Australoids

Australoids were an ethnic group of people in ancient Bengal. Anthropologists considered them as the early Australian people. Australoids are also known as Austric or Austro-Asian. In ancient literature these people had been mentioned as the nishad. Scholars stated that the early habitants of the Australoids were in from central India to South India and also from Shinghal to Australia. In course of time a part of this ethnic group left from their own habitats and migrated to ancient Bengal. Probably Australoids came into Bengal after the ancient Bang and Negrito people. They are considered as the ancestors of the Kol, Bheel, santal, Bhumees, munda, Banshforh, Malpahari and other ethnic groups. Civilisation and culture of the Austrics were based on agriculture. They cultivated banana, bottle gourd, bringle, coconut, betel-leaf, betel nut, turmeric, ginger etc. Probably cows were not their domestic animal but evidences are there that, those people had subdued wild elephants. The Austrics knew the art of weaving cotton clothes and could produce sugar from sugarcane. They maintained a ponchayet system in their social organisation and also they had influenced Bengali language and culture. Considering all these, anthropologists sated that there had been a great influence by the Austroloids on the ancient ethnic people of Bangladesh. [ABM Shamsuddin Ahmed]