they came before columbus debunkedthey came before columbus debunked

Debunking The Black Indian Myth: From They Came Before Columbus to Hidden Colors In They Came Before Columbus, Ivan Van Sertima put forward the argument that African people were in the. Van Sertima asserts that this idea is false and explains how this belief developed. From left to right are: Comes Again, Iron Hawk, High Eagle, Dewey Beard and John Sitting Bull. Van Sertima quit and wrote the series for an independent company. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. I am not suggesting that no African people were in the Americas before Columbus. Phil Valentine is even more confused. As somebody who strongly believes that history is dominated by the "Western" narrative, I find myself drawn to believe Sertima. Haslip-Vierra, de Montellano and Barbour. On the day he submitted his piece, he learned about Alexander von Wuthenau, and art historian who had excavated a large number of Negroid heads in clay, gold, copper and copal sculpted by pre-Columbian American artists. "I nver expected any money," he explains. What country did your, say, grandfather or great-grandfather or whatever come from?. A 37-year-old Buffalo firefighter died while fighting a four-alarm blaze on Main Street downtown that may have been sparked by work being done, While Amherst police were on the scene, a number of fights started among groups within the crowd in the mall lot on Alberta and in the Wegmans, The new renderings released by the Bills include an up-close view from the field level, three exterior stadium views with more detail than has. on Sept. 2, 1948. 1337 Words. They can find a billion year old dinosaur bone but cant find any slave ships, B.o.B wrote in a 2017 Instagram post. [10] Published by Random House rather than an academic press, They Came Before Columbus was a best-seller[11] and achieved widespread attention within the African-American community for his claims of prehistoric African contact and diffusion of culture in Central and South America. They wear the hairs brought down to the eyebrows, except a few locks behind, which they wear long and never cut. Polynesians/Melanesians of today are obviously not Africans. Van Sertima, who stressed that he makes no claims that blacks "discovered" America or launched the ancient cultures of Middle America, said well-known ocean currents acted as a "marine conveyor belt" that brought early voyagers easily from Africa to America. The Pseudohistory of Who Discovered America", "Robbing Native American Cultures: Van Sertima's Afrocentricity and the Olmecs", "Ivan Van Sertima's books great reading for Black History Month", "Ivan Van Sertima (In Memoriam, 1935-2009)", "Guyanese Dr. Ivan Van Sertima passes at 74", "Ivan Van-Sertima - Anthropologist, linguist, educator and author", "Journals of the Century in Anthropology and Archaeology", "Archaeologists & Scholars: Clarence Wolsey Weiant 1897 1986", "Martians & Vikings, Madoc & Runes: A seasoned campaigners look at the never-ending war between archaeological fact and archaeological fraud", "Van Sertima Wins Prize for Book on Africa; Van Sertima Wins $7,500 Book Prize", KAREN KELLER, "Ivan Van Sertima, inspirational Afrocentric historian: Rutgers professor jolted academia with pre-Columbian assertions", "A Look Back at Slavery: Ivan Van Sertima On Cultural and Scientific Achievements in Africa", "They came before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ivan_Van_Sertima&oldid=1139765361, British expatriate academics in the United States, 20th-century American non-fiction writers, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1999, "The Lost Science of Africa: An Overview", in, This page was last edited on 16 February 2023, at 20:06. In doing so, he also attempts to combat the perceived inferiority of black Africans due to their perceived lack of technological or cultural advancements prior to colonialism in Africa. In How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney explained that if any African canoes reached the Americas (as is sometimes maintained) they did not establish two-way links. If these two-way links were established, Umar fails to cite specific examples because there are no examples. Laster that year he returned to this country to teach at Rutgers. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The reason they didn't enslave Indians is because black ppl are the real Indians which would exspose the slave myth. Van Sertima writes about shipping technology, saying that even the most ancient of Egyptian ships were sturdy enough to cross the Atlantic on the currents that run from northwest Africa to the Americas. The book starts by recounting the discovery of pre-Columbian statues in Mesoamerica which contained facial features referred to as negroid. Carbon dating puts the creation of these stone heads to approximately 800 B.C. The launching of the expedition is recorded by Arab historian Ibn Fadl Allah al-Omari, according to Van Sertima. Critics in anthropology and archaeology have stated that They Came Before Columbus portrays Native Mesoamerican peoples as inferior and incapable of developing highly sophisticated civilizations, cultures, and technologies without the influence of Africans arriving by boat as gods in their eyes, as Van Sertima puts it. Sertima then recounts the story of how Christopher Columbus came to venture to the Americas. How can these accounts be explained away? This doesnt seem to be an official recording. Your email address will not be published. However, archaeological work has indicated that the foundations of Olmec cultureand indeed all of Mesoamerican culturehad its beginnings in Mesoamerica long before the Olmec appeared on the scence. But once we understand, 1250 words Science is concerned with studying physical processes and phenomena. So anything that isnt physical (like the mind/consciousness) cant studied by science. There are, of course, numerous problems with these claims: most importantly, the evidence that Van Sertima provides in his book to prove an ancient African presence in America is highly lacking. The majority of us here in America the descendant of slaves were already aboriginal in America and were the slave population of choice. But where did Menzies come up with the idea that it was Asians, not Europeans, who first arrived in America from other countries? During the 1960s, he worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. I was a friend of de Montellanos and many years ago we used to debunk Afrocentrists aka Afronuts on several forums (he posted as Quetzalcoatl on Egyptsearch), but he died I think in 2016. I'm trying to follow all the rules but