Figure 1.--Here we see negrito children playing a stone tossing game somewhere in the Philippines. The photograph is undated, but looks like the 1930s.

The nomadic Negritos appear to be the next people to reach what is now the Philippines archepeligo. They were the first still existing population to arrive. Negritos populated scattered areas of the Philippines before the last Ice Age ended (about 12,000 BP). This meant that at the time there may have been land connections to Asia or small sea distancesto be crissed. They appear to be related to the ancestors of the Andamanese and Melonesian peoples. They were replaced in many areas by polynesians and other peoples from southen China/Taiwan. As a result, the negritos tend to be found in isolated areas on many Filipino islands. 'Negrito' is the Spanish-language diminutive form of negro. Negro means black anb negrito literally meaning 'little black person'. The term began to be applied to people by the Spanish when they arrivd in the Philippines (16th century). The Spanish usage of negrito was adopted by other European travellers and colonialists across Austronesia to label peoples with similar physical characteristics. Modern people commonly included in the negrito grouping include the Andamanese peoples (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), the Semang and Batek people (Peninsular Malaysia), the Maniq people (Southern Thailand), and the Aeta, Ati, and 30 other small ethnic groups (Philippines). The usage of the term Negrito has been challenged as a way of grouping widely dispersed peoples with similar physical chracteristics. We suspect PC values are involved in this criticism.

Created: 11:15 PM 6/10/2007
Last updated: 1:30 PM 10/19/2018