mtDNA haplogroup D

D4c2: There is a D4c2 in Bobillo et al., which is extremely rare in Japan 1/672 in Tanaka, and there are so other Japanese or East Asian lineages in that sample, so this could be a newly discovered Native American lineage.

D4j: D4j has been found in 2 studies on South American populations, one in Bolivia and one in Patagonia Mapuche and one on Bolivian natives. Given the rest of the weird lineages in the native Bolivian population, A4, B4c1a, CZ, D4J, M7a and M8/N9b, it seems a fair number of Japanese Bolivians married into the local Indian population. Sala and Corach 2014 (fig. 3 and supplementary table 3) has 1 Mapuche as D4j but this seems a typo as it has mutations defining D1j.
The Chinese individuals belong to the subclades D4j1, D4j3, and D4j6.
Taiwan Han
1/111 = 0.009 D4j6
2/111 = 0.018 D4j total

D4j
3/137 = 0.022 Chinese
1/71 = 0.014 Mainland Southeast Asian (Thai + Vietnamese)
0/197 = 0.000 Island Southeast Asian/Austronesian (Taiwan Aborigines + Orchid Islanders + Filipinos)

D4j1: D4j1 is restricted to TBs and some Baikalians. This must be an event post-split up of TB with Han.A wide variety of TB groups have been tested by Chandrasekar to have D4j1, and Qin only confirms this. D4j in Han are not D4j1, except 1 case in a Taiwanese study. 1 Thai and 1 Taiwanese Han have been found to belong to the subclade D4j1.

sources:
Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of a native Bolivian population
[url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20569950[/url]

Bobillo
Amerindian mitochondrial DNA haplogroups predominate in the population of Argentina: towards a first nationwide forensic mitochondrial DNA sequence database
[url]http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00414-009-0366-3[/url]

Tanaka: Mitochondrial Genome Variation in Eastern Asia and the Peopling of Japan

D4a & D4b
Yao: Phylogeographic Differentiation of Mitochondrial DNA in Han Chinese

The effectiveness of sequence variants of MTCOI and MTCYB besides entire D-Loop for haplotyping in eight population groups living in Taiwan

Sala and Corach 2014. Analysis of admixture and genetic structure of two Native American groups of Southern Argentinean Patagonia

On the "Origin of Blonds" ... theories from; J. F. Hoffeck's book Desolate Landscapes

To over-simplify, his argument is that it's due to sexual selection during the last ice age, with its maximum glaciation around ~20,000 BP.
1. Females in the northern latitudes, in contrast to their food-gathering counterparts in the tropics, would've been dependent on males for food.
2. Males, on the other hand, would've been in "short supply" because of the hazards of hunting in the cold over long distances. This is seen in arctic peoples of the modern age, when there was almost a 2:1 ratio of females to males.
3. Because the male can only support one female in those harsh conditions, there would've been sexual selection/competition in which the women who stand out the most (non-brown eyes, non-black hair) would've been selected. It's similar to how a Persian cat's blue eyes are a result of selective breeding by owners.
4. Female infanticide was practiced to reduce the female-to-male imbalance. This was enough for the arctic but the steppe would've produced more population and female infanticide wouldn't have compensated for the imbalance. *Personally, I also think the harsher Siberian conditions (physical demands on the appearance of men in their long exposures to cold during hunting) would've made male phenotype out compete any phenotype gotten through sexual selection through women. As for skin color, unlike Inuits and other Asian boreal populations who have a fish based diet, Western Eurasians would have relied more on-land supply, so to get enough vitamin D they would need to synthetize it from the Sun directly.

Here's the complete section of the review by Peter Frost on Hoffecker's book [i]Desolate Landscapes: Ice Age Settlement in Eastern Europe[/i]: (For complete review: [url=http://human-nature.com/nibbs/02/frost.html]http://human-nature.com/nibbs/02/frost.html[/url])[/color][/b]

[size=3][b]Male Provisioning, Polygyny Constraints, and Sexual Selection[/b][/size]
[b]In any case, there was no replacement or intermixture [color=purple](between Neanderthals/Pre-Moderns and Moderns)[/color] on the loess-steppe. Modern humans were moving into an environment that no other Homo had successfully colonized. To overcome the challenges of the harsh Arctic climate, they created new forms of fuel, clothing, and shelter. To overcome the challenges of a different food supply, they reallocated the tasks of food procurement between men and women. This shift in food procurement is evident if we compare present-day hunter-gatherers from the Tropics and the Arctic. In the tropical zone, men hunt while women gather berries, fruits, roots, grubs, eggs, and other sessile food items, these tasks being more compatible with the demands of pregnancy, breast-feeding, and infant transport (Kelly 1995:268-269). Further north, food gathering is limited by the long winter, providing less than 10% of all food among hunter-gatherers above 60° N, as compared to 40-55% below 40° N (Martin 1974:16-18). The end point of this trend is Arctic tundra, where almost all of the available biomass is in the form of game animals. Such environments compel women to process food obtained through hunting instead of gathering food on their own.

Hoffecker discusses the implications (p. 8). First, “hunter-gatherers in northern continental environments who subsist on terrestrial mammals must forage across large areas in order to secure highly dispersed and mobile prey.” Second, “[a]nother consequence of low temperatures and a high meat diet is that males procure most or all food resources.”

This change in the sexual division of labour would have had demographic and, ultimately, evolutionary consequences. As hunters cover longer distances, they increase their risk of death from starvation, accidents, or inclement weather, a risk that is already high because they carry a minimum of supplies for sustenance and shelter. If we look at present-day Arctic groups with no herd dogs or domesticated reindeer (e.g., the Chukchi), male mortality rises sharply with hunting distance (Krupnik 1985). In addition, hunting is more hazardous in the Arctic because of the extreme weather and the relative absence of alternate food sources for hunting parties. There thus develops a male deficit in the sex ratio. Among 19th century Labrador Inuit, the 15+ age bracket had only 57 males for every 100 females (Scheffel 1984).

Few of the excess women, however, can become second wives. This is because of the high demands on male provisioning. In his review of Inuit mating systems, Kjellström (1973:118) concludes, "Since the duty of being a provider was more onerous for the man who had two or more wives, this meant that as a rule it was only the really able and skilful hunters and fishers who could manage this double duty." Together, these two factors-high male mortality and limited polygyny-skew the operational sex ratio towards a female surplus, thereby causing women to compete more intensely for mates. One result is an intensification of sexual selection.

Sexual selection is not unusual in itself, but it usually acts more on males than on females. All things being equal, more males than females are available for mating at any point in time, given the latter’s unavailability during pregnancy and early infant care. If, however, a population has more females than males and if polygyny is constrained, we have the conditions for a reversal of the usual pattern.

Nonetheless, this potential for sexual selection has to contend with a third factor. Female infanticide used to reduce the excess of women over men in Arctic hunter-gatherers living at high latitudes, like the Inuit of Canada’s High Arctic. The population density being very low, parents were reluctant to raise a daughter who would probably marry out of the band and not support them in their declining years, either directly or through her future husband (Smith and Smith 1994). In the Low Arctic, higher population density increased the likelihood of “son-in-law payback”; consequently, the Inuit practised much less female infanticide at lower latitudes (Schrire and Steiger 1974). If we extrapolate this trend to the loess-steppe, where high bioproductivity supported higher population densities than those of present-day Arctic groups, it is likely that female infanticide would not have “corrected” the excess of women over men.

If humans experienced intense sexual selection on the loess-steppe, were there evolutionary consequences? One may be the diverse eye and hair colours we see in a zone centred on the East Baltic and covering most of Eastern and Northern Europe. Within this zone, eyes may be not only brown but also blue, grey, hazel, or green, while hair may be not only black but also brown, flaxen, golden, or red (Beals and Hoijer 1965:212-214). In the absence of selection pressures, the current level of hair colour diversity would have taken 850,000 years to develop (Templeton 2002). One would have to conclude that the gene pool of Eastern and Northern Europe is derived mainly from the Neanderthals and even earlier Homo populations. Otherwise, some kind of selection must have favoured these colour polymorphisms.

Sexual selection has already been advanced as an explanation (Cavalli-Sforza et al. 1994:266). If faced with an abundance of equally suitable mates, the sex in short supply will select a mate that “stands out from the crowd” in having, for example, a rare and highly visible colour morph. Such selection is frequency-dependent, declining in strength as the rare morph becomes more common and tending towards an equilibrium that maximizes colour diversity (Endler 1980; Keegan-Rogers and Schultz 1988). Colour polymorphisms due to sexual selection have been reported from insects, fishes, and birds (Keegan-Rogers and Schultz 1988). There seem to be two preconditions: (1) a low level of predation, because brightly coloured traits facilitate prey detection; and (2) an absence of related species sharing the same geographic range, apparently because too much intraspecific variability interferes with species recognition (Endler 1980). Both preconditions were probably met by modern humans: predation was a minor cause of mortality and species recognition had become less problematical with the disappearance of the Neanderthals.[/b]

proto-Native American admixture into Mal'ta Boy, a more parsimonious and yet "contrarian" model

Although it has become universal to speak of the Mal'ta find's admixture into Native Americans, there is actually an alternative, more parsimonious model that explains the data equally well, and that model is proto-Native American/paleo-Siberian admixture into Mal'ta boy. It's important to understand that no Mal'ta Boy genes have been found in Native Americans. Rather, Lazaridis et al. inferred Mal'ta admixture into NA based on the differing genetic distances of various Eurasian populations to Mal'ta Boy. Below are the f4 statistical phenomenon that led Lazaridis to reach their conclusions:
1. Mal'ta is roughly equidistant  in f4 stats to Oceanians and East Asians while closer to Native Americans
2. Mesolithic Europeans and Mal'ta are roughly equidistant to East Asians while Malt'a is much  closer to Native Americans than Europeans are.

