THE GLOBAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY
H I S T O R Y N O T E S
A BRIEF NOTE ON THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN EARLY CENTRAL ASIA
The living presence, cultural heritage and physical remains of African people with physical characteristics such as dark complexions, broad noses and full lips have been found virtually everywhere on earth including many places where an African presence is seldom even considered. Central Asia is a prime example. Around the fourth century of the modern era the central Asian bastion of Toprak Kala in Khwarizm (formerly known as Chorasmia), embracing portions of modern Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, contained towered battlements which encompassed an area measuring 1,900 feet by 1,400 feet. The palace of Toprak Kala, which was assembled about an enclosure situated on an elevated platform, ascended to a height of three stores, and was overlooked by three tremendous towers. The palace possessed three enormous halls. The decoration of the designated "Hall of Kings" was a consolidation and melding of stucco sculptures and paintings with effigies of the aristocracy of Chorasmia and their families. Benjamin Rowland notes that the the "Hall of Victories" was lined with statues of princes attended by the molded figures of Nikes, and the "Hall of Warriors" was brilliantly decorated with reliefs of men-at-arms painted black with Africoid features. The wavy hair of the figures is perhaps an indication that Dravidian soldiers were affiliated in an important way with the ruling lords of Chorasmia.
John M. Rosenfield contends that another indication of the presence of Africoid, specifically Dravidian, physical types in the portrait assemblies in the Toprak Kala palace are "guards with small stature, dark skins, thick lips, and straight hair. This suggests the presence of armed contingents from South India.... Skeletal remains have substantiated the fact that Indians were in the area."
SOURCES:
The Art of Central Asia, by Benjamin Rowland
The African Presence in Early Asia, edited by Runoko Rashidi and Ivan Van Sertima
Copyright © 1998 Runoko Rashidi. All rights reserved.
Revised: November 04, 2000.
Webpage design: Kenneth Ritchards