John Croft:
[snip]
There is evidence of movements of mesolithic cultures out of Africa
(both in Spain and in the Middle East). Why could not proto-Nostratic
have orginally been an African family that moved north into the steppe
in the period from 15,000 to 8,500 BCE?
Gerry: No reason at all why proto-Nostratic did NOT move out of Africa
to the steppe circa 15,000. I also see no reason why there was NO
movement of people from the Middle East into Egypt.
John: The Middle East remains the homeland of Nostratic only if you
continue to adhere to a Middle Eastern origin of Afro-Asiatic. If
Afro-Asiatic had an African homeland (which on genetic, cultural and
even linguistic evidence is a possibility) Africa would be the origin of
the Nostratics, not the Middle East. Then we would have no trouble
getting Afro-Asiatic into Africa, as they would have been there all
along.
Gerry: Yes, I like what you are saying. And so clearly as well! I'm
all for putting Afro-Asiatic back into Africa. Also, are you giving
Africa as a homeland for Nostratic?
John: True, from what I understand, the Egyptian language has a
non-Semitic substratum, with later additions of Semitic loan words that
probably did come across the Sinai at different periods. But the
substratum language shows no Asiatic links and is totally African.
Gerry: Why is Egyptian without a Semitic strata? What kept the Semites
out of Africa?
John: Yes, population demographics indicates that at about 10,000 BCE we
are talking of a total planetary population of about 10 million people
world wide.
Gerry: Hmmm, Henri Vallois gives an Upper Paleolithic population in
France at 60,000, in Europe at 400-500,000, and in Siberia at 300,000.
Alekseev disagrees with Vallois' figures and claims that one generation
in the Mesolithic was not greater than 25-30,000. Do you have your
demographics broken down by region i.e. Europe, Asia, and Africa?
Thanks,
Gerry
2/17/00
--
Gerald Reinhart
Independent Scholar
(650) 321-7378
waluk@...
http://www.alekseevmanuscript.com