Model A, Mal'ta admixture into Native Americans, would explain the above phenomenon. However, it requires 2 hypothetical populations: Ancestral North Eurasian and Basal Eurasian.
Model B, proto-Native American/paleo-Siberian admixture into Mal'ta, requires no hypothetical populations.

Model A
One way to explain these curious mathematical artifacts is through a model of Mal'ta admixture into Native Americans. Because Native Americans are admixed with Mal'ta, they are closer to Mal'ta. Because East Asians are unadmixed wit Mal'ta, they are as distant to Mal'ta as faraway Oceanians are to Mal'ta. Because Native are admixed with Mal'ta, they are much closer to Mal'ta than they are to Europeans, whereas because East Asians have neither Mal'ta nor European admixture, both Euroepans and Mal'ta are equidistant to East Asians.
A complication to this model is that it requires the positing of 2 hypothetical populations, Ancestral North Eurasian and Basal Eurasian, neither of which can be matched into archaeological reality.. Mal'ta as a pure population would require it to be a separate Ancestral North Eurasian because it is very distinct genetically. Because Eastern Eurasians, Native Americans, Oceanians are all closer to Mesolithic Europeans than they are to Near Easterners. This would require pre-Neolithic Europeans to form a macro-clad with other Eurasians to the exclusion of Near Eastern Basal Eurasians.

Model B
The 2nd model is actually more parsimonious because it explains the interlocking genetic distances of various Eurasian populations without a need for hypothetical populations. Because Native Americans are actually quite distinct from East Asians and show up on a multi-dimensional plot in its distinct "corner", any Native American admixture into Mal'ta would not make them noticeably closer to East Asians, thus explaining the perplexities 1 and 2 above.







The Mal'ta --> Native American model creates serious archaeological and epigenetic/physical anthropology conundrums:
1. Both Ancestral North Eurasian and Basal Eurasian that Lazaridis et al. proposes are hard to match up with any archaeology. Mal'ta-Buret Culture arrives in Siberia 20,000 years after the initial Upper Paleolithic there, and Mal'ta-Buret has long been noted as an intrusive element in Siberia with a mixture of European Gravettian cultural artifacts and Central Asian lithic characteristics.
2. The whopping ~40% admixture into Karitiana would also not explain why Native Americans are on the extreme end of East Eurasian epigenetic traits (i.e. EDAR, Sinodonty). While on average Native Americans and modern East Asians are rather distinct, physical anthropologists do not find Native American skull craniomorphology and craniometrics to be a watered down version of East Asians, and in fact Plains Indian and Mongolian defleshed skulls resemble each other more than both to Chinese, Japanese, etc.

[hr]

Other problems with the Mal'ta find:

Their closest approximant are the Mari people of Uralic Russia. In the clustering analysis (at K10), the Mari are about 30% Siberian, which peaks at the Ngansan around 100%. Mari mtDNA is 13.2 East Eurasian.
source: Diversity of Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups in Ethnic Populations of the Volga–Ural Region
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.408.4187&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Eregious mistranslations of Chinese language by Western academics

Wai di ren" literally means "outside place person", which means non-local. It does not mean foreigner, which is "wai guo ren".

Mair mis-translates "qing" as "green" so that the Qin emperor's "cold/dark" eyes were translated as having green eyes.

Wa (Wō) people of Chinese history 4: The (Old) Book of Tang

1. 『旧唐書』倭国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Wo Country
2.  『旧唐書』日本国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Japan Country

---

This is the section regarding the "Wo country" in the (Old) Book of Tang, the next official Chinese history after the Book of Sui.

『旧唐書』倭国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Wo Country

倭國者、古倭奴國也。去京師一萬四千里、在新羅東南大海中、依山島而居。東西五月行、南北三月行。世與中國通。其國、居無城郭、以木為柵、以草為屋。四面小島五十餘國、皆附屬焉。其王姓阿毎氏、置一大率、檢察諸國、皆畏附之。設官有十二等。
That which is called Wo country is the Wonu country of ancient times. 14,000 li from the capital, it lies in the great sea southeast of Silla, resting upon island(s). It is five months’ travel east-west, and three months’ travel north-south. Generation after generation, they have been in communication with the Middle Kingdom. In their country, residences do not have city/castle walls; they make fences of wood and roofs of grass. The small islands and over fifty states that surround Wo on four sides are all subsidiary to it. Their sovereign is surnamed Mr. Amei. He has appointed a Great Leader who scrutinizes the various states, and they all subordinate themselves to this in fear. They have established a bureaucracy having twelve ranks.

其訴訟者、匍匐而前。地多女少男。頗有文字、俗敬佛法。並皆跣足、以幅布蔽其前後。貴人戴錦帽、百姓皆椎髻、無冠帶。婦人衣純色裙、長腰襦、束髮於後、佩銀花、長八寸、左右各數枝、以明貴賤等級。衣服之制、頗類新羅。
Those among them who would make suit prostrate themselves and crawl forward. The land produces many females and few males. They have some written letters, and their common folk respect the law of the Buddha. Also, they all go barefoot, and use a breadth of cloth to cover the front and back (i.e. their private parts). Noble persons wear on their heads a hat made of silk brocade. Commoners all (do their hair up into) a mallet-shaped topknot, and wear neither a hat nor a belt. Married women wear a pure-colored skirt and a long waistcoat, bundle their hair at the back, and wear silver flowers (on the waist), about eight cùn (Chinese inches) in length, several sprigs on the left and/or the right, which they use to distinguish the noble and the lowly ranks. The make (or system/rules) of their clothing is rather similar to that of Silla.

貞觀五年、遣使獻方物。太宗矜其道遠、敕所司無令歳貢、又遣新州刺史高表仁持節往撫之。表仁無綏遠之才、與王子爭禮、不宣朝命而還。至二十二年、又附新羅奉表、以通起居。
In the fifth year of Zhēnguān (631 CE), they sent an embassy to present local products. Taizong, taking pity on them for the distance of their journey, told an official not to cause them to bring annual tribute, and he dispatched the Governor of Xinzhou, Gao Biaoren, to go there, bearing his official insignia, and “comfort” them. Biaoren, lacking talent for pacifying distant places, argued about courtesy with the prince (or princes, noblemen’s sons), and he came back without announcing the imperial order. In the 22nd year (of Zhēnguān, i.e. 648 CE, the year before Taizong’s death), they accompanied Silla to pay their respects (to the imperial court), conveying the mundane occurrences (in their respective countries).

 『旧唐書』日本国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Japan Country
(There have been innumerable speculations, both past and present, regarding the reasons for the change of the country's name from "Wo" to "Japan." Old Book of Tang is unusual in that it contains two sections regarding the country, the first labeled "Tales of (or 'Communications with') Wo Country" and the second labeled "Tales of (or 'Communications with') Japan Country." Personally, I think this is not such an important "discrepancy" as some people have portrayed it to be; the "Tales of Wo" only contains references to a couple events of the seventh century CE, whereas "Tales of Japan" only contains references to events of the eighth and early ninth centuries CE. The Tang Dynasty lasted for a very long time, nearly three full centuries, so it is not unthinkable that the official name of a certain single country may have been changed from "Wo" to "Japan" at some time when the Tang Dynasty ruled in China, probably close to the beginning of that timespan, and therefore the references to that country in the Chinese official history have been split in two, retaining the name "Wo" for diplomatic events that occurred prior to the name change, and placing events that occurred after the name change into a new section for "Japan.")

日本國者、倭國之別種也。以其國在日邊、故以日本為名。或曰：倭國自惡其名不雅、改為日本。或云：日本舊小國、併倭國之地。其人入朝者、多自矜大、不以實對、故中國疑焉。又云：其國界東西南北各數千里、西界、南界咸至大海、東界、北界有大山為限、山外即毛人之國。
That which is called Japan country is a branch of the Wo country. Considering the country to be located at the side of the sun (“side of the sun” in Chinese is also a metaphorical way of referring to a place near the imperial capital or at the side of the emperor), they therefore have made “Japan” (“sun-origin, sun-base”) its name. Or some say that the Wo country itself detested that its name was not elegant (or “not in good taste”), and changed it to be Japan. Or some say that Japan was formerly a small country, and it annexed the territory of Wo country. Many among (or “most of”) their people who have visited the imperial court have boasted about their greatness (or “how big they are”), and do not respond (or “treat us”) with sincerity, therefore the Middle Kingdom has doubts about this. They also said that the boundaries of their country extended several thousand li toward the east, west, south, and north, with the western boundary and the southern boundary both reaching the great sea, and the eastern boundary and northern boundary being delimited by great mountains, beyond which lay the country of hairy people (perhaps 毛國 Keno(-no) kuni of the northern Kanto region, which lay east and north of the so-called “Japanese Alps”).

長安三年、其大臣朝臣真人來貢方物、朝臣真人者、猶中國戸部尚書、冠進德冠、其頂為花、分而四散、身服紫袍、以帛為腰帶。真人好讀經史、解屬文、容止温雅。則天宴之於麟德殿、授司膳卿、放還本國。
In the third year of Chang’an (703 CE), their minister, the Chaochen Zhenren (Asomi no Mahito?), came to present tribute of local products. That which is called Chaochen Zhenren is like the Middle Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Board of Revenue and Population. On his head he wore a Crown for the Promotion of Virtue (a kind of headwear granted by the Tang emperors to their favorites), its top being made of flowers that branched and spread apart in all directions. On his body he wore a purple robe (the court dress of the highest officials in feudal China) and a waistband made of (pure and white) silk. Zhenren was well-versed in the classics and history, he was an expert copyist, and his looks and bearing were warm (=gentle) and refined. (Empress) Zetian fêted him at the Líndédiàn (Palace of the Female Unicorn’s Virtue), where she bestowed upon him the title of Lord Master of the Board, and gave him leave to return to his own country.

