The term Proto-Australoid was first used by Roland Burrage Dixon in his 1923 book Racial History of Man. The Proto-Australoids were an ancient hunter-gatherer people descended from the first major wave of modern humans to leave Africa 50,000 years ago. Characterised by gracile body types, they are thought to have had dark skin colour, approaching black, and wavy or curly black hair. They had long heads and broad, flat noses, like the inhabitants of modern-day Oceania and Africa.

The term Proto-Australoid was first used by Roland Burrage Dixon in his 1923 book Racial History of Man. The Proto-Australoids were an ancient hunter-gatherer people descended from the first major wave of modern humans to leave Africa 50,000 years ago. Characterised by gracile body types, they are thought to have had dark skin colour, approaching black, and wavy or curly black hair. They had long heads and broad, flat noses, like the inhabitants of modern-day Oceania and Africa.