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Okay, so, first off, we need to figure out just how powerful the impact of a 1/4 mile iron asteroid is.The first step I figured was to figure out how much 1/4 a mile is in Metric, which I figured out after some math was around 400 Meters. A 400 Meter Iron Asteroid. That’ll be devastating, I’m sure of it.I then used this site to figure out just how devastating it will be: Impact: Earth!I input the specifications of a 400 Meter Iron Asteroid. Considering you specified it to be iron, I’m presuming you want a rather devastating explosion, so I set the asteroid to be traveling as fast as I could put it (72 Kilometers Per Second, or 44 Miles Per Second), coming in at a 45 Degree Angle to cause ejecta.Here are the results:The asteroid begins to break up in the atmosphere at 37 Kilometers, or 23 Miles high. The asteroid reaches the ground in a broken condition.The broken projectiles reach the ground in an ellipse of less than a kilometer, so the breakup had no real impact on the, well… impact of the asteroid. Overall, the projectiles aren’t very dispersed.The transient crater (the crater directly after the impact, I think) is 13.5 Kilometers (8.39 Miles) in diameter and 4.78 Kilometers (2.97 Miles) in depth.The final crater (the crater after everything settles and the molten rock is back in place a while after the initial impact) is 19.1 Kilometers (11.8 Miles) in diameter and 719 Meters (2360 Feet) in depth.Keep in mind the previous statistics was presuming the asteroid hit normal, sedimentary rock. If it hit WATER, well…The transient crater on the seafloor is 10.2 Kilometers (6.33 Miles) in diameter and 3.6 Kilometers (2.24 Miles) in depth.The final crater is 13.9 Kilometers (8.61 Miles) in diameter and 653 Meters (2140 Feet) in depth.The initial crater formed in the water on impact is 21.5 Kilometers (13.4 Miles) in diameter.The statistics for the atmospheric entry and broken projectiles in the LAND impact are the same for the water impact, so I didn’t need to add them a second time.Now, the fun part begins.The asteroid hits with the force of 6.85 x 10^20 Joules, or 1.64 x 10^5 Megatons. That roughly translates to 164,000 Megatons, 164,000,000 Kilotons, or 164,000,000,000 (164 Billion) TONS of TNT!Now that’s a large ass explosion.Putting the number of Kilotons our asteroid impact has into NUKEMAP Classic, we find just how powerful our asteroid is.Let’s drop it on London, shall we?Wow.You can figure out how big the Tsunami would be if this thing impacted the water. Probably more than a few kilometers, I would say.But let’s answer the question, shall we?The East China Sea.China, as many know, is the most populated nation on the planet, and for good reason. The Yellow River has some of the single most fertile land areas in the world, and more food means more people. In fact, ALL of East China is extremely well suited for agriculture.The vast majority of Chinese citizens live on the East Coast. Around 80%, I think. But besides China, there is Japan and South Korea. Most their population is along the coasts, too, and are extremely powerful.The Phillippines are also very populated, and so is Malaysia, Indonesia, and South-East Asia. People don’t seem to realize those places are very industrialized.And so, although the impact site I choose isn’t on land, it isn’t supposed to be. The TSUNAMI is what will cause the most damage. Over a kilometer high, in fact.Picture this:The asteroid hits right where it shows in the picture. The Ryukyu islands are instantly obliterated. Okinawa is just… dead. A huge tsunami rises up from the KILOMETERS of displaced water. It rushes in all directions, swamping the small islands. It hits Taiwan first, and the water smashes over the hills and mountains, destroying Taipei with a kilometer high wave of water and potentially submerging the entire island and all it’s 23.5 Million Inhabitants.The Japanese island of Kyushu is hit shortly afterward. Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Hiroshima, Kobe, and Kumamoto, some of Japan’s most populated cities, are obliterated. Honshu is hit hard. Most of southern and eastern Japan is submerged. Tokyo and Osaka are wiped out. Japan is just… dead.Shanghai is swamped. The entire East Coast of China gets hit by waves higher than the Burj Khalifa. The wave makes it’s way both south and north, hugging China’s coast. Ningbo, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Lianyungang, and so many more cities are obliterated on China’s east coast.The wave of doom reaches the Yellow Sea, and South Korea is killed. The waves flood Seoul and Busan, the entirety of Korea is killed by the wave. Although the Shandong Peninsula stops much of the wave, it enters Bo-Hai and begins flooding down the Yellow River and also towards Beijing.The wave creeps inland, making its way across rivers and floodplains. With China’s geography, the wave has little trouble sweeping cities and villages away. Most of Eastern China, the populated section, is killed.Although Taiwan stopped much of the wave, it enters the South China Sea. Hong Kong and Macau- dead. Hainan- dead. Manila and the Phillippines- dead. Ho Chi Minh City- dead. Vietnam- dead. Brunei- dead. Malaysia- dead. Singapore- dead. Bangkok- dead. Maybe even parts of Indonesia get some of the waves. Undoubtedly the Pacific Islands feel it, and New Guinea especially so. Hawaii gets some floods, and the U.S West Coast gets some, too. This will continue for a while. Maybe even India will experience some flooding if the waves make it over Thailand and into the Bay of Bengal.Basically, all of East and Southern Asia just… die. Everything along the Pacific Ring of Fire is hit by floods of differing magnitudes. The waves could reach as far inland as Nanyang, Wulran, Beijing, and Guiyang. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating things. Whatever the case, China is just dead.Hundreds of millions die, definitely more than 500 Million, maybe even a billion. East/South Asia is destroyed. America would undoubtedly become much more powerful without any competition- relative, of course.But that’s just my guess. Hitting the South China Sea would be a good choice. The Bay of Bengal/The Arabian Sea is good, too. Smashing right into the industrial heartland of Europe, hitting Bermuda to swamp the U.S, or even the Caribbean would be good choices. It’s all about opinions, but that’s my two cents.Whatever the case, we can all agree, I would have to be a pretty sadistic asshole to want to throw an asteroid into the Earth just because I felt like it.EDIT: You know, on second thought, I heard Yellowstone was nice this time of year.EDIT 2: I was just informed that the tsunami would obliterate all of Hawaii and the West Coast of the USA, the West Coast of South America, Alaska, Australia’s Northern and Eastern Coasts, and the Pacific Islands entirely. It might even cross Thailand and hit the densely populated and rickety built cities of India, Bangladesh, and Burma/Myanmar. I guess I underestimated it. Cool.EDIT 3:I just smashed right into the Ring of Fire, the connection between the Eurasian Plate and Phillippine plates. Expect earthquakes and volcanic explosions all along the Pacific, which would already be devastated by, you know, giant 1 Kilometer high Tsunamis.

I am from India and belong to the state of Kerala. India is a huge continent-sized country with many states as large as many countries in Europe or Latin America. Due to this, the culture of India is so diverse and varies between states and places. So as Islamic culture of my state Kerala is mostly unique and exclusive to our region, not comparable to Islam practiced in other parts of India.One most unique factor is that Kerala was the first place where Islam spread into after its origins in Arabia, in South Asia. Islam came to Kerala during the lifetime of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) much before the religion spread even to other parts of Middle East.Though its a myth and folklore with little direct historical evidence, its widely believed that the last Emperor of Kerala - Cheraman Perumal became the first Muslim convert after he had a strange dream of the splitting of the moon. The dream haunted him for months, untill a few Arab merchants in his court advised him to meet Prophet Mohammed of Mecca to resolve his dilemma. And accordingly, he traveled to Mecca and met Prophet who helped him to understand the ultimate truth and thus converted to the Islamic faith. With his blessings, the Emperor married the daughter of Najd Ruler (modern Riyadh) and on his travel back to Kerala, he passed away near Salalah in today’s Oman where a tomb was commissioned in his honor which exists today. Prior to his death, a royal will was signed and sent back to Kerala along with Prophet’s closest companion- Malik Dinar who came to the imperial capital of Cheras- the Mahodayapuram (modern Kodungallor) where the first Mosque in the Indian subcontinent was established.Though the folktale has little evidence, historical evidence highlight India’s first mosque was indeed located in Kodungallor, which is popularly known as Cheraman Pally (The Royal Mosque of Cheras) which was built around 629 AD, thus becoming one of the oldest mosques in the world, the first in South Asia. The mosque thus retains some of the old Kerala temple concepts like facing towards east (instead of Makkah), burning oil lamps