開元初、又遣使來朝、因請儒士授經、詔四門助教趙玄默就鴻 臚寺教之、乃遺玄默闊幅布以為束修之禮、題云「白龜元年調布」。人亦疑其偽。所得錫賚、盡市文籍、泛海而還。其偏使朝臣仲滿、慕中國之風、因留不去、改姓 名為朝衡、仕歴左補闕、儀王友。衡留京師五十年、好書籍、放歸郷、逗留不去。
Around the beginning of Kaiyuan (713 – 741 CE), they again sent an embassy to come to court, and they requested a Confucian scholar to lecture them on the classics. (The Emperor) decreed that an assistant professor at the School of the Four Gates (Sìménxué), Zhào Xuánmò, should assume a post at the Department of Ceremonies and Foreign Affairs and teach them. Therefore (or “Then” or “As it turned out”), they left Xuánmò a broad tapestry as a gift in return for his teaching. It is titled “Tax of the First Year of White Turtle” (“White Turtle” is probably a reference to the Japanese calendrical era name of 霊亀 Reiki “Spiritually Potent/Magical Turtle,” i.e. 715 – 717 CE, which commemorates the gifting of an auspicious turtle to Empress Genshō of Japan on the occasion of her accession to the throne, or 神亀 Jinki “Divine Turtle,” i.e. 724 – 729 CE, which commemorates the gifting or appearance of a white turtle at the time of accession of the next emperor, Shōmu. Note that turtles have in some eras been something like a symbol of the “divine right of kings” in East Asia.). People also suspected that it might be counterfeit (or “People doubted its authenticity, too”). … Another emissary of theirs, Chaochen Zhongman (Abe no Nakamaro?), fell in love with the air (i.e. manners, atmosphere, style) of the Middle Kingdom, so he stayed and did not leave. He changed his surname and given name to Chao Heng, and went through service in various posts, such as Left Imperial Assistant and Ceremonial Royal Friend. Heng remained in the capital for fifty years. He was fond of books, (and although the Emperor) gave him leave to return to his hometown, he stayed and did not go away.

天寶十二年、又遣使貢。上元中、擢衡為左散騎常侍、鎮南都護。
　貞元二十年、遣使來朝、留學生橘逸勢、學問僧空海。
　元和元年、日本國使判官高階真人上言：「前件學生、藝業稍成、願歸本國、便請與臣同歸。」從之。開成四年、又遣使朝貢。
In the twelfth year of Tianbao (753 CE), they again sent an embassy to present tribute. During Shangyuan (760－761 CE), (the Emperor) selected Heng to be Left Currier and Constant Attendant (of the Emperor) and Dūhù (the title of the highest commanding administrative officer in a Chinese colony or border area) Who Pacifies the South (“Pacify/Settle the South” is the way the Chinese described their territory in and around what is now northern Vietnam, i.e. Annam). In the twentieth year of Zhenyuan (804 CE), they sent an embassy to come to court, (including) international student, Ju Yishi (Tachibana Hayanari), and scholar monk, Konghai (Kuukai). In the first year of Yuanhe (806 CE), an official of the Japanese embassy, Gaojie (“High Level, High Class”) Zhenren, said to the Emperor (in regard to) the aforementioned student: “He has had a bit of success in his endeavor, and he wishes to return to his home country, so I humbly ask that he (be allowed to) return together with me.” He went along with this (i.e. Tachibana accompanied this official back to Japan? Or the Emperor acquiesced?). In the fourth year of Kaicheng (839 CE), they again sent an embassy to present tribute to the court.

Wa (Wō) people of Chinese history; Who precisely were they?

Blog post by team member Jake:
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang
The Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang (originally from the 6th century CE; this image has been taken from a copy made in the 11th century according to the source on Wikipedia) includes an (unfortunately damaged) artistic representation of an emissary from the "Wō country" and a description of this country in Classical Chinese. I have placed a red box around the relevant parts of the image.

This "Wō country" seems to be (at least a part of) protohistorical Japan, but the precise location of the seat of the country's supreme ruler is debated endlessly among Japanese historians and archaeologists. What do you think about the attire of this Wō emissary to Liang of China?

( In later centuries, the character for "Wa/Wo" (倭) did come to be used to indicate the Japanese ethnicity. The euphemistic character that has been chosen to substitute for it, 和, is used by the modern Japanese in pseudo-Sinitic (a.k.a. "Sino-Japanese") coinages to mean "Japanese" (e.g. 和食 washoku "Japanese food," 和語 wago "(native) Japanese words," 和服 wafuku "Japanese clothing"). However, I do not know of any direct evidence to link the early references to "Wa/Wo" in Chinese historical texts with a specifically Japonic- or proto-Japonic-speaking population.)

By the way, the legible part of the damaged text that accompanies the depiction of the emissary from Wo to Liang reads as follows:

倭國使
倭國在帶方東南大海中依山島居自帶方循海水乍南下東對
其北岸歷三十餘國可万餘里倭王所？？在會稽東氣暖地溫
出真珠青玉無牛馬虎豹羊鵲？？？？面文身以木棉帖首衣
橫幅無縫但結{以下缺文}
Wo Country Emissary

Wo Country is located southeast of Daifang, in the midst of the great sea. [They] dwell upon mountainous islands. From Daifang, [one] follows the sea water to the south and then east. Against
its north coast, [one] passes more than thirty states [over a distance of] somewhat more than 10,000 li. The place where the Wo sovereign [??]s is located east of Guiji/Kuaiji. The air is warm and the land is mild.
[It] produces pearls and jade. [It] lacks cows, horses, tigers, leopards, sheep, magpies...[????] faces [and] draw designs on [their] bodies. [They] dress [their] heads with cotton. [Their] clothing
is a long piece of cloth that is not sewn, but tied... {The text after this point has been utterly destroyed.}

The Book of Sui
The following is a rough draft of my translation of the section of the Book of Sui regarding the "Wo country." This section is positioned last in the chapter on "Tales of the Eastern Barbarians (東夷伝)."

倭國、在百濟、新羅 東南、水陸三千里、於大海之中依山島而居。魏時、譯通中國、三十餘國、皆自稱王。夷人不知里數、但計以日。其國境東西五月行、南北三月行、各至於海。其地 勢東高西下。都於邪靡堆、則魏志所謂邪馬臺者也。古云去樂浪郡境及帶方郡並一萬二千里、在會稽之東、與儋耳相近。
Wō country is located three thousand li by water and land southeast of Baekje and Silla, on island(s) amidst the great sea. In the time of Wei, more than thirty states held association with the Middle Kingdom, (their representatives/interpreters) all calling themselves wáng (“king”). The Yí (eastern barbarian) people do not know the counting of li (Chinese miles), but measure by days. The country’s borders are five months’ travel east-west, three months’ travel north-south, extending to the sea in every direction. The lay of the land is high in the east and low in the west. They have their capital at Yámíduī　(“evil/wrong/heretical wasteful/dissipate/decompose/corrupt heap/pile/stack”), which is what is called Yámǎtái (“evil/wrong/heretical horse platform/stage/tower/lookout/altar”) in the Wèi Zhì. The ancients say that it is 12,000 li from the border of Lelang Commandery and Daifang Commandery, located east of Kuàijī (ancient northern Zhejiang), close to(/similar to) Dān’ěr (ancient Hainan).

漢光武時、遣使入朝、自稱大夫。安帝時、又遣使朝 貢、謂之倭奴國。桓、靈之間、其國大亂、遞相攻伐、歴年無主。有女子名卑彌呼、能以鬼道惑衆、於是國人共立為王。有男弟、佐卑彌理國。其王有侍婢千人、罕 有見其面者、唯有男子二人給王飲食、通傳言語。其王有宮室樓觀、城柵皆持兵守衛、為法甚嚴。自魏至于齊、梁、代與中國相通。
In the time of Guangwu of Han, they dispatched an embassy to see the emperor at court, calling themselves dàfū (a category of senior official in feudal China < “big married man”). In the time of Emperor An (of Han), they again dispatched an embassy and paid tribute to the imperial court; they call this the Wōnú (“Wō slave”) country. For the duration of (the reigns of) Huan and Ling (of Han), their country was in great turmoil, successively attacking and retaliating against one another, going through years without a sovereign. There was a female named Bēimǐhū (“low/debased/mean/inferior/humble full/fill/complete exhale/call/cry.out/shout”) who was able to use the way of ghosts/demons/monsters to delude the populace, whereupon the people of the country revered (or “in unison established”) her as queen. She had a younger brother (or younger brothers) who assisted Bēimǐ in governing the country. The queen had a thousand maidservants, but there was seldom anyone who saw her face; there was only a pair of males who served the queen food and drink and conveyed her words. The queen had palaces great and small, their bulwarks and palisades all protected by armed guards, and the law was laid down with utmost rigor. From Wei until the era of Qi and Liang, their country and the Middle Kingdom have been in communication with each other.

