next moment or paragraph. Vey thought fully composed book and never bored you any time.
But I find few problems with book or author’s mind set or his intentions. Vey first thing he has problem identifying Yogi Mudra seal of harrappan as Pashupati Siva. Another impossible argument about ancient DNA finding. He said they find some skeletal or DNA evidence in peripheral area of harrapns which are outlier from DNA finding of same area and this outlier has fist Indian genes so they can be consider as harrapans. This argument I can’t digest. There Swastika symbols finding at harrappa which he doesn’t mentioned and swastika related to Vedic people or Aryans. There so many points when I feel, author is selective to give you some information from journal or research paper and willfully hide contrary information. He also took support of south Indian myths and tries to make it as fact to support his arguments but if he can consider south Indian myths then he has to consider north Indian Myths (Aryans Myths) too. If I consider north Indian myth then I can correlate them with lot finding he points out in the book.
He just talks about Harrapans which is western most part of subcontinent but what about peninsular and gangetic plains during that time? There has to be some kind of culture developed there as well. He just left those parts blank by saying they got early farming experiment in Lahuradewa. That means there has be some kind of farming developed which could lead to some other kind civilization but as that are never abandoned and highly occupied for centuries we can’t get any evidence. And Vedic people or people from steppe with R1a1 gene mixed with them and created parallel civilization and constantly in conflict with Harrapan people and when extensive drought followed harrapa they took it over than become dominant. There could so many possibilities with finding we got today but he just highlights what his agenda is.
At last I would like to highlight, he made joke for “Tukde Tukde” thing which is final blow to believe he has some agenda with book. And for author’s intentions behind book, I would like to show, Harrapan Symbol (Fishy).
...more

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May 12, 2019 A Man Called Ove rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

First Things First - The Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory has been controversial in India for sometime now. Originally, Max Mueller put forward this theory in the mid 19th century on basis of linguistics. Mind well that the Harappan/Indus-Saraswati valley civilisation had not been discovered till then and surprisingly no written records of that civilisation remain !
" ઇતિહાસ શું લખવાની ચીજ છે ? સાધારણ બે કોડીની રોજીંદી ઘટનાઓનું નામ ઈતિહાસ છે. જે આજ તોફાનની જેમ ઉઠે છે, પણ આવતીકાલે જેનું કોઈ First Things First - The Aryan Invasion/Migration Theory has been controversial in India for sometime now. Originally, Max Mueller put forward this theory in the mid 19th century on basis of linguistics. Mind well that the Harappan/Indus-Saraswati valley civilisation had not been discovered till then and surprisingly no written records of that civilisation remain !
" ઇતિહાસ શું લખવાની ચીજ છે ? સાધારણ બે કોડીની રોજીંદી ઘટનાઓનું નામ ઈતિહાસ છે. જે આજ તોફાનની જેમ ઉઠે છે, પણ આવતીકાલે જેનું કોઈ નામોનિશાન રહેતું નથી. ઈતિહાસ તો ધૂળની ડમરી છે. ભારતે ઈતિહાસ નથી લખ્યો. " - Jay Vasavada
(History is not worth writing.)
The discovery of the Harappan civilisation in the 1920s added a new chapter - Who were the Harappans ? Were they also "Indians" or were they too migrants ?
And what were the links between Harappan and Aryan/Vedic civilisation ? Did the Harappan civilisation metamorph into the Aryan/Vedic civilisation or did the Aryan Invasion/Migration theory still hold ?
The author looks at genetics, archaeology and linguistics to convincingly answer all the questions. Starting with the Out-of-Africa migration 65000 years ago who he calls the "First Indians", and the subsequent waves of migration mixing with the "First Indians" to give the birth of the first farming communities, eventually leading to Harappan civilisation and he demonstrates how the Aryan migration theory is true. Each migration kept adding to our gene pool and culture.
In doing so, the author also acknowledges the The Lost River: On The Trails of Saraswati indirectly and shows how the book's thesis that the Vedic Saraswati is the same as Ghaggar-Hakra is wrong. But, he agrees that the Aryan civilisation resulted from the mingling of the Aryan migrants and the Harappans.
Moving on, a no. of topics such as the caste system, the Harappan civilisation, the science behind genetics have been discussed wonderfully well and the book is very readable compared to other pre-history books that I have read earlier. And I await the next book from the other camp that has stalwarts like Amish Tripathi and Sanjeev Sanyal that repudiates the arguments of this book :) ...more

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May 05, 2019 Ajay rated it did not like it

After Rakhigarhi study, this book is very outdated now. In his book. he claimed there is decisive proof that Vedic Aryas were foreigners who entered India from Central Asia around 1500 BC and brought Vedic Sanskrit and Vedic religion with them. In twitter after Rakhigarhi study He says "Harappan genome lacks ancestry from Iranian farmers". But in his book published a few months ago, Tony completely contradicts himself and claims Harappan Genome is a "mixture of Iranian farmers and First ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Vivek Bhageria rated it did not like it

Seriously guys?? Giving this book 4-5 stars? Tony uses discredited claims as the base of this book. He tries to re-establish the Aryan Invasion Theory which has been a proven false theory. The Aryan Invasion Theory was a myth created to break the bond that Indians had with their land. That theory helped Britishers tighten their hold on India. What is the Author trying to do?