inside the shrine with traditional Sopanam (holy steps) etc and similar rituals and customsOriginal Cherman Mosque which got destroyed several times due to floods etc. The original design resembles much to the likes of Hindu temple plan, which was redesigned to current Arabic style in 1950s. As part of a revival of heritage plans, the mosque is scheduled to be redesigned back to its old styleMalik Dinar Mosque- the second oldest mosque in the country built in the 8th century that has the tomb of Malik Dinar, Prophet Mohammed’s beloved companion who brought Islam to KeralaAnd that highlights the key essence of Islam in Kerala. Unlike North India which experienced brutal invasions of Political Islam that marked its entry, Islam reached the shores of Kerala nearly 400 years before via trade and peace. Prophet’s companion- Malik Deenar, is widely credited for bringing the message of Prophet to Kerala and thus regarded as one of the holiest missionary for Muslims in the state. He established some of the oldest mosques in the country majority being in Kerala and Maldives, all dating in the late 7th century and early 8th century, and finally laid to rest in Thalangara, Kasaragod.Thazhathangady Juma Mosque, A 1000-year-old mosque in Kottayam is noted for its traditional Kerala architecture that resembles Temple with extensive woodwork, showcases the blend of Islam into Kerala cultureMishkal Mosque, an iconic mosque in Kozhikode is a classic specimen of Kerala Islamic Architecture. The Mosque was the site of Portuguese attack against the Calicut Kingdom in 16th century which led to its partial destruction, only to reconstructed by Hindu Zamorin under state patronagePonnani Valiya Pally- known as Mecca of Kerala, is one of the holiest shrines in Kerala, as it was established by one of the descendants of Prophet Mohammed. It's still the key seat of Islam in Kerala and hub of Islamic education and culture.Why Ponnanni is the 'Mecca' of MalabarCalvetty Pally of Kochi, located close to the original Palace of Kochi Kings, commissioned when the capital was shifted to Kochi Island in 14th century under state patronage. Designed in original Kerala-Arabic style, the mosque was the only non-Hindu structure to have copper roofs, a privilege only for Hindu temples in that era.As Islam came to Kerala via Arab traders, much of Islamic values followed in the state remain as to the early school of Islam- the Shafi‘i School of Islam contrary to the Hanafi school of Islam as followed in rest of India. Much of Kerala’s Islam was influenced by Arab trader community of modern-day Yemen and West coast of Arabia (old Hejaz region), thus Kerala Islam is much in common with traditions as followed in Indonesia-Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and East African coast rather than rest of India.Islam is currently a major religion in Kerala. Muslims represent 26.5% of Kerala’s population and almost everyone practices the Sunni branch of Islamic faith. Kerala never had any indigenous Shia cult despite of its traditional cultural linkages with Persia.Muslims community always played a key role in Kerala’s socio-cultural and political history. While Muslim community is almost fairly distributed across the state, the Malabar region of Kerala (North Kerala) has a much larger concentration of Muslims, due to traditional cultural linkages of Malabar with Arabia and due to the reason, Kerala Islamic culture is heavily mixed with Arabic essence along with local traditions. Unlike rest of India, the local Islam isn’t influenced by Turkic/Central Asian Islamic influences as seen in Northern parts of India.Kollam Copper Plate- an Imperial grant issued to Muslims in 9th century in Old Malayalam script along with Kufic Arabic and Persian Pahlavi script that grants princely status to Muslim leaders and community in the societyDue to its peaceful entry, the faith got strongly rooted in an unusual combination with local Hindu customs. Arab merchants were the key linkage between Kerala and Europe for the exotic spices that were of high demand since times immemorial. This trade connection, slowly made many Arabs merchants marry local Hindu ladies and their children thus became the Mappila community (the initial Muslim community). And due to this reason, Mappilla community have a very mixed tradition between Kerala Hindu and Arab cultures. Most of the initial marriages of Arab traders were with the Nair community in 8th century and thus Mappillas were almost seen as an extension of the Nair community. When Caste system came up by 11th century due to the rise of Brahminical Hinduism over Kerala’s political sphere, Nairs became an upper caste community mostly as feudal lords and administration class, which also resulted in Mappilla community to be accorded the same status as that of Nairs. Thus within a shorter span of 3 to 4 centuries after the arrival of Islam to Kerala, Mappilla community almost became a major administrative and marital community along with their original trait as a trading community. This lead to the formation of a strong aristocracy culture within the Mappilla community, especially in Malabar side with a huge impact in the cultural and literature due to the strong stately patronage.Documentary of Uru- the wooden shipbuilding industry which changed the course of Mappilla history in KeralaUrus, that made Mappillas, the biggest mercantile community acting as a social linkage between Kerala and ArabiaThe trade linkage with Arabs, helped Mappila Muslim community to become the major mercantile community with natural traits over sea sailing and commanding large merchant ships. This gave birth to a huge Shipbuilding tradition called Urus (Wooden Ships) primarily based in and around Kozhikode and Malabar area. These Urus were of high demand by Arab community which soon became the Arab Dhows and thus further cemented higher degree of sea trading between Mappillas and Arabs. Even today, the Arab world considers Malabar Urus as the finest Dhows for leisure and cultural purposes that has considerable Arab Royal patronage.The shipbuilding culture of Kerala thus heavily associated with Islam and gave birth to a new class of Muslim community called Marakkar. Marakkar originally means Sailors, but soon resulted in the formation of a separate community within Muslims in Kerala. This slowly started the formation of an unofficial caste system within Kerala Muslims with Mappillas representing the highest caste and others in respective levels of hierarchy.Documentary on Kunjali Marakkars- the Admiralty of KozhikodeHowever the rise of Marakkar community resulted in making them as a marital community too. Till 14th century, Kerala never had a concept of Navy as such as it was all limited to the land army. Marakkar community, being sailors had to fight a lot of sea piracy between Kerala and Arabia. This made them slowly trained in Kerala Martial artforms (Kalaripayattu) along with Turkish Naval tactics to secure their positions in a naval warfare against pirates. Thus slowly Marrikkars became major naval mercenaries available to local Kings of Kerala, which was heavily patronized by Zamorin of Kozhikode in his expansionist policy. Thus sooner Kozhikode became one of the major Kingdoms in India to have a stronger Naval unit and it became famous after its celebrated naval warfare against Portuguese (though the latter had an upper hand due to its more modern naval artillery). However, the heroics of Admiralty of Kozhikode at Ponnai Fort under the celebrated Admirals- Kunjali Marakkars against Portuguese were some of the noted naval military legacies of the country. Due to this reason, Indian Navy still considers Kunjali Marakkars and the Admiralty of Kozhikode as a key Indian Naval heritage and often many facilities of Indian Navy being named after them.Indian Navy’s commemorative Stamp and postal card issue to remember the heroics of Kunjali Marakkars as Admirals of Kozhikode who organized one of India’s first professional NavyThe Muslims of Kerala thus inherited two major traits primarily- the original trading traits of Arabs/Mappillas and then the sea-faring traits of Marakkar community. Even today, the majority of Kerala’s famous businessmen and trade community are dominated by Muslims who are ambitious and enterprising much on likes of Marwadi community of North India or Chettiyar community of Tamil Nadu.Unlike rest of India, Muslims of Kerala aren’t seen as a separate entity or have any sort of distinctive identity. In many parts of India, Muslims were historically trained to speak their language- Urdu (due to Persian influence) and distinctive cultural traits that keep them away from others. In Kerala, Muslims don’t know Urdu or any other language other than Malayalam. Due to this reason, there is a higher degree of integration for Muslims in Kerala with others. In the normal course, it's very hard to distinguish a Muslim from other communities.Caste systemKerala Muslims are mostly Sunnis. However, due to its traditional association with Hindu culture, Kerala Muslims do have an informal caste system within it, though officially never acknowledged.Panakkad Shihab Thangal, the recently demised Thangal. As spiritual head of Muslims of Kerala, Thangals are always seen as representative of Prophet Mohammed in KeralaThangals- The highest caste group within Muslim community in Kerala. They were originally Sayyids of Banu Hashim clan of Hejaz in