開皇二十年、倭王姓阿毎、字多利思比孤、號阿輩雞彌、遣使詣闕。上令所司訪其風俗。使者言倭王以天為兄、以日為弟、天未明時出聽政、跏趺坐、日出便停理務、云委我弟。高祖曰：「此太無義理。」於是訓令改之。
In the twentieth year of Kaihuang (600 CE), the king of Wō, surnamed Āměi, styled Duōlìsībǐgū, pseudonym Ābèigyīmǐ (
王妻號雞彌、後宮有女六七百人。名太子為利歌彌多弗利。無城 郭。内官有十二等：一曰大德、次小德、次大仁、次小仁、次大義、次小義、次大禮、次小禮、次大智、次小智、次大信、次小信、員無定數。有軍尼一百二十人、 猶中國牧宰。八十戸置一伊尼翼、如今里長也。十伊尼翼屬一軍尼。
The sovereign’s wife is called by the pseudonym of Gyīmǐ (< Proto-Japanese *kimi “lord; thou”), and he has six or seven hundred women in his harem. The crown prince is called Ligemiduofuli (
其服飾、男子衣裙襦、其袖微小、履如屨形、漆其上、繫之於腳。人庶多跣足。不得用金銀為飾。故時衣橫幅、結束相連而無縫。頭亦無冠、但垂髮於兩耳上。
As for their dress and personal adornment, the men wear a skirt and a lined vest, its sleeves extremely small. Their footwear is shaped like a hemp or vine sandal, lacquered on its surface, and fastened to the foot or lower leg. Most (or many) of the common folk go barefoot. They cannot (or may not) use gold or silver as personal adornment. In former times, they wore a single long piece of cloth, tying it together and without sewing. They also wore no crown on their heads, but they let their hair down over both ears.

至隋、其王始制冠、以錦綵為之、以金銀鏤花為飾。婦人束髮於後、亦衣裙襦、裳皆有○。攕竹為梳、編草為薦。雜皮為表、縁以文皮。有弓、矢、刀、矟、弩、欑、斧、漆皮為甲、骨為矢鏑。雖有兵、無征戰。其王朝會、必陳設儀仗、奏其國樂。戸可十萬。
Having reached (the era of) Sui, their sovereign finally fashioned a crown, using brocade and varicolored silk to make it, and using gold and silver cutwork flowers for decoration. The married women bundle their hair at the back, and also wear a skirt and a lined vest, with their lower body wear all having decorative hems (e.g. frills). They shave bamboo to make combs and weave grass to make mats. They use sundry skins (or furs) for the upper surface and rich and brightly colored or patterned skins (or furs) for the borders. They have bows, arrows, swords (or knives), long lances, crossbows, short lances (spears?), axes, armor made of lacquered leather, and arrowheads made of bone. Although they have soldiers (or weapons), there is no going on expeditions to make war. Whenever their king holds an audience, he makes sure to put all the banners and weapons of the guards of honor on display and have his court orchestra perform music (also may be interpreted to mean “play the music of his country,” i.e. a particular piece or suite of music, such as a national anthem). There are perhaps 100,000 households.

其俗殺人強盜及姦皆死、盜者計贓酬物、無財者沒身為奴。自餘輕重、或流或杖。毎訊究獄訟、不承引者、以木壓膝、或張強弓、以弦鋸其項。或置小石於沸湯中、令所競者探之、云理曲者即手爛。或置蛇甕中、令取之、云曲者即螫手矣。
According to their customs (or “as for their common folk”), (persons found guilty of) murder, armed robbery, or jiān (an ambiguous Chinese word that refers to impropriety or wickedness in either political or sexual relations, e.g. treason, adultery, debauchery, rape; the character used to write this word looks like “three women,” perhaps from the idea of polygyny) all die. In the case of common theft, they assess (the value of) the stolen article(s) and (require) compensation in equivalent goods; one who does not have property of (the necessary) value loses his personal freedom and becomes a slave. For the remainder of cases, (the condemned) is either exiled (to a remote island) or caned according to the severity of the crime. Whenever they are investigating a case or trying a lawsuit, and (the suspect) does not confess, they apply downward pressure to the knees with wood or draw a tight bow and saw away at the nape of the neck with the bowstring. Or they place a small stone in boiling water and order the contested one to retrieve this, saying that the hand of one who is without reason will fester. Or they place a snake in an earthen jar and order (him) to take it out, saying that one who is wrong (or wicked) will have his hand stricken with venom.

人頗恬靜、罕爭訟、少盜賊。樂有五弦、琴、笛。男女多黥臂點面文身、沒水捕魚。無文字、唯刻木結繩。敬佛法、於百濟求得佛經、始有文字。知卜筮、尤信巫覡。
The people are quite calm and quiet. They seldom argue or litigate, and there are few thieves or robbers (bandits). As for music, they have the “five-string,” the bridgeless zither, and the flute. For both men and women, many (or most) tattoo their arms, dot their faces, and draw patterns on their bodies. They dive into the water to catch fish. They (used to) not have written letters, only carving (marks in) wood or tying (knots in) a cord. They respect the law of the Buddha; they sought and obtained Buddhist sutras from Baekje, and thereupon first came to have written letters. They know augury (using tortoise shells and yarrow stalks), and are especially trusting of oracles and shamans (both male and female).

毎至正月一日、必射戲飲酒、其餘節略與華同。好棋博、握槊、樗蒲之戲。氣候温暖、草木冬青、土地膏腴、水多陸 少。以小環挂鸕○項、令入水捕魚、日得百餘頭。俗無盤俎、藉以檞葉、食用手餔之。性質直、有雅風。女多男少、婚嫁不取同姓、男女相悅者即為婚。婦入夫家、 必先跨犬〔2〕、乃與夫相見。婦人不淫妒。
Every time the first day of the new year comes round, they will shoot (arrows), perform plays (or “play shooting games”?), and drink alcoholic beverages. The rest of their holidays are roughly the same as those of Huá (Chinese). They are fond of chess and gambling (literally, “wéiqí (go) and dice games”), backgammon (wòshuò), and the game of chūpú. The climate is warm and mild, grass and trees are green in winter, the earth is fat and fertile, and there is much water and little land. They take a small ring and place it around a cormorant’s neck, let it enter water and catch fish; they obtain over one hundred fish per day. The common folk do not have plates or chopping blocks, instead relying on the leaves of a kind of oak, and using their hands to eat (their food). They are straightforward by nature, and have a poetic (lyrical; elegant) air. The females are many and the males are few (i.e. they have more women than men, or more daughters than sons). They will not marry a member of the same clan. A man and a woman who have found pleasure in each other thus are married (If a man and a woman are pleased with each other, then (this) serves as marriage). When a wife enters the husband’s house, she must first straddle a dog, and then she may see her husband. The married women are not licentious nor jealous.

死者斂以棺槨、親賓就屍歌舞、妻子兄弟以白布製服。貴人三年殯於外、庶人卜日而瘞。及葬、置屍船上、陸地牽之、或以小 輿。有阿蘇山、其石無故火起接天者、俗以為異、因行禱祭。有如意寶珠、其色青、大如雞卵、夜則有光、云魚眼精也。新羅、百濟皆以倭為大國、多珍物、並敬仰 之、恒通使往來。
The dead they enshroud with two coffins (or “a coffin and an outer vault”); the kin and guests sing and dance about the corpse, and the wife, children, and siblings make their dress of white cloth. Noble persons are left out in a temporary place of rest for three years; as for the common person, they divine a day and inter (the corpse). Approaching (the time of) burial, they set the corpse atop a boat, which they will draw over land, or use a small carriage or palanquin. There is a Mount Asū (Mt. Aso in Kyushu?); when its rocks spontaneously flame up and touch heaven, they customarily (or their common folk) take this to be (a sign of) an abnormality, and therefore conduct prayers and sacrifices. They have cintamani jewels (wish-granting jewels), which are blue (or green) in color and the size of a chicken egg; they glow at night and are called “fisheyes” (or “fish-eye-spirits”). Silla and Baekje both (or “the people of Silla and Baekje all”) consider Wō to be a great country, with many rare (and precious) things; what is more, they respect and look up to it, and they constantly send embassies back and forth (or “interpreters and ambassadors are constantly coming and going”).

大業三年、其王多利思比孤遣使朝貢。使者曰：「聞海西菩薩天子重興佛法、故遣朝拜、兼沙門數十人來學佛法。」其國書曰「日出處天子致書日沒處天子無恙」云云。帝覽之不悅、謂鴻臚卿曰：「蠻夷書有無禮者、勿復以聞。」
In the third year of Dàyè (607 CE), their sovereign, Duōlìsībǐgū, sent an embassy to pay tribute to the imperial court. The ambassador said, “We hear that the Bodhisattva, Son of Heaven, west of the sea reverently exalts the law of the Buddha. Therefore we have sent (an embassy) to pay respect to you at your court, alongside several tens of śramaṇas to come and study the Buddhadharma (i.e. Buddhism).” The letter from their sovereign (official mission statement) stated, “The Son (Child) of Heaven in the place where the sun rises sends a letter to the Son of Heaven in the place where the sun sets. We hope that you are without illness or trouble,” and so on and so forth. The Emperor viewed this and was displeased. He called the high minister of vassal affairs (Hónglú Qing) and said, “As for those letters of the (southern/eastern) barbarians which are lacking of courtesy, do not let me hear of them again.”

明年、上遣文林郎裴清使於倭國。度百濟、行至竹島、南望○羅國、經都斯麻國、迥在大海中。又東至一支國、又至竹斯國、又東至秦王國。其人同於華夏、以為夷洲、疑不能明也。又經十餘國、達於海岸。自竹斯國以東、皆附庸於倭。
The next year, (the Emperor) sent the Young Man of the Grove of Letters, Pei Qing, on a mission to the Wō country. Having passed Baekje, he went to Bamboo Island, which on the south faces Daamla country (Jeju Island?), (and he then) went through Dusima country (Tsushima), (all) located far apart amidst the great sea. Again moving eastward, he reached Yizhi country (Iki Island?), then Zhusi country (i.e. Tsukushi-no kuni of northern Kyushu?), and, moving eastward yet again, he reached Qinwang country (“country of the King of Qin,” perhaps Suou-no kuni of westernmost Honshu). Its people are the same as Huáxià (“Chinese people”), and consider (it) to be an island of barbarians; this is doubtful, but cannot be clarified. He further went through over ten more countries and arrived at a seashore. From Zhusi country to the east, all are vassals to Wō.

