Historically defined as 'Negrito' because they physically resemble small Africans, these hunter-gatherers may have the most ancient ancestry in Asia. Nearly exterminated by disease and a cataclysmic volcanic eruption, they now survive in forests of Malaysia, the Philippines and India's Andaman Islands. Some are armed with spears and blowpipes, a few with mobile phones and graduate degrees. Edith Mirante reveals the story of the 'Negrito' peoples through a compelling Chatwinesque narrative of journeys into their remaining lands.