Arabia and claims to be descendants of Prophet Mohammed’s family. The present-day Thangals are supposed to be descended from Sayyid families who migrated from the historic city of Tarim, in the Hadhramaut Province, Yemen, during the 17th century in order to propagate Islam on the Malabar Coast. The term- Thangal is an honorific title much like Shastri/Bhattathiripad etc seen among Hindu Brahmins. In short, Thangals are often associated to the Brahminical equivalent class for Muslims of Kerala. They hold the key spiritual positions among Muslims, heads of several Islamic Jurisprudence councils, Grand Imams of famous mosques and heads of various spiritual councils. The most famous of them, being the Thangal of Panakkad often seen somewhat like Pope of Kerala Muslims being the spiritual head of Sunnis of Kerala and his defacto position as head of Kerala Muslim League party, one of the major political parties of Kerala.Mappillas- The biggest community within Muslims of Kerala. They were the original Muslims of Kerala as formed since the 9th century. They were mostly aristocrats heavily associated as landlord community with many holding key positions in various Hindu Kingdoms of old Kerala. Apart from that, they were much in trade and business sectors and still seen as the most important business community of Kerala. The only Muslim Royal family of Kerala- the Arakkal Kingdom of Kannur (Arakkal Kotta), belongs to this community. And notably, the community was much similar to the Nair community in many social customs and attitudes, especially in its adherence to the matrilineal traditions which wasn’t seen in any other Islamic communities in general.Marakkar - The seafaring community among Muslims, which forms the third layer. They were mostly into ship service in past and even today. Much of Malayalees who are part of Indian Merchant Navy service comes from this community. Marakkar community is spread across Kerala, Lakshadweep Island, Maldives and West coast of Sri Lanka. They also traditionally associated as a martial community, especially in naval warfare. A section of this community is associated with Shipbuilding business in Beypore who are generally referred to as Khalasis. They are extraordinary carpenters and heavily skilled in wood works. Another sub-community among is Nahas, a traditional word associated with Ship Captain in Arabic. However today they are seen as a separate community, though classified among Marakkar due to their seafaring traditions.Keyis and Koyas: These communities were originally Arab families who came and settled in Malabar by 15th-16th century. The Keyis were mostly from Hejaz region of Saudi while Koyas were mostly from Salalah of Oman. Keyis were extraordinary businessmen, notably famous for their diamond and spice trade. However, they soon emerged as key political figures who worked as mediators between British East India Company and local Kings of Malabar as well as earned repute among Hindu rulers of Malabar for saving many during Tipu’s invasion. Koyas on other hand were clerks and officials who worked in Zamorin’s court and thus seen mostly as the official class. Though these communities were highly influential in past and modern politics of Kerala, Mappilla community continue to see them as semi-foreigners, hence delegated to lower hierarchy.Pusalans : A lower caste among Muslims. They were mostly the converts who were originally lower caste members from Hindu community, converted into Islam since the 18th century, especially during the time of Tipu’s invasion. The term Pusalan is an abbreviation of the word- Puthiya Islam (Neo Converts). As Mappillas consider themselves as Nair equivalent, they often had a strong caste conscious and saw other lower castes in Hindus with social disgust just like any caste Hindus of that time. This made the same Mappila community to see these people when converted to Islam with similar levels of social disgust. Often these lower castes were darker in complexion which reinforced the racial bias against them as Mappillas had mostly Caucasian features due to their Arab mixed genes. Majority of them traditionally work as fishermen (Mukkavar), Market labourers (Angadikar), bonded farm labourers, servants etc, though much of these caste bias have reduced since the Reniassance era of 1900s and formation of several Muslim associations aimed to eradicate the bias against them.Ossans : The lowest caste among Muslims, much equivalent to Avarnas of Hindu community. Ossans, however, is much required for Mappilla community as being a traditional barber and circumcisionist community. As Mappilla community practiced untouchability to a degree, they considered many Pusalans as untouchables. Though Ossans were the lowest ranked community, had traditional rights to touch a Mappilla man, especially for grooming purposes as Mappilla Muslims maintained an extraordinary standard in grooming. So as circumcision is an important act for Muslim men, this community thus held an important status. Ossan ladies also worked in the kitchens of Mappillas as assistants or support staff.OutsidersThere are few Muslim communities, which Mappilla communities regarded as outsiders and hence never ranked in the social hierarchy. These are primarily Tamil/Deccan Muslim communities who came to Kerala for trade. Mappillas rarely considered them as genuine Muslims due to their difference in the school of thought (most of these communities believe in Hanafi school contrary to Shafi school of Mappillas). This includes Rawather community seen in Palakkad, Labbi communities of Travancore, Nainar/Memom/Kutchi communities of Cochin, Bohras of Kozhikode, Kannur and Kochi, Vattakkolis of Kasargod and Dakhni Pathans of Central Travancore. Due to the traditional hostile attitudes of local Muslims against them with several degrees of social discriminations, these communities never grew in size, thus reduced to minuscule minorities, mostly concentrated in these areas.Though Muslims of Kerala never admits the existence of a caste system in their society, most of them unofficially adhere to these class codes which is part of the social system of Islam in Kerala. The degrees of discrimination have widely reduced due to the rise of Renaissance values. But like Hindu society, the class values have something deeply ingrained in the social consciousness which often comes to play for family alliances etc.Apart from the traditional caste system, modern Muslims of Kerala are widely divided between various spiritual groups and camps. This division comes primarily over the question of reformation of values and traditions as well as political attitudes.The Muslim society is heavily divided between various social groups due to attitudes towards reforms and Quranic jurisprudence. The key groups areSamasatha Kerala Jamyithul UlemaThe Scholar council of Samsatha Kerala Jamyitul UlemaThe largest body among Sunni Muslims, popularly known as Samastha who strictly adhere to the Sufism and traditional liberal school of Shafism. They believe in the continuity of various traditions and local customs which they believe is as holy as original Quranic concepts. Though being orthodox, they are highly moderate in their views and believe in liberal approach. This body is primarily divided between EK Sunni camp named after their leader E K Abubacker Musaliyar and AP Sunni camp named after their leader- A P Abubacker Musaliyar. Generally, EK Sunnis are pro-moderate and aligned with Indian National Congress values. They form the basis of Muslim League in Kerala, while AP Sunni camp believes in Socialist Islam and heavily adheres to Left values and thus close to Communist party.Kerala Nadvathul MujahideenKNM Annual State MeetingThe reformist group, who wanted to bypass all local traditions and customs by returning to puritan values as indicated in Quran. They are upholders of Salafism. This groups started off as reformists by asking Muslims to end many orthodox (yet liberal) traditions and returning back to puritan concepts which actually was an ultra-conservative in nature (equivalent to Wahabbism of Saudi). However they played a key role in reducing caste discrimination as well as other traditional evils in Sunni societyJamat Islami HindThe Leftist group within the Muslim community, which is equivalent to the Muslim Brotherhood, that aims for an Islamic society adhered in liberal democracy and socialist values. They believe, there is no distinction between religious and material life, so as to maximize religious beliefs in the material word. As being a progressive group, they maximize Islamic principles in social life like the concept of Islamic Banking, Islamic higher education, modern medical knowledge, and research etc. They are highly against US policies and considers a majority of it as Western Imperialism.Dakshina Kerala Jamiyathul Ulema.While the other three are primarily based in Malabar, this group represents the Muslim society in Travancore and Kochi belt. They adhere to Deobandi thoughts and believes in the traditional system of Islam community.Apart from these, there are more than 40 to 50 fractions and sub-organizations, making Muslim community in Kerala, the most fractionalized/fractured community in the state.PoliticsMuslims community is strongly connected to Kerala politics as a major electorate force. The oldest party among Muslims of Kerala is the Indian Union Muslim League which is primarily based