Hodgson et al, argue that Eurasian genomes in Horn of Africa (HOA) populations are the result of a back migration from Eurasia into the HOA (1).This view is not supported by the archaeology.

Archaeology is an important science to be used in verifying ancient population movements. It is an important tool in Arcaheogenetics because changes in the manufacture and type of tools used by a population can provide keen insight into the possible spread or origin of a particular population

The idea that Eurasian admixture among HOA populations is the result of a Eurasian back migration can not be supported by archaeological, epigraphic and linguistic evidence. The archaeology indicates that Niger-Congo speakers early settled Arabia, and Proto-Semitic speaking groups now found in HOA, probably originated in Africa, not the Levant.

The earliest civilization in Southwest Arabia date back to the 2nd Millenium. This culture is called the Tihama culture which originated in Africa (2).

The earliest civilization in Southwest Arabia date back to the 2nd Millenium. This culture is called the Tihama culture which originated in Africa (2). Keall (4) believes that these people may have had a common ancestry and shared a common culture.

At Tihama and other sites in Arabia we find pottery related to the C-Group people of Nubia (2-4).The archaeological evidence indicates that C-Group people expanded from Nubia to Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley (5-6).


The Tihama civilization probably originated in Nubia. It is characterized by the cheesecake or pillbox burial monuments which extend from Dhofar in Nubia, the Gara mountains to Adulis on the Gulf of Zula, to Hadramaut, Qataban, Ausan, Adenm, Asir, the Main area and Tihama (2-4).
In reality, the Ethiopians dominated South Arabia, not South Arabians. The historical evidence support an old presence of Ethio-Semitic speakers in Africa. For example, the Axumite Empire was founded by the Habashan. The Habashan are mentioned in a 3rd or 4th century Himyarite inscription from South Arabia, refers to an alliance between Gadarat King of the Habashan or Habashat.

The one of the earliest civilizations on the HOA was Punt. Punt is mentioned in Egyptian Hieroglyphic writing.
Some of the people of Punt were probably Tigrinya speakers, who call their language habesha, i.e., Abyssinian par excellence. The term Habesh, seems to represent an old name for Abyssinia and may be connected with the Amharic word washa 'cave or cavern', and may refer to the" cave dwellers" who once served as the principal traders along the Ethiopian coast. The ability of the Ethiopians as sailors, is supported by the title bahr nagash, "ruler of the maritime province" or Eritrea.

In addition, some of the earliest Sabean/Thamudic inscriptions have been found in Ethiopia, and not South Arabia. For example, Dr. Doresse has found Sabean cursive writing on a sceptre that indicates that the Habashat/Axumite empire had writing.

These Habashan are mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions of the 18th Dynasty (1709-1320) in connection to the land of Punt. Given the Egyptian association of the Habashan with Punt, I call the speakers of the Ethio-Semitic languages: Puntites. We have Egyptian evidence of trade missions to Punt as early as PepiII in 2400 BC and Mentuholep IV and IV. The vizier Amenemhat, of Mentuholep IV is said to have established a port near Safaga. the most famous mission to Punt was sent by Queen Hatshepsut, and is recorded at deir el Bahri.
Since the Habashan are mentioned in Egyptian documents they were in existence long before the Arabic speakers settle Arabia, which as indicated by the Tihama culture, was probably occupied by Niger-Congo speaking Nubians (7).
In addition, Nubia was probably the homeland of Proto-Niger Congo, so we can assume that some of the founders of the Tihama culture may have spoken a Niger-Congo language (7).
Fattovich makes it clear that Sabaean inscriptions dating back to the Di'amat Kingdom were first found in Ethiopia as well as the earliest dams(2). Lets not remember that the Yemeni dam and inscriptions date to the 4th century BC, 600 years after similar monuments appeared in Ethiopia.

Archaeological evidence indicate that the Oldest Sabaean inscriptions are found in Ethiopia, along with monumental architecture. This means only one thing: Sabaean writing was invented by the Ethiopians who took the writing to Yemen, no matter what some experts claim. This literacy is further support for a Ethiopian origin of South Arabian civilization.