倭王遣小德阿輩臺、從數百人、設儀仗、鳴鼓角來迎。後十日、又遣大禮哥多毗、 從二百餘騎郊勞。既至彼都、其王與清相見、大悅、曰：「我聞海西有大隋、禮義之國、故遣朝貢。我夷人、僻在海隅、不聞禮義、是以稽留境内、不即相見。今故 清道飾館、以待大使、冀聞大國惟新之化。」清答曰：「皇帝德並二儀、澤流四海、以王慕化、故遣行人來此宣諭。」既而引清就館。其後清遣人謂其王曰：「朝命 既達、請即戒塗。」於是設宴享以遣清、復令使者隨清來貢方物。此後遂絶。
The Wō sovereign dispatched the Lesser Virtue, Abèitái, with several hundred followers to set up honorary banners and arms and to greet the embassy with the sounding of drums and horns. Ten days later, he additionally dispatched the Greater Courtesy, Gēduōpí, with over two hundred mounts to greet and express his regards (to the embassy). (After the embassy) had arrived at their capital city, their sovereign met with Qing, and was greatly pleased. He said, “I have heard that, west of the sea, there is the Great Sui, a country of courtesy and justice, and therefore I have sent (an embassy) to pay tribute to your court. I am a person of the (eastern) barbarians, tucked away in a corner of the sea, (where) courtesy and justice do not reach one’s ears, and because of this I have remained within my demesne, not immediately (going to) see you. Now that I have cleaned the roads and bedecked the halls with which to receive you, Ambassador, I look forward to hearing about the innovative changes of (your) great country.” Qing said in response, “The Emperor’s virtue equals that of the Two Standards (Heaven and Earth, or Sun and Moon), his moistening grace flows to the Four Seas. Because Your Majesty has turned to adore his influence, he has sent (me as) a messenger to come here and explain things to you clearly.” Then, he led Qing to the hall (meant for housing the embassy). Some time afterward, Qing dispatched a person to tell their sovereign, “Orders from our court have arrived. Please prepare for our departure forthright.” Thereupon he laid out a royal banquet by means of which to send Qing off, and he again ordered a messenger to accompany Qing to come and present tribute of local products. After this, (communications with the Wō country) ceased.


Judging from the text of the Book of Sui, it seems to be most likely that the "Wo" people were a Japonic-speaking population, though there are few clearly identifiable words. It is clear from both the placement of the section on Wo (at the very end of the volume containing records of interactions between China and foreign nations or states) and the manner in which Wo is described that the Chinese of the time (early Tang) considered the Wo to be the weirdest of the weird in almost every regard (except for their holidays, which are mentioned to be largely the same as those of the Chinese).

There is one line that suggests the possibility of the contemporary coexistence of at least two distinct populations in Japan. One population, the dominant "Wo" (probably Japonic) people, were ubiquitous and exotic, but had diplomatic contact with China. A second population, that of "Qinwang-guo" (Country of the King of Qin), seemed to be of Chinese origin or affinity and was centered in a province that appears to correspond to the westernmost end of Honshu (in the Chuugoku region). The Chinese-like minority group was subject to the Wo. However, even the Chinese historian who wrote this text explicitly mentioned that he considered the report of this land of Chinese-like subjects of the Wo to lack credibility.

Location and geography of Wo:

*Wō country is located three thousand li by water and land southeast of Baekje and Silla, on mountainous island(s) amidst the great sea.

*More than thirty "countries" (i.e. states/provinces of Wo) held association with the Middle Kingdom in the time of the Wei Dynasty.
(Whether this refers to Wei of Cao Cao or Wei of the Xianbei is not mentioned, but this passage reveals that Wo country must have had more than thirty internal territorial subdivisions, with a name similar to but possibly having greater independence than the later Japanese kuni.)

*The country’s borders are five months’ travel east-west, three months’ travel north-south, extending to the sea in every direction.

*The lay of the land is high in the east and low in the west.

*They have their capital at Yámíduī, which is what is called Yámǎtái in the Wèi Zhì.

*The ancients say that it is 12,000 li from the border of Lelang Commandery and Daifang Commandery, located east of Kuàijī (ancient northern Zhejiang), close to(/similar to?) Dān’ěr (ancient Hainan).
(How does this figure quoted from "the ancients" mesh with the statement that Wo is located 3,000 Chinese miles over land and water away from Baekje and Silla? I suppose that the 3,000 Chinese miles figure might refer to the distance between the borders of Baekje and Silla on the one hand and the border of Wo on the other (i.e. the distance between southern Korea and northern Kyushu), whereas the 12,000 Chinese miles figure might refer to the distance from the northeasternmost Chinese territories (Lelang and Daifang) to the capital of Wo, Yamidui/Yamatai (i.e. the distance between northern Korea and central Honshu). However, the only land located "east of Kuaiji" is Okinawa, and the only major islands that are reasonably "close to Dan'er" are Taiwan and Luzon.)

*There are one hundred twenty gyünni (< Proto-Japanese *kuni “state, province, country”), which are like the Middle Kingdom’s provincial or county governors. They establish one iniyik for every eighty households, who is like the present village headman. Ten iniyik belong to one gyünni.
(Gyünni seems likely to be a transcription of the ancestor of Japanese kuni "state, province, country," but this word has been interpreted to mean "a provincial or county governor" because of either a change in the meaning of the Japanese word or else a mistake on the part of the contemporary interpreter/translator. The Japonic word that has been transcribed as iniyik is unclear; it might refer to a hypothetical territorial unit, *inaka, whose historical Japanese descendant refers to "the countryside, a rural place" or "one's hometown, the area where one was born or where one's birth family resides," or it might refer to a post, such as Japanese negi "a certain rank of Shinto priest; a word for Shinto clergy in general.")

*There are perhaps 100,000 households.

*The climate is warm and mild, grass and trees are green in winter, the earth is fat and fertile, and there is much water and little land.

*There is a Mount Asū (Mt. Aso in Kumamoto?); when its rocks spontaneously flame up and touch heaven, they customarily (or their common folk) take this to be (a sign of) an abnormality, and therefore conduct prayers and sacrifices.

*The next year, (the Emperor) sent the Young Man of the Grove of Letters, Pei Qing, on a mission to the Wō country. Having passed Baekje, he went to Bamboo Island, which on the south faces Daamla country (Jeju Island?), (and he then) went through Dusima country (Tsushima), (all) located far apart amidst the great sea. Again moving eastward, he reached Yizhi country (Iki Island?), then Zhusi country (i.e. Tsukushi-no kuni of northern Kyushu?), and, moving eastward yet again, he reached Qinwang country (“country of the King of Qin,” perhaps Suou-no kuni < Suwau-no kuni of westernmost Honshu). ... He further went through over ten more countries and arrived at a seashore. From Zhusi country to the east, all are vassals to Wō. The Wō sovereign dispatched the Lesser Virtue, Abèitái, with several hundred followers to set up honorary banners and arms and to greet the embassy with the sounding of drums and horns. Ten days later, he additionally dispatched the Greater Courtesy, Gēduōpí, with over two hundred mounts to greet and express his regards (to the embassy). (After the embassy) had arrived at their capital city, their sovereign met with Qing, and was greatly pleased.
(This passage suggests that some small islands between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula, e.g. Iki, Tsushima, and Jeju, may have remained independent from Baekje (southwestern Korea) and Wo (Japan) at the time. On the other hand, the text only states explicitly that all the "countries" from Zhusi (Tsukushi) to the east are subordinate to Wo, but the previous passage about Mt. Asu (probably Mt. Aso, which is located in Kumamoto Prefecture, former Higo-no kuni, even earlier Hi-no kuni, which is not east but rather south of Tsukushi-no kuni) suggests that some other areas that were not east of Zhusi (assuming that the identification of this province with the Tsukushi of Japanese history is correct) also belonged to Wo.)

It seems that, at least by the time of the Sui Dynasty (late sixth to early seventh century CE), something very similar to historical Japan had formed, though it was still called (perhaps derogatorily) Wo by the Chinese. This corresponds to (roughly the middle of) the Asuka Period of Japanese historiography. At least some among the Wo people (e.g. their sovereign) were already in the habit of referring to their country as "the land where the sun rises" (i.e. "Japan," which is written with Chinese characters that literally mean "sun-origin"), but this name had not yet been "approved" by the Chinese authorities.

Wa (Wō) people of Chinese history; Who precisely were they?

Blog post by team member Jake:
The Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang (originally from the 6th century CE; this image has been taken from a copy made in the 11th century according to the source on Wikipedia) includes an (unfortunately damaged) artistic representation of an emissary from the "Wō country" and a description of this country in Classical Chinese. I have placed a red box around the relevant parts of the image.

This "Wō country" seems to be (at least a part of) protohistorical Japan, but the precise location of the seat of the country's supreme ruler is debated endlessly among Japanese historians and archaeologists. What do you think about the attire of this Wō emissary to Liang of China?