in Kerala. This party holds a huge social appeal among Muslims of Kerala, due to its history as being the only state unit of All India Muslim League (which demanded the division of British India) that opposed the concept of formation of Pakistan by dividing India into communal lines. Due to this, they left AIML and formed IUML and eventually became the second leading partner of Congress-led UDFIUML has a strong representation in Kerala State Assembly and even successfully able to place their leader CH Mohammed Koya as Chief Minister of Kerala.CH Mohammed Koya. Kerala’s first and only Muslim Chief Minister.There are several smaller Muslim political parties like INL, SIO, Welfare Party, Popular Front and many like that, which primarily opposed to the moderate stand of IUML in Kerala Politics. Being radicalized parties, they rarely able to find electoral success in KeralaArun Mohan (അരുൺ മോഹൻ)'s answer to What is your view about Congress making an alliance with IUML, whose ideology is communal?Islamic educationMuslim society gives huge importance to religious education which is part of worldwide Islamic culture. In Kerala too, Islamic education is highly regarded among Muslims. Unlike many other states, there is no state-level Govt sponsored board/curriculum for Islamic education. As Muslim society in Kerala is heavily fractured between various spiritual camps, there are multiple Islamic education boards formed by these groups.Samasatha controls the majority of Madarasas in Kerala.The traditional madarasa is called Othupally and found attached to the majority of traditional mosques where Quran and Hadiths are taught primarily in Arabi-Malayalam (a mixture of Arabic and Malayalam). The imam of the mosque also acts as the teacher of the Othupalli and gives basic Islamic education to the children of the area. Students here are taught surahs and duas from Quran and learn to read basic Arabic words to read Quran. They will also learn how to pray and other basic Islamic teachings are imparted.Single teacher Madarasa/Othupally as common in most of the mosquesThe next tier is called Dar Pallikoodams or Islamic Schools, which is very unique to Kerala. Almost all major mosques have an inhouse school located in the second floor of the Masjid where students can reside and study. A selected few from each locality gets right to live and study during their free time as well as during holidays etc. While the study in such a dedicated facility, they have a secondary role to go to other houses of each locality and teach others what they have learned from the facility. A Dar student has traditional rights to visit any Muslim family in a locality and propagate what he learned from the Dar to the younger ones of the family.Dar Pallikkoodams, one of the major Islamic residential training facilities.Normally each Dar accommodates a maximum of 50 to 100 students at a time under the guidance of an Islamic scholar. Many Dars have been modernized with the use of digital facilities and use of computer-aided educationThe third tier is Islamia Colleges or more popularly known- Arabic colleges. Technically these colleges are normal colleges teaching non-religious subjects (mostly arts and humanities) with additional subjects on Islamic education, Quran and Arabic literature. They are mostly residential in nature and aimed to provide modern education streams along with religious education.Regular Islamia/Arabic colleges where non-religious topics are taught apart from religious subjects.Further, there are few Islamic research centers mostly affiliated to International Islamic universities (mostly Al Azhar of Egypt or Madina University of Saudi) that have higher education in field of theology and religious studies.Darul Huda, one of Kerala’s largest Islamic Universities that offers higher eduation in Islamic studies and research in theology apart from secular subjects linked with Govt of India’s Indira Gandhi Open UniversityAs there are no government level boards to monitor or standardize the curriculum of Madarassas, each major organization has their own Religious Education Curriculum Board, with Samastha being the largest. Almost all of these boards have public examinations as well as scholarship options.Modern EducationTraditionally Muslim community used to view Modern Education as a Western tool to subordinate locals. The traditional rivalry between Muslims and Portuguese has created an extreme distrust among Muslim community for English Education as much of these were originally carried out by Missionaries with the support of local Kings.Various Ulemas often issued Fatwas asking Muslims not to enroll for modern English or even Malayalam schools following Western curriculum concept. This made Muslim community extremely backward since 19th century and they lost many economic and administrative opportunities which all got linked with Modern education.After the 1920s Mappilla riots, there was a huge change in attitudes of the Muslim community across Kerala. There was an urge within the community to move modern and seek modern education. Post Mappilla riots, there was a revisionist movement within Muslim community with several educated youngsters decrying against the orthodoxy of Ulemas and others resulted in forming Kerala Muslim Aikya Sanghom in 1922. The aim of Sanghom was to be a Muslim Educational Missionary much on likes of Christian missionaries.Farooq College, popularly known as Aligarh of Kerala, is the first modern college with secular subjects formed by Muslim communityThe first major modern education formed was Farooq College in Calicut which was designed on lines of Kottayam’s famed Christan Mission Society College (CMS) in 1943 which eventually became Aligarh of Kerala. The Sanghom had campaigned among Muslim community to enroll in professional colleges and seek modern education aggressively which changed the profile of Muslim society radically. Several Muslim industrialists started establishing professional educational institutions like TKM Institutions (One of Kerala’s most premier Engineering and technical institution), MES (Muslim Educational Society) with its chain of modern institutions who also still play a key role in challenging Islamic orthodoxy, KMCT as well as Al Ameen Group for its network of schools.TKM, one of Kerala’s premier technical colleges based in Kollam. The group has further expanded to all streams of education and regarded as pioneer in modern education among the Muslim community.In addition, several aided schools were established under Muslim Management, pushing the Muslim education enrollment and literacy to higher rates contrary to many other parts of the countryKerala ahead in enrolment of Muslim students in schools - Times of IndiaMuslim FashionMost of Muslim men spots in normal dressing as common to other Malayalee men with a preference to white garments and normally spot in Mundu worn towards left.Traditional Muslim women fashion as modelled for a photo shootTraditionally Muslim men used to wear almost an attire similar to Nairs, ie white Mundu. However they wear the mundu other way round, ie the borders of Mundu comes on left side, inside of the right side which is the usual custom. So as they spot either Thalangara Cap or white turban coupled with a white shirt.Ladies traditionally used to wear starched Mundu with a loose jacket (Kuppayam) and a head shawl called Thattam.However with massive Arabic influences due to the large-scale migration of Muslim youth to Middle east, a lot of Arabization has happened when the introduction of Arab styled Burqas dubbed as a religious dress for ladies. Saying so, most of the progressive Muslim girls, prefer normal Churidar or Sarees etc with full covered blouses and a head shawl.On contrary Muslim boys are highly positive to western fashion and its very common to spot them in latest freaky western fashion.Arts and cultureIslam in Kerala has heavily contributed to arts and culture in a very big way, especially poetry and literature. This is primarily due to the traditional Arabic influence which stresses heavily on classical poetry and calligraphy.Muslims have prefected a distinctive stream of music in Kerala called Mappillapattu. The Mappilla pattukal (Muslim Songs) have an unusual blend of Persian and Dravidian music styles and used to praise the greatness of Prophet Mohammed and stories from Quran and Hadiths. Over a period of time, more diverse topics such as nature, romance etc have crept in and enriched the content in a very big way.The viral song due to the wink girl- Priya Warrier is a classic example of Mappilla songs in modern cinema due to its popularity. The song is a classic Mappillapattu that describes Prophet Mohammed’s love with his wife- Khadeeja Beevi at MeccaSongs like Ente Khalbilee etc highlights the extent of popularity of Mappilla songs among Malayalees.Today Mappilla-pattukkal is one of the most popular musical streams of Kerala, enjoyed by all segments of society and a popular option for movies as well as other options.Ishal recitals, the famous Islamic Malayalam poetry culture is very popular in KeralaThe Mappillapattu culture also gave birth to a huge poetry concerts culture called Ishalravvu. It's very common in Malabar region where Muslim influences are high and off-recently many Malayalam channels do host such programs attracting even Non-Muslims for such concerts.Oppanna song as featured in a movieMappilla pattukkal is