In summary the existence of the Tihama culture in Arabia, and the mention of Habashan in the HOA in Egyptian literature, suggest that the admixture with Eurasians is the result of Africans migrating into West Eurasia, instead of an Eurasian back migration. There is no archaeological evidence, tool kits and etc., which document a back migration of people from the Levant and South Arabia into the HOA.

The archaeology does not indicate a higher civilization in Yemen before the coming of Nubians and populations from the HOA. All the archaeological data indicate that Ethiopian civilizations were homegrown and taken to Yemen by the ancient Ethiopians who founded Saba or Sheba.

Hodgson et al, argue that the Afro-Asiatic speakers were probably in the Levant 8kya this is purely conjecture. The historical records still locate the Semitic speakers in the HOA, not South Arabia, as late as 2500. The existence the Tihama culture, in South Arabia, indicate that prior to the Semitic speakers, Yemen was dominated by Niger-Congo speaking Nubians and Nilo-Saharan speakers.This would place Nubians in Arabia at the time Hodgson et al (1) has proposed for Semites dominating South Arabia.

Hodgson et al argue against their own finding that the Ethio-Somali admixture took place between 1.5-4kya, not 20+kya as these researchers assume (1). The archaeological and Egyptian historical records would support the former date in conformity with the ROLLOFF and ALDER results.

The archeological data supports a Ethiopian origin for South Arabian civilization, not Eurasian. Tihama culture makes it clear that Ethio-Semitic people were in intimate relations for an extended period of time with Sub-Saharan Africans, and the Semitic speakers probably originated in Nubia. This would explain Anta Diop’s discovery that after the suppression of the first consonant in many Semitic words you find an African root word (8). This would explain why Semitic is closely related to Negro-Egyptian (8).

This means that the majority of non-African ancestry in HOA is not the result of a Eurasian back migration. The so-called non-African ancestry within the HOA, may be HOA genomes, that Ethio-Semitic people took into South Arabia, India and elsewhere that researchers have nisidentified as Eurasia. The archaeogenetic evidence suggest that many so-called "Eurasian" genes found among HOA and Eurasians are of African origin.

References:

1.Hodgson J A, Mulligan C J, Al-Meeri A, and R L Raaum. (2014). Early Back-to-Africa Migration into the Horn of Africa, PLOS Genetics, June, 10:6/e1004393. www.plosgenetics.org

2.Fattovich, R.(2008). The development of urbanism in the Northern Horn of Africa in ancient and Medieval Times. Retrieved 2/19/2008 http://www.arkeologi.uu.s...

3.Keall, E. J. (2000) .Changing Settlement along the Red Sea Coast of Yemen in the Bronze Age, First International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Rome May 18-23, 1998), Proceedings, (Matthiae, P., Enea, A., Peyronel, L. and Pinnock, F., eds), 719-31, Rome.

4. Giumlia-Mair, A., Keall, E. J., Shugar, A. and Stock, S. (2002) >Investigation of a Copper-based Hoard from the Megalithic Site of al-Midamman, Yemen: an Interdisciplinary Approach=, Journal of Archaeological Science 29, 195-209.

4a.Keall, Dr. Edward J. (2008) Contact across the Red Sea (between Arabia and Africa) in the 2nd millennium BC: circumstantial evidence from the archaeological site of al-Midamman, Tihama coast of Yemen, and Dahlak Kabir Island, Eritrea . Retrieved 2/20/08 at: http://72.14.205.104/sear...(between+Arabia+and+Africa)+in+the+2nd&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

5.Winters, C.(2007). Did the Dravidian Speakers Originate in Africa? BioEssays, 27(5): 497-498.

6.Winters, C. (2008). ARE DRAVIDIANS OF AFRICAN ORIGIN
http://www.krepublishers....

7.Winters C.(2012). Origin of the Niger-Congo Speakers. WebmedCentral GENETICS 2012;3(3):WMC003149. https://www.webmedcentral...

8.Diop, A. (1988). Nouvelles recherches sur l'égyptien ancien et les langues négro-africaines modernes, Paris, Présence Africaine, 1988.