 By the way, the legible part of the damaged text that accompanies the depiction of the emissary from Wo to Liang reads as follows:

倭國使
倭國在帶方東南大海中依山島居自帶方循海水乍南下東對
其北岸歷三十餘國可万餘里倭王所？？在會稽東氣暖地溫
出真珠青玉無牛馬虎豹羊鵲？？？？面文身以木棉帖首衣
橫幅無縫但結{以下缺文}
Wo Country Emissary

Wo Country is located southeast of Daifang, in the midst of the great sea. [They] dwell upon mountainous islands. From Daifang, [one] follows the sea water to the south and then east. Against
its north coast, [one] passes more than thirty states [over a distance of] somewhat more than 10,000 li. The place where the Wo sovereign [??]s is located east of Guiji/Kuaiji. The air is warm and the land is mild.
[It] produces pearls and jade. [It] lacks cows, horses, tigers, leopards, sheep, magpies...[????] faces [and] draw designs on [their] bodies. [They] dress [their] heads with cotton. [Their] clothing
is a long piece of cloth that is not sewn, but tied... {The text after this point has been utterly destroyed.}

 The following is a rough draft of my translation of the section of the Book of Sui regarding the "Wo country." This section is positioned last in the chapter on "Tales of the Eastern Barbarians (東夷伝)."

倭國、在百濟、新羅 東南、水陸三千里、於大海之中依山島而居。魏時、譯通中國、三十餘國、皆自稱王。夷人不知里數、但計以日。其國境東西五月行、南北三月行、各至於海。其地 勢東高西下。都於邪靡堆、則魏志所謂邪馬臺者也。古云去樂浪郡境及帶方郡並一萬二千里、在會稽之東、與儋耳相近。
Wō country is located three thousand li by water and land southeast of Baekje and Silla, on island(s) amidst the great sea. In the time of Wei, more than thirty states held association with the Middle Kingdom, (their representatives/interpreters) all calling themselves wáng (“king”). The Yí (eastern barbarian) people do not know the counting of li (Chinese miles), but measure by days. The country’s borders are five months’ travel east-west, three months’ travel north-south, extending to the sea in every direction. The lay of the land is high in the east and low in the west. They have their capital at Yámíduī　(“evil/wrong/heretical wasteful/dissipate/decompose/corrupt heap/pile/stack”), which is what is called Yámǎtái (“evil/wrong/heretical horse platform/stage/tower/lookout/altar”) in the Wèi Zhì. The ancients say that it is 12,000 li from the border of Lelang Commandery and Daifang Commandery, located east of Kuàijī (ancient northern Zhejiang), close to(/similar to) Dān’ěr (ancient Hainan).

漢光武時、遣使入朝、自稱大夫。安帝時、又遣使朝 貢、謂之倭奴國。桓、靈之間、其國大亂、遞相攻伐、歴年無主。有女子名卑彌呼、能以鬼道惑衆、於是國人共立為王。有男弟、佐卑彌理國。其王有侍婢千人、罕 有見其面者、唯有男子二人給王飲食、通傳言語。其王有宮室樓觀、城柵皆持兵守衛、為法甚嚴。自魏至于齊、梁、代與中國相通。
In the time of Guangwu of Han, they dispatched an embassy to see the emperor at court, calling themselves dàfū (a category of senior official in feudal China < “big married man”). In the time of Emperor An (of Han), they again dispatched an embassy and paid tribute to the imperial court; they call this the Wōnú (“Wō slave”) country. For the duration of (the reigns of) Huan and Ling (of Han), their country was in great turmoil, successively attacking and retaliating against one another, going through years without a sovereign. There was a female named Bēimǐhū (“low/debased/mean/inferior/humble full/fill/complete exhale/call/cry.out/shout”) who was able to use the way of ghosts/demons/monsters to delude the populace, whereupon the people of the country revered (or “in unison established”) her as queen. She had a younger brother (or younger brothers) who assisted Bēimǐ in governing the country. The queen had a thousand maidservants, but there was seldom anyone who saw her face; there was only a pair of males who served the queen food and drink and conveyed her words. The queen had palaces great and small, their bulwarks and palisades all protected by armed guards, and the law was laid down with utmost rigor. From Wei until the era of Qi and Liang, their country and the Middle Kingdom have been in communication with each other.

開皇二十年、倭王姓阿毎、字多利思比孤、號阿輩雞彌、遣使詣闕。上令所司訪其風俗。使者言倭王以天為兄、以日為弟、天未明時出聽政、跏趺坐、日出便停理務、云委我弟。高祖曰：「此太無義理。」於是訓令改之。
In the twentieth year of Kaihuang (600 CE), the king of Wō, surnamed Āměi, styled Duōlìsībǐgū, pseudonym Ābèigyīmǐ (
王妻號雞彌、後宮有女六七百人。名太子為利歌彌多弗利。無城 郭。内官有十二等：一曰大德、次小德、次大仁、次小仁、次大義、次小義、次大禮、次小禮、次大智、次小智、次大信、次小信、員無定數。有軍尼一百二十人、 猶中國牧宰。八十戸置一伊尼翼、如今里長也。十伊尼翼屬一軍尼。
The sovereign’s wife is called by the pseudonym of Gyīmǐ (< Proto-Japanese *kimi “lord; thou”), and he has six or seven hundred women in his harem. The crown prince is called Ligemiduofuli (
其服飾、男子衣裙襦、其袖微小、履如屨形、漆其上、繫之於腳。人庶多跣足。不得用金銀為飾。故時衣橫幅、結束相連而無縫。頭亦無冠、但垂髮於兩耳上。
As for their dress and personal adornment, the men wear a skirt and a lined vest, its sleeves extremely small. Their footwear is shaped like a hemp or vine sandal, lacquered on its surface, and fastened to the foot or lower leg. Most (or many) of the common folk go barefoot. They cannot (or may not) use gold or silver as personal adornment. In former times, they wore a single long piece of cloth, tying it together and without sewing. They also wore no crown on their heads, but they let their hair down over both ears.

至隋、其王始制冠、以錦綵為之、以金銀鏤花為飾。婦人束髮於後、亦衣裙襦、裳皆有○。攕竹為梳、編草為薦。雜皮為表、縁以文皮。有弓、矢、刀、矟、弩、欑、斧、漆皮為甲、骨為矢鏑。雖有兵、無征戰。其王朝會、必陳設儀仗、奏其國樂。戸可十萬。
Having reached (the era of) Sui, their sovereign finally fashioned a crown, using brocade and varicolored silk to make it, and using gold and silver cutwork flowers for decoration. The married women bundle their hair at the back, and also wear a skirt and a lined vest, with their lower body wear all having decorative hems (e.g. frills). They shave bamboo to make combs and weave grass to make mats. They use sundry skins (or furs) for the upper surface and rich and brightly colored or patterned skins (or furs) for the borders. They have bows, arrows, swords (or knives), long lances, crossbows, short lances (spears?), axes, armor made of lacquered leather, and arrowheads made of bone. Although they have soldiers (or weapons), there is no going on expeditions to make war. Whenever their king holds an audience, he makes sure to put all the banners and weapons of the guards of honor on display and have his court orchestra perform music (also may be interpreted to mean “play the music of his country,” i.e. a particular piece or suite of music, such as a national anthem). There are perhaps 100,000 households.

其俗殺人強盜及姦皆死、盜者計贓酬物、無財者沒身為奴。自餘輕重、或流或杖。毎訊究獄訟、不承引者、以木壓膝、或張強弓、以弦鋸其項。或置小石於沸湯中、令所競者探之、云理曲者即手爛。或置蛇甕中、令取之、云曲者即螫手矣。
According to their customs (or “as for their common folk”), (persons found guilty of) murder, armed robbery, or jiān (an ambiguous Chinese word that refers to impropriety or wickedness in either political or sexual relations, e.g. treason, adultery, debauchery, rape; the character used to write this word looks like “three women,” perhaps from the idea of polygyny) all die. In the case of common theft, they assess (the value of) the stolen article(s) and (require) compensation in equivalent goods; one who does not have property of (the necessary) value loses his personal freedom and becomes a slave. For the remainder of cases, (the condemned) is either exiled (to a remote island) or caned according to the severity of the crime. Whenever they are investigating a case or trying a lawsuit, and (the suspect) does not confess, they apply downward pressure to the knees with wood or draw a tight bow and saw away at the nape of the neck with the bowstring. Or they place a small stone in boiling water and order the contested one to retrieve this, saying that the hand of one who is without reason will fester. Or they place a snake in an earthen jar and order (him) to take it out, saying that one who is wrong (or wicked) will have his hand stricken with venom.

人頗恬靜、罕爭訟、少盜賊。樂有五弦、琴、笛。男女多黥臂點面文身、沒水捕魚。無文字、唯刻木結繩。敬佛法、於百濟求得佛經、始有文字。知卜筮、尤信巫覡。
The people are quite calm and quiet. They seldom argue or litigate, and there are few thieves or robbers (bandits). As for music, they have the “five-string,” the bridgeless zither, and the flute. For both men and women, many (or most) tattoo their arms, dot their faces, and draw patterns on their bodies. They dive into the water to catch fish. They (used to) not have written letters, only carving (marks in) wood or tying (knots in) a cord. They respect the law of the Buddha; they sought and obtained Buddhist sutras from Baekje, and thereupon first came to have written letters. They know augury (using tortoise shells and yarrow stalks), and are especially trusting of oracles and shamans (both male and female).