heavily used for wedding ceremonies and gave birth to a Muslim danceform called Oppanna, celebrating the bride’s romantic imaginations.Traditional Duffmuttu as performed for a competitionAnother religious artform among Muslims is Duffmuttu to commemorate Islamic festivals and special occasions. The key activity is to praise the heroics of great Islamic warriors and moments of glory by beating Duff, an Arabic instrument. A harder version of this artform called arabana muttu is equally popularSo as Kolkalli is a popular Islamic art (there is an Hindu version of the same artform) celebrated in North Malabar, which focuses on fast rhythmic steps.Mappilla literature is widely famous for its rustic, simplistic form of expression with use of satirical humor and day to day narratives of life in a simple way. This stream was heavily popularized and enriched by several celebrated Muslim writers with Vaikkom Mohammed Basheer being the most celebrated among them.The contribution of Muslims in the Development of Malayalam Language and LiteratureIslam is a well-integrated religion in Kerala and part of the Malayalee fabric. There are indeed concerns of rising radicalism, mostly fuelled by Islamic radical groups with imported ideologies, though it's still very minuscule in the society and often exaggerated in media. Such issues are common everywhere. So keeping such topics aside. there is very little Islamophobia in the society and very low communal tensions in the society unlike in few other parts of the nation.Further readingA Peek to Kerala Muslim Cuisine

Yes, but only partially. That conclusion is what the latest genetic studies suggest.An early-stage 2018 study that focused on the Iberomaurusians (the Northern Moroccan Taforalt specimens to be exact) claimed that there was 12.5 ± 1% Taforalt-related ancestry detected in the Yoruba. The Taforalt population (c. 15,000 years ago) had 55% ancestry derived from a Western Eurasian source resulting from a back-migration from the Middle East into North Africa around 20,000–25,000 years ago. The remaining 45% is derived from a population native to North Africa dubbed “Ancestral North African,” which is a hypothetical lineage that was closer to Eurasian populations, but did not participate in the Out-of-Africa migration. Thus, the lineage remained in and diversified within the continent. [1]The Ancestral North African lineage appears to be distantly related to East African hunter-gatherer-derived populations, like the Hadza and Omotic-speaking populations (cf., the Mota site specimen and its strong ties to modern Omotic-speaking peoples). [2][3][4] This lineage also appears to have been the source of the Iberomaurusian Y-DNA, which was overwhelmingly E1b1b, which itself is ultimately of post-Out-of-Africa East African origin.The specimens had genes for dark eyes and dark skin, but also straight hair, which was likely inherited from the West Eurasian part of their ancestry. [5] During the Paleolithic in Western Eurasia, the genes for light skin hadn’t yet arisen, and since agriculture hadn’t yet developed, the selective pressure for lighter skin was likely minimal or at least not significant enough to see the wholesale development of very light skin that is now widespread Western Eurasian populations.Seeing as all Iberomaurusian individuals (Taforalt specimens included) sampled only had West Eurasian mtDNA, I believe a good proxy for what the West Eurasian ancestral migrants into the North Africa at the time looked much like is the following:Above: Reconstruction of the Pataud Shelter (Abri Pataud) Woman (c. 17,000 years ago, Magdalenian Culture, Southwestern France) by Élisabeth Daynès. [6]This combination of Ancestral North Africans and West Eurasian migrants resulted in the Iberomaurusians, as shown below:Above: →→→ Photos 1 & 2 = Iberomaurusian fossils from Alafou and Taforalt, respectively; [7][8] Photo 3 = Bare reconstruction of a specimen from Alafou; [9] Photo 4 = Full reconstruction of the Alafou specimen in photo 1 (foreground) compared to a reconstruction of an Early European hunter-gatherer (aka Cro-Magnon). [10]Note A: When the full reconstructions were made, it wasn’t yet discovered that the Iberomaurusians didn’t have the genes for light skin, let alone brown hair. The maker based the full reconstructions partly on the similarity that the skulls had to Pleistocene Early European hunter-gatherers (aka Cro-Magnon). It’s unlikely the Iberomaurusians’ hair was as straight as in the full reconstructions, either, given that straighter hair textures arose from Eurasia, where only slightly more than half their ancestry came from on average. So, the bare reconstruction (3rd Photo) likely represents a better example of what they looked like.It may seem rather odd that the Yoruba would have inherited DNA from an Iberomaurusian population, but the archaeological and archaeobotanical patterns seem to point to an interesting set of human migrations over the last 10,000 years or so in Africa’s northwest quadrant.Due to shifts in the Earth’s axis, the Sahara has gone through wet phases. From 21,000 years ago until about 12,000 years ago (the Ogolian Hyperarid period), the Sahara was very large, with its southern bounds reaching 450–500 km farther south today into what’s now northern Nigeria. [11] By 12,000 years ago, a wet phase began (dubbed the “Green Sahara” or “African Humid Period”), thus allowing populations formerly localized in refugia along the coastal areas of North Africa and West Africa to expand deeper into the African interior. [12]Above: Iberomaurusian, Capsian, and other migrations deeper into Africa’s north-central interior. [13]Above: Prehistoric Sahara during the latest wet period. [14]The Sahara was filled with lakes, rivers, and wetlands in its wettest areas and grassland and residual semi-deserts in dryer areas. Even fairly small lakes like Lake Chad were about the size of the Caspian Sea. [15] So, the Sahara became a more hospitable environment.This is partially evinced from rock art of large animals like giraffes, elephants, hippos, bovids, and people, such as in Tassili n’Ajjer in southern Algeria.Above: Some evidence of the old wildlife from Tassili n’Ajjer in Southern Algeria. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]As for the population expansions, there have been a number of human remains found in the region. For example, Iberomaurusian populations migrated southward. In physical anthropological circles, the physical features common to Iberomaurusians are often referred to as “mechtoid,” a name rooted in “Mechta,” as in “Mechta-Alafou.” [23] Thus, an example of a “mechtoid” and therefore strongly Iberomaurusian-linked population has been identified in the central part of northern Mali at a site called Hassi El-Abiob (7,000 years ago). [24]Above: Four Hassi El-Abiob craniums and the location of the site. [25][26]Interestingly, a skeleton was found in Northern Mali dated to 6,400 years ago, which has been identified as most morphologically similar to West African-derived populations. Dubbed “Asselar Man,” it is, as of yet, the oldest full skeleton found in West Africa with the skull in good condition.Above: →→→ Photos 1 & 2 = Asselar Man (“Homme d’Asselar”) in the first two photos. The map marks a site called the In-Ourhi site. The Asselar fossil was discovered 20 km northeast of there in 1927. [27][28][29]Thus, there is evidence of West African populations expanding northward. Unfortunately, neither fossils have had their DNA sequenced, so their genetic relationships to modern populations and to each other are unknown. Nevertheless, for Asselar Man, the geographic proximity and temporal similarity to the more southerly Iberomaurusian populations (Hassi el Abiob specimens, especially) may have facilitated intermarriage between two ancient populations: one that was West African and another that was closest to late Paleolithic North African hunter-gatherers. [30] So with the then-verdant Sahara region permitting trans-Sahara movements, it’s quite plausible that the populations could have met.Now we turn to a site in central Niger called Gobero. At Gobero, there have been two very distinct cultures identified: The Kiffian and Tenerian cultures.Above: Map of Niger with the location of Gobero. [31]The earlier of the two was the Kiffian culture (8,000 B.C.E. - 6,000 B.C.E.), with the representatives being robust and well-fed hunter-gatherers, with some specimens being upwards of 6′8 (203.2 cm ~ 2.03 m) in height.Above: “The People of Gobero” by University of Chicago and Project Exploration, which shows a Kiffian man and a [presumably Tenerian based on her necklace?] Tenerian woman. [32][33]Above: Another reconstruction of a Kiffian man (evinced from the tool in hand) by University of Chicago and Project Exploration. [34][35]Above: National Geographic Magazine artist’s impression of the Kiffians and their everyday lives (click for greater clarity). [36]Craniometrically, the Kiffians were very similar to Iberomaurusian specimens found farther afield in Mali and Algeria, especially those in Mechta el-Arbi, Algeria. You can see the striking similarity between the Kiffian specimen and a Mechta el-Arbi specimen below. Thus, the consensus is that the Kiffians represented a southerly migration of Iberimarusians into Niger.Above: A Kiffian skull from Gobero. Pay no mind to the yellow dots. [37]Above: Two Iberomaurusian skulls from Mechta