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Aug 18, 2019 Saty rated it did not like it

A few things: 1) the book appeared 5-6 months before the 2019 Indian elections. 2) The author is neither an academic, nor a researcher. He is a lifelong journalist and TV reporter. 3) Look at who has praised and reviewed the book. People who were all opposed to the current government. 4) If you google the author, he led a company that produced paid content for white papers, blogs and case studies. Feel free to draw your own conclusions on the veracity of his claims and those of his sources. For ...more

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Oct 31, 2019 Pramod Biligiri rated it really liked it

“The Early Indians” is one of the most informative and engaging books I’ve read. In a brief couple of hundred pages journalist and author Tony Joseph explains how the Indian subcontinent came to be populated by humans (homo sapiens to be precise) over tens of thousands of years and how civilization took root here. What make this book stand out are its reliance on recent academic research (esp. DNA analyses of humans both living and dead) and Joseph’s painstaking effort to convey the essence of ...more

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Dec 11, 2019 Anoop Kutty rated it really liked it

An extremely interesting read.
Tony Joseph in his book somewhat clears the air on who we Indians are and where we came from.
The first Out of Africa migrants reached the subcontinent around 65000 years ago.
These were the first Indians. Every Indian has upto 40-50 % of the First Indians genetic makeup in him.
The Harappans- the people who were part of the earliest known civilisation in India, sometime between 7000- 2000 BC, were a part mixture of First Indians and Iranian agriculturists, from the ...more

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Feb 23, 2019 Shruthi rated it it was amazing

In schools we are taught Indian history as starting from Harappan and Indus valley civilization. This book gives us detailed view on India's pre history. What was India like around 65000 years ago.

Great book that gives evidence on Who we Indians are.
Spoiler - We are all migrants

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Jan 28, 2020 Steven Deobald rated it it was amazing

This book was GREAT. It's amazing that the ancient history of the subcontinent really was completely uncertain until the last five years, with 2014-2020 opening up a whole new world of understanding thanks to the sequencing of ancient DNA.

Considering how much political weight the facts presented in this book carry, Joseph does a brilliant job of keeping the book limited to the science. At least until the Epilogue, in which he gets a little emotional about the unproductive nature of the current ...more

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Oct 17, 2019 Puluck rated it really liked it

If one does not get bored by slightly technical and factual data this book is one of the most informative. Augmented with the latest genetic and archaeological evidences, it gives the most comprehensive details of ancestry of us (the people of India)

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May 11, 2019 Swaraj Yadav rated it it was amazing

Highly engaging and enlightening book. A must read in this age of psuedo hindu nationalism. A real eye opener was the evidence of caste system being a later construct on post maghadh India..more of a social engineering experiment whose effects we continue to see to this day.

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Feb 03, 2019 Arup Guha rated it really liked it

Have been reading up on archaeological and linguistic analysis of Early Indians for some time now. But like the author, found the publications on genetic evidence nearly impenetrable. Its interesting to note that the author went through the same cycle but didn't give up. Therefore the book forms a valuable bridge between people interested in their ancient past and technical material. The writing is very lucid and the author makes it a point to clarify all thorny doubts. Finished this book in one ...more

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Feb 16, 2019 Balachander rated it really liked it

Well researched account of our ancestors - the early indians, the harappans and the Aryans. Read to find out how with the help of dna analysis and other state of the art techniques we're more certain than ever of who the original inhabitants, of this landmass we now call as India, were. And in the process learn a little about the origins of the caste system, the differences in dietary practices in the North and the South; interesting insights into the first planned settlement (present local and ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Gayathiri Rajendran rated it really liked it

This was a very fascinating read.This book combines linguistics,archaeology and DNA evidence to give an account of the story of the Indian population right from the evolution of man.It also answers the important questions like where did the Harappans come from.After reading this book,I am tempted to visit the sites of the ancient Harappan civilization.A very interesting take on an interesting subject.It was unputdownable.

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Sep 14, 2019 Sandeep rated it it was amazing

If you are serious about understanding the origins of who really were the people who populated India, their origins and their story this is an excellent book to read.
A mix of sound science and journalism- this book debunks many ideological narratives of various political parties across the country as fairy tales.
It is an important book and deserves to be read but if you are looking for something simple and light this is not the book for you.

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Oct 29, 2019 Kan Bhalla rated it it was amazing

While I would have liked a more definitive conclusion on how exactly the caste system came about, in every other sense it was fascinating read. Tony uses 3 methods to derive conclusions: archeological evidence, ancient DNA analysis and language movements. How each is undertaken, eventually corroborating their independent theories using the other 2 is just amazing!
It's a book meant for those who are not only interested in 'what' but also 'how' and 'why' of the ancient world.. Highly recommended.

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Dec 27, 2018 Samuel Premkumar rated it really liked it

A nice and easy to read book on the population history of India. Tony Joseph traces the human migration in to India from 65000 years ago to the later waves of migration, based on the new data available from the science of ancient DNA analysis. While linguistic and archeology studies had some gaps in the migration theory, the ancient DNA study fills in the gap. The book should be read along with David Reich's. "Who we are and how we got here" as it has the complete scientific data and proofs.
Tony ...more

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Sep 09, 2019 Midhun Jose rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, evolution, anthropology

Extensively researched, strongly argued and beautifully written

A must read book for all Indians. Whether you agree or disagree with the Aryan migration hypothesis, this book definitely compel you to ask some valid questions and check your perceptions

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Dec 29, 2019 Hiran Venugopalan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook-reading

Took time, but it's amazing!

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Apr 16, 2019 Avaneesh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paperbacks

If this book doesn't settle the debate of who those pesky "Aryans" were, and whether it really matters that they "invaded" what we now call India, I don't know what will.

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