毎至正月一日、必射戲飲酒、其餘節略與華同。好棋博、握槊、樗蒲之戲。氣候温暖、草木冬青、土地膏腴、水多陸 少。以小環挂鸕○項、令入水捕魚、日得百餘頭。俗無盤俎、藉以檞葉、食用手餔之。性質直、有雅風。女多男少、婚嫁不取同姓、男女相悅者即為婚。婦入夫家、 必先跨犬〔2〕、乃與夫相見。婦人不淫妒。
Every time the first day of the new year comes round, they will shoot (arrows), perform plays (or “play shooting games”?), and drink alcoholic beverages. The rest of their holidays are roughly the same as those of Huá (Chinese). They are fond of chess and gambling (literally, “wéiqí (go) and dice games”), backgammon (wòshuò), and the game of chūpú. The climate is warm and mild, grass and trees are green in winter, the earth is fat and fertile, and there is much water and little land. They take a small ring and place it around a cormorant’s neck, let it enter water and catch fish; they obtain over one hundred fish per day. The common folk do not have plates or chopping blocks, instead relying on the leaves of a kind of oak, and using their hands to eat (their food). They are straightforward by nature, and have a poetic (lyrical; elegant) air. The females are many and the males are few (i.e. they have more women than men, or more daughters than sons). They will not marry a member of the same clan. A man and a woman who have found pleasure in each other thus are married (If a man and a woman are pleased with each other, then (this) serves as marriage). When a wife enters the husband’s house, she must first straddle a dog, and then she may see her husband. The married women are not licentious nor jealous.

死者斂以棺槨、親賓就屍歌舞、妻子兄弟以白布製服。貴人三年殯於外、庶人卜日而瘞。及葬、置屍船上、陸地牽之、或以小 輿。有阿蘇山、其石無故火起接天者、俗以為異、因行禱祭。有如意寶珠、其色青、大如雞卵、夜則有光、云魚眼精也。新羅、百濟皆以倭為大國、多珍物、並敬仰 之、恒通使往來。
The dead they enshroud with two coffins (or “a coffin and an outer vault”); the kin and guests sing and dance about the corpse, and the wife, children, and siblings make their dress of white cloth. Noble persons are left out in a temporary place of rest for three years; as for the common person, they divine a day and inter (the corpse). Approaching (the time of) burial, they set the corpse atop a boat, which they will draw over land, or use a small carriage or palanquin. There is a Mount Asū (Mt. Aso in Kyushu?); when its rocks spontaneously flame up and touch heaven, they customarily (or their common folk) take this to be (a sign of) an abnormality, and therefore conduct prayers and sacrifices. They have cintamani jewels (wish-granting jewels), which are blue (or green) in color and the size of a chicken egg; they glow at night and are called “fisheyes” (or “fish-eye-spirits”). Silla and Baekje both (or “the people of Silla and Baekje all”) consider Wō to be a great country, with many rare (and precious) things; what is more, they respect and look up to it, and they constantly send embassies back and forth (or “interpreters and ambassadors are constantly coming and going”).

大業三年、其王多利思比孤遣使朝貢。使者曰：「聞海西菩薩天子重興佛法、故遣朝拜、兼沙門數十人來學佛法。」其國書曰「日出處天子致書日沒處天子無恙」云云。帝覽之不悅、謂鴻臚卿曰：「蠻夷書有無禮者、勿復以聞。」
In the third year of Dàyè (607 CE), their sovereign, Duōlìsībǐgū, sent an embassy to pay tribute to the imperial court. The ambassador said, “We hear that the Bodhisattva, Son of Heaven, west of the sea reverently exalts the law of the Buddha. Therefore we have sent (an embassy) to pay respect to you at your court, alongside several tens of śramaṇas to come and study the Buddhadharma (i.e. Buddhism).” The letter from their sovereign (official mission statement) stated, “The Son (Child) of Heaven in the place where the sun rises sends a letter to the Son of Heaven in the place where the sun sets. We hope that you are without illness or trouble,” and so on and so forth. The Emperor viewed this and was displeased. He called the high minister of vassal affairs (Hónglú Qing) and said, “As for those letters of the (southern/eastern) barbarians which are lacking of courtesy, do not let me hear of them again.”

明年、上遣文林郎裴清使於倭國。度百濟、行至竹島、南望○羅國、經都斯麻國、迥在大海中。又東至一支國、又至竹斯國、又東至秦王國。其人同於華夏、以為夷洲、疑不能明也。又經十餘國、達於海岸。自竹斯國以東、皆附庸於倭。
The next year, (the Emperor) sent the Young Man of the Grove of Letters, Pei Qing, on a mission to the Wō country. Having passed Baekje, he went to Bamboo Island, which on the south faces Daamla country (Jeju Island?), (and he then) went through Dusima country (Tsushima), (all) located far apart amidst the great sea. Again moving eastward, he reached Yizhi country (Iki Island?), then Zhusi country (i.e. Tsukushi-no kuni of northern Kyushu?), and, moving eastward yet again, he reached Qinwang country (“country of the King of Qin,” perhaps Suou-no kuni of westernmost Honshu). Its people are the same as Huáxià (“Chinese people”), and consider (it) to be an island of barbarians; this is doubtful, but cannot be clarified. He further went through over ten more countries and arrived at a seashore. From Zhusi country to the east, all are vassals to Wō.

倭王遣小德阿輩臺、從數百人、設儀仗、鳴鼓角來迎。後十日、又遣大禮哥多毗、 從二百餘騎郊勞。既至彼都、其王與清相見、大悅、曰：「我聞海西有大隋、禮義之國、故遣朝貢。我夷人、僻在海隅、不聞禮義、是以稽留境内、不即相見。今故 清道飾館、以待大使、冀聞大國惟新之化。」清答曰：「皇帝德並二儀、澤流四海、以王慕化、故遣行人來此宣諭。」既而引清就館。其後清遣人謂其王曰：「朝命 既達、請即戒塗。」於是設宴享以遣清、復令使者隨清來貢方物。此後遂絶。
The Wō sovereign dispatched the Lesser Virtue, Abèitái, with several hundred followers to set up honorary banners and arms and to greet the embassy with the sounding of drums and horns. Ten days later, he additionally dispatched the Greater Courtesy, Gēduōpí, with over two hundred mounts to greet and express his regards (to the embassy). (After the embassy) had arrived at their capital city, their sovereign met with Qing, and was greatly pleased. He said, “I have heard that, west of the sea, there is the Great Sui, a country of courtesy and justice, and therefore I have sent (an embassy) to pay tribute to your court. I am a person of the (eastern) barbarians, tucked away in a corner of the sea, (where) courtesy and justice do not reach one’s ears, and because of this I have remained within my demesne, not immediately (going to) see you. Now that I have cleaned the roads and bedecked the halls with which to receive you, Ambassador, I look forward to hearing about the innovative changes of (your) great country.” Qing said in response, “The Emperor’s virtue equals that of the Two Standards (Heaven and Earth, or Sun and Moon), his moistening grace flows to the Four Seas. Because Your Majesty has turned to adore his influence, he has sent (me as) a messenger to come here and explain things to you clearly.” Then, he led Qing to the hall (meant for housing the embassy). Some time afterward, Qing dispatched a person to tell their sovereign, “Orders from our court have arrived. Please prepare for our departure forthright.” Thereupon he laid out a royal banquet by means of which to send Qing off, and he again ordered a messenger to accompany Qing to come and present tribute of local products. After this, (communications with the Wō country) ceased.


Judging from the text of the Book of Sui, it seems to be most likely that the "Wo" people were a Japonic-speaking population, though there are few clearly identifiable words. It is clear from both the placement of the section on Wo (at the very end of the volume containing records of interactions between China and foreign nations or states) and the manner in which Wo is described that the Chinese of the time (early Tang) considered the Wo to be the weirdest of the weird in almost every regard (except for their holidays, which are mentioned to be largely the same as those of the Chinese).

There is one line that suggests the possibility of the contemporary coexistence of at least two distinct populations in Japan. One population, the dominant "Wo" (probably Japonic) people, were ubiquitous and exotic, but had diplomatic contact with China. A second population, that of "Qinwang-guo" (Country of the King of Qin), seemed to be of Chinese origin or affinity and was centered in a province that appears to correspond to the westernmost end of Honshu (in the Chuugoku region). The Chinese-like minority group was subject to the Wo. However, even the Chinese historian who wrote this text explicitly mentioned that he considered the report of this land of Chinese-like subjects of the Wo to lack credibility.

Location and geography of Wo:

*Wō country is located three thousand li by water and land southeast of Baekje and Silla, on mountainous island(s) amidst the great sea.

*More than thirty "countries" (i.e. states/provinces of Wo) held association with the Middle Kingdom in the time of the Wei Dynasty.
(Whether this refers to Wei of Cao Cao or Wei of the Xianbei is not mentioned, but this passage reveals that Wo country must have had more than thirty internal territorial subdivisions, with a name similar to but possibly having greater independence than the later Japanese kuni.)

*The country’s borders are five months’ travel east-west, three months’ travel north-south, extending to the sea in every direction.

*The lay of the land is high in the east and low in the west.

*They have their capital at Yámíduī, which is what is called Yámǎtái in the Wèi Zhì.

*The ancients say that it is 12,000 li from the border of Lelang Commandery and Daifang Commandery, located east of Kuàijī (ancient northern Zhejiang), close to(/similar to?) Dān’ěr (ancient Hainan).
(How does this figure quoted from "the ancients" mesh with the statement that Wo is located 3,000 Chinese miles over land and water away from Baekje and Silla? I suppose that the 3,000 Chinese miles figure might refer to the distance between the borders of Baekje and Silla on the one hand and the border of Wo on the other (i.e. the distance between southern Korea and northern Kyushu), whereas the 12,000 Chinese miles figure might refer to the distance from the northeasternmost Chinese territories (Lelang and Daifang) to the capital of Wo, Yamidui/Yamatai (i.e. the distance between northern Korea and central Honshu). However, the only land located "east of Kuaiji" is Okinawa, and the only major islands that are reasonably "close to Dan'er" are Taiwan and Luzon.)