el-Arbi, Algeria. Note the strong similarity that the Kiffian skull has to the skull on the left. [38]Bear in mind that Gobero is only a few hundred kilometers north of the Nigerian border. Since there’s evidence of West African populations in the Sahel and southern Sahara during the wet period, it is likely that there was also intermixing with the Kiffians or a population like them in Northern West Africa, who themselves were strongly linked to Iberomaurusians.In the middle of the Green Sahara period (6,200–5,200 B.C.E.), there was a dry spell. By that point, the Iberomaurusian period came to an end, and the Kiffians in Gobero disappeared as well. We know that Iberomaurusian DNA has persisted, such that Saharawi Berbers in North Africa have 37% Iberomaurusian ancestry, [39] but for the southerly Kiffians, it’s not been determined to what extent they or related populations contributed to other neighboring populations in the region. Considering that the Yoruba have Taforalt-related ancestry, that speaks to peoples like the Kiffians being absorbed by neighboring West African populations to some extent.Anyway, By about 2,000 years later, however, the rains returned. That lasted for a few thousand more years until about 4,500 years ago, at which point the Sahara began desiccating again. This pressured the populations in the Sahara to seek land elsewhere once again. Importantly, there were population expansions into the forest belt of West Africa from what’s today the Sahel and Southern Sahara, which is where the Kiffians lived.By this point, there had been a gradual espousal of incipient agriculture amongst the West African populations that had expanded into the Southern Sahara and Sahel (northern West Africa). The hunter-gatherer lifestyle was still very much present, but people there began experimenting with horticulture and animal husbandry (specifically pastoralism), or agropastoralism if you will.Above: A comparison of the prehistoric climate and the archaeological record of West Africa. [40]Now, during the wet period, the tropical zone of West Africa was significantly farther north, and the lands in the tropical zone were often swampy and tsetse fly-ridden. These flies were particularly problematic, since they transmit the deadly trypanosomiasis (sleep disease). [41] However, with the desert and Sahel beginning to expand again rapidly by the 2nd millennium B.C.E., the flies were less numerous, and lands farther south were increasingly more conducive to the growth of a variety of crops, such as pearl millet. Additionally, animals like cattle, which, too, were negatively affected by the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitan), [42] now developed a tolerance to them, thus allowing the migrants to take livestock with them and further facilitating pastoralism.These migrants, naturally, also had strong ties lifestyle-wise to contemporaneous populations in the Sahel and Southern Sahara. Thus, the archaeological record shows Saharan and Sahelian cultural traits began accumulating farther south, a pattern that has been identified throughout West Africa.Above: West and Central African Neolithic (Late Holocene). [43]Map Legend:1 = Southern limit of agriculture (pearl millet). 2 = Southern limit of herding. 3 = Pit sites in Central Africa. 4 = Exploitation of oily fruit trees. 5 = Zones with little or no documentation. A = Saharan cultural influences. B = West–east Sahelian cultural current. C = East-west Sahelian cultural current. D = Sudanian cultures. E = Cultures of the Late Neolithic in Central Africa.Note B: Linguistically, this southward migration is associated with the South Volta-Congo subfamily (aka Benue-Kwa subfamily or even East Volta-Congo subfamily) of the Volta-Congo languages, of which Yoruba is part. The subgroups of each member of Benue-Kwa is roughly as diverse as what’s seen in Indo-European and represent diversification from a widespread dialect continuum.Note C: The maps above correspond well to the linguistic landscape of West Africa. For example, the green portions in each of the three frames roughly correspond to the spread of the Benue-Kwa languages from a homeland originally in the Sahel, as Africanists have previously hypothesized.Note C1: For the light blue portions in the second and third photos, I believe that corresponds very well to the time of and previous range of the Bantu languages, which itself is part of the Benue-Kwa lineage.Note C2: The blue portion on the maps (including the red portions in photos 2 and 3) correspond well to the Gur-Adamawa (aka “Savanna”) continuum, which was eventually split by the entry of the Chadic languages. In the third photo, the western blue/red portion correlates with the Gur languages, while the eastern portion correlates with the Adamawa languages. Bear in mind again that these are considered part of a continuum, so some languages that fall under “Gur” are now thought to be closer to Adamawa languages.Above: A visualization of the southward migrations and their associated agricultural patterns (ultimate book source as of yet unidentified). [44]As for horticulture, besides pearl millet, some newer crops that were being grown in West Africa were yams, sorghum, oil palms, raffia palms, cowpeas (black-eyed peas), kola nuts, and, to a lesser degree, African rice (Oryza glaberrima). [45] As for animals, as alluded to before, cattle, goats, and sheep appeared on the scene, which were not originally native to West Africa. [46] Polished stone axes also started appearing as well, which were being used to clear forests. [47]Probably the best example of this shift toward incipient agriculture and the accompanying migration is the Kintampo Complex. The Kintampo Complex (2600 B.C.E. - 1400 B.C.E. ~ 4600–3400 years ago) was a culture that appeared in Ghana and parts of eastern Côte d’Ivoire that was associated with a significant change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary agricultural lifestyle amongst the local inhabitants of the inhabitants.Above: The Kintampo Complex. [48]Above: Terracotta “cigars” from Birimi in northern Ghana, where there is clear evidence of pearl millet cultivation. These cigar artifact forms are particularly diagnostic of the Kintampo culture. [49]Note D: With the migrants came cultural traits of Saharo-Sahelian origin, namely bifacial armatures and pivoted comb decorations on ceramics, such as the terracotta “cigars” above.The pre-existing population that the Kintampo culture superseded and with which it also partially overlapped was the Punpun culture, a culture that only engaged in hunting and gathering.Above: Excavated Kintampo sites and approximate limits of modern ecological zones in Ghana. [50]As the Kintampo migrants began moving even farther south, the wetter conditions were less conducive for crops that were originally cultivated farther north, like pearl millet. However, the conditions were more conducive to the cultivation of yams and oil palms. The pre-existing hunter-gatherers appear to have been consuming both yams and oil palms, but, by virtue of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, did not cultivate it. The new migrants, on the other hand, who were growing more accustomed to yams and oil palms, did cultivate the, and they actively tried to detoxify, for example, wild yam varieties. [51]What appears to have been the case across West Africa was that there were residual hunter-gatherer populations in the more southerly parts of West Africa. It is also very likely that these northern migrants intermarried to a degree with these residual West African hunter-gatherers.Now, when looking at Western Nigeria, where the Yoruba live, one sees very similar changes as with the Kintampo Complex. This is evinced from a site in northeastern Yorubaland called Itaakpa dated to 2,800 years ago. Evidence of oil palm and yam cultivation has been identified there as well, most notably from burned oil palm kernels. Since these crops, especially yams, don’t always leave fossilized forms very well, archaeobotanists have turned to palynological methods to identify the pollen of these crops. This method has indicated that closed forests were slowly being transformed into a more open forest with growing concentrations of patches of savanna vegetation and oil palms. Interestingly, archaeobotanists believed that the intensified cultivation likely helped to make the savanna that characterizes the region today. [52][53]Now, oil palms (E. guineensis) are technically only partially domesticated, so distinguishing the pollen of the wild variety from the semi-domesticated variety is difficult. However, there were unprecedented increases in the oil palm pollen and weed pollen and dramatic decreases in tree pollen, which indicates that oil palms were being protected and grown while the trees of other forests were being cleared, possibly using slash-and-burn agriculture, which is still practiced today. Fossils from Itaakpa also show incidences of dental caries, which shows that the population at the time had a starch-heavy diet.Above: Plan of the inside of the Itaakpa rock shelter. Note the grinding stone, palm nut waste, pot, and mortar. [54]The agricultural transition in the area (what’s now Nigeria) has other pieces of direct evidence, such as ground stone adzes, grinding stones, sickles, pottery, and even rock art of domesticated animals, like cattle. [55] For Itaakpa, the date of 2,800 years ago likely isn’t the first incidence of agriculture in Nigeria. Itaakpa is fairly inland, but there have been similar signs of agricultural production along the coast in Badagry, Nigeria and is dated to a similar age. [56] With this evidence, though, what this speaks to is the population directly ancestral to the Yoruba, especially when considering the homeland of the Yoruboid languages is what is now northern Yorubaland at 500 B.C.E., [57] which is where the Itaakpa site is.After all these migrations and intermixing, when focusing on the Iberomaurusian genetic impact, as said before, in the Yoruba, one sees 12.5% ± 1% contribution, but, truthfully, this ancestry is also varyingly seen throughout West African populations, West-African derived populations, and even many East African populations (see below). Visually, a study called Heterogeneity in Palaeolithic Population Continuity and Neolithic Expansion in North Africa (November 2019) shows this rather well.Above: Principal Component Analysis and ADMIXTURE Analysis for K = 6 that are inclusive of Sub-Saharan African populations, such as the Yoruba.The orange component is representative of Iberomaurusians (Taforalt in this case), with that component expectedly making up a minority of the ancestry in the Yoruba, which, again, plausibly results from Kiffians and similar peoples intermingling with Native West Africans. Almost all the rest of the ancestry of the Yoruba comprises Sub-Saharan African ancestry (in this case West African). However, at least according to this study, there’s something else detected. The sky blue color in the Yoruba is ancestry associated with ancient Natufians and Levantine Neolithic peoples (percentage not calculated in the study). Considering this ancestry has not been detected in other studies, where could it have come from? Is it an error? Maybe not.While the Kiffians in Niger eventually disappeared by 8,000 years ago, as previously alluded to, they were eventually, though not immediately, followed by the Tenerians (also called Tenereans (5,200–2,500 B.C.E.)). The Tenerians also engaged in hunting and extensive wild grain gathering, but unlike the Kiffians, the Tenerians were not hunter-gatherers, but were instead mainly pastoralists, too. [58][59][60][61] While there was apparently some cultural overlap, [62] between the two cultures, the Kiffians and Tenerians were physically very unalike, as can be seen when comparing their fossils. Craniometrically, Tenerians are rather distinct from Iberomaurusians in general, who generally cluster closely with one another.Above: Principal components analysis of craniofacial dimensions among Late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene populations from the Maghreb and southern Sahara. [63]Note E: Ater = Aterian; EMC = eastern Maghreb Capsian; EMI = eastern Maghreb Iberomaurusian; Gob-e = Gobero early Holocene (Kiffian); Gob-m = Gobero mid-Holocene (Tenerian); Mali = Hassi-el-Abiod, Mali; Maur = Mauritania; WMC = western Maghreb Capsian; WMI = western Maghreb Iberomaurusian.Above: Kiffian skull (9,500 years old) on the left and Tenerian on the right (5,800 years old). [64]Above: Other Tenerian skulls, with the Tenerian skull in the first photo designated as “C” in this photo. [65]Above: National Geographic Magazine artist’s impression of the Tenerians and their everyday lives (click for greater clarity). [66]Above: A reconstruction of a Tenerean individual by University of Chicago and Project Exploration. [67]The Tenerians somewhat more closely resembled Holocene Western Eurasian populations from the Mediterranian than the Kiffians did. [68] You can see the closer resemblance when looking at some other Tenerian skulls and comparing them to later Holocene Capsian skulls from North Africa (not early Capsian like mentioned in the photo above, which is close to Iberomaurusians), to whom the Tenerians have been thought to have some relationship. [69] Broadly, anthropologists consider Capsian to resemble Mediterranean populations. [70][71][72][73] Considering the ubiquity of Natufian-related ancestry throughout North Africa and even Eastern Africa going back many thousands of years, [74] it helps to buttress the possibility of this associated ancestry showing up in the Yoruba by way of Green Sahara migrations.Above: In the first photo, one sees the previously mentioned Mechta el-Arbi Iberomaurusian skull contrasted with a Capsian skull on the right. The second photo shows another Tenerian skull. [75][76][77]The Capsian culture is commonly thought to be linked to a possible later migration into Northern Africa over 10,000 years ago from the Levant or thereabouts and may have some links with the Natufian culture. [78][79] Again, within that time frame, the fossil record also begins to show cattle, sheep, and goats coming into Africa (first North Africa) from the Middle East. [80][81]After the end of the second green period of the Sahara, the Tenerian culture came to an end, and they likely had to migrate elsewhere after the latest Sahara desiccation (4,000 years ago). So, it is plausible that they and similar populations intermixed with and were maybe eventually absorbed by neighboring West African populations, like the West African populations who would soon begin migrating southward. Interestingly, a 2020 study claims to have detected 8.6%±3% Eurasian ancestry in Yoruba. That buttresses the finding of an earlier study from 2015 that claims to have identified [though not calculated] Eurasian ancestry in the Yoruba, with an admixture date between 10,500 and 7,500 years ago, which corresponds to the dating of the Kiffian and Tenerian cultures in Niger. [82]Additionally, the same study identifies Eurasian ancestry with very similar admixture dates in other peoples in West Africa, such as the Mossi of Burkina Faso (admixture event ~7,000 years ago) and peoples classified as “Niger-Congo” speakers from Mali and Gambia. [83]Now, with only about 12% Taforalt-related ancestry in the Yoruba, and with only about 6% of it being from a Western Eurasian source population, and with the remainder being from a native African population, then the phenotypic influence on the Yoruba, especially after thousands of years, would be minimal; the influence is small enough to be rather imperceptible. If adding on top of that the other smaller proportion of later West Eurasian ancestry (sky blue portion as seen above), it would make sense of little phenotypic impact.That makes even more sense when considering the many cases of West Africans (and Sub-Saharan Africans in general) who have small percentages of non-African ancestry that do not show phenotypic signs of admixture. Take, for example, the South Sudanese-Australian Nikki Thot (sister of model Duckie Thot).After taking a DNA test by AncestryDNA, her results show 13% Middle Eastern ancestry, which she says she inherited from her grandfather, in addition to 5% North African ancestry. In spite of that, she looks very Sub-Saharan African and resembles other people from South Sudan.Edit: I formerly wrote that her grandfather was Saudi Arabian, but that was a mistake. She did say she inherited her Middle Eastern ancestry (and presumably her North African ancestry, too) from her grandfather, but she hasn’t specified his ethnicity.There are other examples of this, such as the woman below, who is Senegalese-American, but has known European ancestry, which is reflected in her MyHeritageDNA test results.More rarely, some can have even much larger non-African ancestry, yet still look rather unadmixed, such as the woman below who has only about 74% Sub-Saharan African ancestry:Of course, the reverse can be the case as well, such as people who otherwise resemble Europeans, yet have appreciable percentages of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, like the woman below, who has 20% Sub-Saharan African ancestry:To conclude, the Yoruba appear to have a small deal of Iberomaurusian ancestry (and possibly later Natufian-related ancestry) from West African populations migrating into the Sahara and absorbing populations linked to North Africa. After the desiccation of the Sahara, the West African populations that had once spread northward were forced to spread southward. These southward migrants into tropical West Africa were incipient agropastoralists, and some of them were early Benue-Kwa speakers, who spoke a language ancestral to Yoruba. After these people migrated deeper into the forest belt of West Africa, they encountered residual hunter-gatherers who had not participated in the earlier northward migration into the Sahara. The two broadly West African groups gradually intermixed, thus giving rise to populations that were not only ancestral to the Yoruba, but also many other West Africans and West-African derived populations.Now, as for the genetic signature of the West African migrants who went north into the Green Sahara before eventually migrating southward and across West Africa, I have a strong hunch that they derived most of their ancestry from a genealogical pool/genetic cluster originally localized to the Western portion of West Africa.Above: Principal Component Analysis and ADMIXTURE Analysis for K = 3 to K = 11 of various world populations. [84]Note F: “K = “ is used when roughly determining how many inferred ancestry components a population is assumed to have. So, for K = 3, the study identifies three ancestry components, for example. The