*There are one hundred twenty gyünni (< Proto-Japanese *kuni “state, province, country”), which are like the Middle Kingdom’s provincial or county governors. They establish one iniyik for every eighty households, who is like the present village headman. Ten iniyik belong to one gyünni.
(Gyünni seems likely to be a transcription of the ancestor of Japanese kuni "state, province, country," but this word has been interpreted to mean "a provincial or county governor" because of either a change in the meaning of the Japanese word or else a mistake on the part of the contemporary interpreter/translator. The Japonic word that has been transcribed as iniyik is unclear; it might refer to a hypothetical territorial unit, *inaka, whose historical Japanese descendant refers to "the countryside, a rural place" or "one's hometown, the area where one was born or where one's birth family resides," or it might refer to a post, such as Japanese negi "a certain rank of Shinto priest; a word for Shinto clergy in general.")

*There are perhaps 100,000 households.

*The climate is warm and mild, grass and trees are green in winter, the earth is fat and fertile, and there is much water and little land.

*There is a Mount Asū (Mt. Aso in Kumamoto?); when its rocks spontaneously flame up and touch heaven, they customarily (or their common folk) take this to be (a sign of) an abnormality, and therefore conduct prayers and sacrifices.

*The next year, (the Emperor) sent the Young Man of the Grove of Letters, Pei Qing, on a mission to the Wō country. Having passed Baekje, he went to Bamboo Island, which on the south faces Daamla country (Jeju Island?), (and he then) went through Dusima country (Tsushima), (all) located far apart amidst the great sea. Again moving eastward, he reached Yizhi country (Iki Island?), then Zhusi country (i.e. Tsukushi-no kuni of northern Kyushu?), and, moving eastward yet again, he reached Qinwang country (“country of the King of Qin,” perhaps Suou-no kuni < Suwau-no kuni of westernmost Honshu). ... He further went through over ten more countries and arrived at a seashore. From Zhusi country to the east, all are vassals to Wō. The Wō sovereign dispatched the Lesser Virtue, Abèitái, with several hundred followers to set up honorary banners and arms and to greet the embassy with the sounding of drums and horns. Ten days later, he additionally dispatched the Greater Courtesy, Gēduōpí, with over two hundred mounts to greet and express his regards (to the embassy). (After the embassy) had arrived at their capital city, their sovereign met with Qing, and was greatly pleased.
(This passage suggests that some small islands between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula, e.g. Iki, Tsushima, and Jeju, may have remained independent from Baekje (southwestern Korea) and Wo (Japan) at the time. On the other hand, the text only states explicitly that all the "countries" from Zhusi (Tsukushi) to the east are subordinate to Wo, but the previous passage about Mt. Asu (probably Mt. Aso, which is located in Kumamoto Prefecture, former Higo-no kuni, even earlier Hi-no kuni, which is not east but rather south of Tsukushi-no kuni) suggests that some other areas that were not east of Zhusi (assuming that the identification of this province with the Tsukushi of Japanese history is correct) also belonged to Wo.)

It seems that, at least by the time of the Sui Dynasty (late sixth to early seventh century CE), something very similar to historical Japan had formed, though it was still called (perhaps derogatorily) Wo by the Chinese. This corresponds to (roughly the middle of) the Asuka Period of Japanese historiography. At least some among the Wo people (e.g. their sovereign) were already in the habit of referring to their country as "the land where the sun rises" (i.e. "Japan," which is written with Chinese characters that literally mean "sun-origin"), but this name had not yet been "approved" by the Chinese authorities. 

 This is the section regarding the "Wo country" in the (Old) Book of Tang, the next official Chinese history after the Book of Sui.

『旧唐書』倭国伝
Old Book of Tang, Tales of the Wo Country

　倭國者、古倭奴國也。去京師一萬四千里、在新羅東南大海中、依山島而居。東西五月行、南北三月行。世與中國通。其國、居無城郭、以木為柵、以草為屋。四面小島五十餘國、皆附屬焉。其王姓阿毎氏、置一大率、檢察諸國、皆畏附之。設官有十二等。
That which is called Wo country is the Wonu country of ancient times. 14,000 li from the capital, it lies in the great sea southeast of Silla, resting upon island(s). It is five months’ travel east-west, and three months’ travel north-south. Generation after generation, they have been in communication with the Middle Kingdom. In their country, residences do not have city/castle walls; they make fences of wood and roofs of grass. The small islands and over fifty states that surround Wo on four sides are all subsidiary to it. Their sovereign is surnamed Mr. Amei. He has appointed a Great Leader who scrutinizes the various states, and they all subordinate themselves to this in fear. They have established a bureaucracy having twelve ranks.

其訴訟者、匍匐而前。地多女少男。頗有文字、俗敬佛法。並皆跣足、以幅布蔽其前後。貴人戴錦帽、百姓皆椎髻、無冠帶。婦人衣純色裙、長腰襦、束髮於後、佩銀花、長八寸、左右各數枝、以明貴賤等級。衣服之制、頗類新羅。
Those among them who would make suit prostrate themselves and crawl forward. The land produces many females and few males. They have some written letters, and their common folk respect the law of the Buddha. Also, they all go barefoot, and use a breadth of cloth to cover the front and back (i.e. their private parts). Noble persons wear on their heads a hat made of silk brocade. Commoners all (do their hair up into) a mallet-shaped topknot, and wear neither a hat nor a belt. Married women wear a pure-colored skirt and a long waistcoat, bundle their hair at the back, and wear silver flowers (on the waist), about eight cùn (Chinese inches) in length, several sprigs on the left and/or the right, which they use to distinguish the noble and the lowly ranks. The make (or system/rules) of their clothing is rather similar to that of Silla.

貞觀五年、遣使獻方物。太宗矜其道遠、敕所司無令歳貢、又遣新州刺史高表仁持節往撫之。表仁無綏遠之才、與王子爭禮、不宣朝命而還。至二十二年、又附新羅奉表、以通起居。
In the fifth year of Zhēnguān (631 CE), they sent an embassy to present local products. Taizong, taking pity on them for the distance of their journey, told an official not to cause them to bring annual tribute, and he dispatched the Governor of Xinzhou, Gao Biaoren, to go there, bearing his official insignia, and “comfort” them. Biaoren, lacking talent for pacifying distant places, argued about courtesy with the prince (or princes, noblemen’s sons), and he came back without announcing the imperial order. In the 22nd year (of Zhēnguān, i.e. 648 CE, the year before Taizong’s death), they accompanied Silla to pay their respects (to the imperial court), conveying the mundane occurrences (in their respective countries).

Internet Legends: Sumerians as an "Australoid" race

Over recent years the internet has had a stir of echoes effect of one site cannibalizing from another, claiming the Sumerians were "Australoids" or "Austrics". The original source of this claim is the Austrocentrist Paul Kekai Manansala, helped along by his friend Clyde Wynters, an Afrocentrist. Together they've made claims that most Sumerian skulls were classified as "Australoid" or "Austric" by a survey/study/report done by Buxton and Rice.

Well, I've finally had a look at the actual Buxton and Rice paper repeatedly cited by Paul and Clyde, and nowhere has Buxton and Rice made any claims that Sumerians were "Australoids" or "Austrics". In fact, Buxton and Rice group the Kish skulls into 3 archetypes, the "Eurafrican", the "Mediterranean", and the "Armenoid". Only the term "Eurafrican" would suggest any tangent connections to the terms "Australoid" and "Austric", but in the context of the paper this term refers to the definition laid out by Haddon, which is descriptive for mainly "Mediterranean" type with suggestive "Negroid" features. This is not to say that the Sumerians have African admixture even, as other evidence suggests sub-Saharan elements only enter the Middle Eastern gene pool en masse much later on, when the region started to entrench a tradition of bringing sub-Saharan slaves prior and especially after the advent of Islamic domination. Instead, certain plesiomorphic qualities of the Kish skulls seems to suggest an autochthonous local stratum still prevalent during the time of Sumer. It is in these particular plesiomorphisms that similarities with Australian aborigines and others (Combe Capelle: Upper Paleolithic Europe; Eskimo) are mentioned, but my knowledge of the overall situation in SW Asia leads me to attribute these archaisms within the Kish and other Sumerian populations to a general pre-Neolithic stratum of the region or specifically a Gulf Oasis stratum, who were not African or "Australoid" despite keeping certain plesiomorphic traits.

Below is the sole characteristics mentioned as similar to Australian aborigines and Eskimos:

They are all long-headed-the cephalic index being often extremely low, and distinctly high (hypsicephalic), the additional height being due not so much to a general increase in cranial height as to a wellmarked scaphocephaly, or keel-shaped, form of the skull. This form of cranial vault is always associated with a great development of the temporal muscles, whose area of insertion is in such cases extremely large, and their upper boundaries reaching in rare cases-, not so far observed in the Kish crania, almost to the middle line. This scaphoid appearance is usually found among people such as the Eskimo or Australian aborigines, who have large powerful jaws and employ them as an efficient implement for triturating rough food. Among the Kish people, however, jaws are small and in no way very different from the jaws of civilized man to-day. The development of the cranial vault is, therefore, all the more remarkable. This remarkable form of skull thus suffers from a lateral compression, producing in some cases remarkably low cephalic indices, those below seventy being not uncommon.

The cranial box itself 'presents a somewhat irregular contour when viewed from above. This condition, recalling, as it does, an elastic envelope, such as a balloon imperfectly inflated, is usually known as " ill-filled." This condition appears to be associated with cranial vaults which have a small internal capacity, but a considerable development of the temporal muscles, and is found typically in such skulls as those of the Australian aboriginals

Source:
L. H. Dudley Buxton and D. Talbot Rice. "Report on the Human Remains Found at Kish. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.61 (Jan. - Jun., 1931), pp. 57-11

Other reading:
1. Penniman's study after Buxton and Rice.
2. Arkadiusz So³tysiak, "Physical Anthropology and the "Summerian Problem""
link 1, link 2