higher the number, the more separation of the groups there is into components. However, if too high, it can give extraneous information due to the potential growth of noise.If looking at the photo above from the study Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa (April 2018), amongst West African-derived populations (bottom portion), in K = 6, one sees a major bifurcation of the ancestries. Ancestry associated with peoples from Western West Africa is shaded light green, while ancestry more associated with peoples from Eastern West Africa is shaded dark green. According to the study, the best representatives of this Western West African pool are peoples like the Fula, various Mande-speaking peoples, and especially the Wolof and Jola.Benue-Kwa-speaking peoples like the Yoruba, Igbo, and Fon are very intermediate between these two genealogical pools. When expanding to look at Volta-Congo-speaking populations at large that are farther west, populations like the Ahizi tend more strongly toward this Western genealogical pool than those farther east. Most notably, the most Westerly populations of this Western genealogical pool have little to no ancestry at all that is form this Eastern (dark green) genealogical pool. So, this points to a kind of Western West African superstrate population that had intermixed heavily with or even somewhat replaced Eastern West African populations.As for the genetic signature of the hunter-gatherers who hadn’t participated in the northward migration into the Sahel before migrating back south, I believe they may have formed part of this Eastern West African genealogical pool, with today’s Bantu peoples, especially Eastern and Southern African Bantus, absorbing the biggest share of this ancestry. As for who these Eastern West African peoples who effectively formed a substrate were, I believe they may have been populations that had a relationship to modern the Ijoid-speaking population and maybe even the now likely extinct Jalaa-speakers, as they now appear to be largely relic populations of the original pre-Benue-Kwa diversity. [85][86][87][88]One sees almost the same dynamic when looking at another study (Mozambican genetic variation provides new insights into the Bantu expansion (July 2019)) In the study below (this time using K = 8), one sees that ancestry associated with this Western group this time is represented by a beige color, while ancestry associated with this Eastern group is represented by green and light blue, which itself shows a kind of bifurcation.Above: Genetic structure in selected African populations using K = 8. [89]As for Iberomaurusian ancestry, this likely couldn’t have been recognized in either of the aforementioned studies due to the recency of the Iberomaurusian genomic study that identified the Iberomaurusians’ genetic relationships to both Sub-Saharan African and Western Eurasian populations. Additionally, Iberomaurusian ancestry was simply not included in the studies above.To recap, what the data seemingly tell is that ancient West African populations, including ones that were once in the Sahel and Southern Sahara, had once absorbed Iberomaurusian-like populations before finally migrating south and eventually becoming varied populations today, including the Yoruba.Footnotes[1] The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations[2] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2018/03/14/science.aar8380.DC1/aar8380_vandeLoosdrecht_SM.pdf[3] Ancient human DNA in sub-Saharan Africa lifts veil on prehistory[4] Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations[5] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2018/03/14/science.aar8380.DC1/aar8380_vandeLoosdrecht_SM.pdf[6] Early human,Stone Age culture[7] La morphologie externe et interne de la région supra-orbitaire est-...[8] Grotto tafoughalt: Date of ancient man[9] Mechta-Afalou head model - Stock Image - C014/6148[10] Mechta-Afalou hunter model - Stock Image - C014/6147[11] Page on sci-hub.tw[12] устраняя преграды на пути распространения знаний[13] Incisor avulsion, social identity and Saharan population history: New data from the Early Holocene southern Sahara[14] Ancient Lakes of the Sahara[15] Tracing Language Movement in Africa[16] Green Sahara[17] The Prehistoric Rock Art of Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria[18] Rock paintings of Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria[19] Tassili n'Ajjer National Park - Natural World Heritage Sites[20] Rock Paintings Of Tassili N`Ajjer, Algeria Stock Image - Image of painting, drawing: 119518773[21] Rock engraving in Sahara Desert[22] The Prehistoric Rock Art of Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria[23] https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444476/1/U591781.pdf[24] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282630708_Under_the_rocks_reconsidering_the_origin_of_the_Kintampo_Tradition_and_the_development_of_food_production_in_the_Savanna-ForestForest_of_West_Africa[25] L'homme de Taforalt au Sahara, ou le problème de l'extension saharienne des Cromagnoïdes du Maghreb[26] L'homme de Taforalt au Sahara, ou le problème de l'extension saharienne des Cromagnoïdes du Maghreb[27] Index of /IMG[28] L’Homme fossile d’Asselar (actuel Mali). Étude critique, mise en perspective historique et nouvelles interprétations[29] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259085157_L'Homme_fossile_d'Asselar_actuel_Mali_Etude_critique_mise_en_perspective_historique_et_nouvelles_interpretations[30] устраняя преграды на пути распространения знаний[31] https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijpp.2011.06.001[32] Gobero People | ARCHAEOLOGY[33] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GSlgaNdd7c[34] Mike Hettwer Photography 2006 2[35] Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change[36] Stock Photo - Painting of Kiffian hunters, farmers and fishermen[37] Facial Reconstruction of Early Human[38] Ibéromaurusien[39] Heterogeneity in Palaeolithic Population Continuity and Neolithic Expansion in North Africa - PubMed[40] https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27850711[41] https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27850711[42] https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27850711[43] West and Central African Neolithic: Geography and Overview[44] https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-expansion-sahara-affect-diffusion-agriculture-502939[45] Nigeria's Diverse Peoples[46] African cattle originated in Middle East[47] Africans[48] Kintampo Complex - Wikipedia[49] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511978807.019[50] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2010.12.004[51] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282630708_Under_the_rocks_reconsidering_the_origin_of_the_Kintampo_Tradition_and_the_development_of_food_production_in_the_Savanna-ForestForest_of_West_Africa[52] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107587656.002[53] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1179/0093469012Z.00000000017[54] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1179/0093469012Z.00000000017[55] Ogundiran - Four Millennia of Cultural History in Nigeria[56] https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107587656.002[57] African Cultural Astronomy[58] https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.ijpp.2011.06.001[59] North and Saharan Africa: Geography and Chronology[60] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5788/88dc7ed47b9778a25b22f1548d712eecb38e.pdf[61] African Herders[62] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GSlgaNdd7c[63] Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change[64] Stone Age Graveyard[65] устраняя преграды на пути распространения знаний[66] Stock Photo - Painting of Tenerian hunters near a lake in the Sahara Desert[67] Tenerean | ARCHAEOLOGY[68] In the Sahara, Stone Age graves from greener days[69] Methodology and African Prehistory[70] Page on sci-hub.tw[71] http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~dlubell/Sahara_Sheppard%20&%20Lubell.pdf[72] Skeletal robusticity in the Epipaleolithic of North Africa and the Levant[73] https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444476/1/U591781.pdf[74] https://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.cell.2017.08.049[75] Avertissement[76] Mike Hettwer Photography 2006 2[77] Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change[78] The Last Civilized Place[79] Archaeology and Language: Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses[80] The Last Civilized Place[81] African cattle originated in Middle East[82] https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4650111/1/The-African-Genome-Variation-Project-shapes-medical-genetics-in-Africa.pdf[83] https://sci-hub.tw/10.1093/hmg/ddy161 [84] https://www.gwern.net/docs/genetics/selection/2018-schlebusch.pdf[85] Lecture 3 : « Language contact as an alternative to assumed genealogical relationships »[86] https://streaming-canal-u.fmsh.fr/vod/media/canalu/documents/cnrs_ups2259/lecture.3.language.contact.as.an.alternative.to.assumed.genealogical.relationships._50149/2019.03.paris.lecture.3.pdf[87] The Languages and Linguistics of Africa[88] Archaeology and Language: Correlating archaeological and linguistic hypotheses[89] Mozambican genetic variation provides new insights into the Bantu expansion