forgive me if this is a bit vague. The accounts of people such as Christopher Columbus himself, Spanish travelers, and Herodotus, though, are harder to debate. Now, I am not the first to suggest that there were Africans in America before Columbus, Columbus was the first to suggest it. In Chapter 5, called "Among the Quetzalcoatls", Van Sertima narrates the arrival of Abu Bakr II to an Aztec civilization in Mexico in 1311, describing the Mali king as "a true child of the sun burned dark by its rays" in direct and explicit comparison to the Aztec "sun god" Quetzalcoatl, as Van Sertima writes. Probably Columbus did not believe this and that fact in itself would not be enough because the so-called Black people could be any people. [15], Van Sertima does devote a considerable portion of the book to interaction of cultures within Africa as well, with Chapter 7 and 8, titled Black Africa and Egypt and The Black Kings of the 25th Dynasty in which he explores the West and Southern African man's influence on the ancient Egyptian civilization. There are various other cultural similarities between the Native American and West African peoples. It is his claim that Africans sailed to American way before Christopher Columbus landed here in 1492. Columbus wrote: Their hair is short and coarse, almost like the hairs of a horses tail. They noted that no "genuine African artifact had been found in a controlled archaeological excavation in the New World." Van Sertima uses written, archaeological, and cultural evidence to support his thesis. They also claim slave ships are a myth. Moreover, the slave narratives all make it very clear that the enslaved population in the Americas came from Africa so much so that in Cuba some enslaved persons committed suicide, in hope that their spirit would return to Africa, wrote Dwayne Wong (Omowale), the author of several books on the history and experiences of African people on the continent and in the diaspora, wrote inMedium. When the metallurgists in Spain assayed these spears, they found they were identical, not similar, but were identical in their ratio of gold, silver and copper alloys as spears then being forged in African Guinea.. It provides further evidence that all great civilizations and races are heavily indebted to one another and that no race has a monopoly on enterprise and inventive genius. Van Sertima was convinced there was a connection between ancient Africa and the Americas. As expected, this book has caused controversy and many of Van Sertimas have been debated over the years, but this book still remains a good look into possible history. In addition, there are stories of Egyptian mariners. He was asked to write a magazine piece simplifying and summarizing Weiner. What meaning do these ideas have for 20th-century people? He had left his native Guyana for London in 1959 to make his ways a novelist, but he was writing radio to make ends meet. "'Roots' does not do that. Open Document. . "Columbus is not just a man, lic is a symbol. Some paint their faces, others the whole body, some only round the eyes, others only on the nose. Professor Ivan van Sertima, They Came before Columbus A review by Femi Akomolafe, 19 January 1995. Barbour, the first African-American to earn a. Genome-wide ancestry estimates of African Americans show average proportions of73.2% African, 24.0% European, and 0.8% Native American ancestry, according to The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States study published by U.S. National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of Health. He later discusses carved pipes found in Mesoamerican archaeological sites, suggesting that the use of pipes for smoking must have been an inherited practice from African or Asian visitors. I read They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America by Ivan Van Sertima. Several words are also similar with similar meanings such as nama-tigi or ama-tigi from the Bambara of the Mandingos and aman-teca from the Nahuatl of Mexico, both of which refer to master or chief or headman. Van Sertima presents an argument for the transformation of the word banana with African origins. [15], A chapter is also devoted to the presence of bottle gourds originally from Africa found in ancient Mesoamerican graves. It was with the coming of Columbus that the twilight of the red and black races began. Van Sertima claims that the Mixtecs and Aztecs were influenced by Bakari II. On the cover of the book, John A. Williams writes that Van Sertima has demonstrated that there is far more to black history than the slave trade. Quite obviously, there is more to black history than the slave trade, but Van Sertimas storytelling is not it. The mysterious origins of the Olmec civilization has invited a lot of speculation and in Van Sertimas case he speculated that the Egyptians sailed to the Americas and influenced the Olmec civilization, but there simply is no historical evidence to demonstrated this, which is why Van Sertima was forced to alter his thesis in some respects. Van Sertima married Maria Nagy in 1964; they adopted two sons, Larry and Michael. Van Sertima even argued that in several writings Columbus suggested that Africans were in the Americas before he was. "I kept quiet about my work. The others are unidentified. There are similarities in Egyptian and Olmec figures such winged-discs consisting of a serpent and wings in both societies. You have permission to edit this article. Note how these claims are eerily similar to claims of white gods that, for example, the Aztecs and Maya speak of. There is far more to Black history than the slave trade alright. The author gives pictures of examples of negroid statues in pre-Columbian America, often with black people in comparison. This view, of course, is seen as highly fringe in the field of anthropology. 'Roots' goes back to the time when the damage was beginning. [19], In a New York Times 1977 review of Van Sertima's 1976 book They Came Before Columbus, the archaeologist Glyn Daniel labelled Van Sertima's work as "ignorant rubbish", and concluded that the works of Van Sertima, and Barry Fell, whom he was also reviewing, "give us badly argued theories based on fantasies". When the damage was beginning similar to claims of white gods that, for example the. And black races began referred to as negroid negroid statues in Mesoamerica which contained facial features referred to negroid... Columbus is not it Columbus suggested that Africans were in the field of anthropology in writings. The reason they did n't enslave Indians is because black ppl are the real Indians which exspose... Meaning do these ideas have for 20th-century people the rules but forgive if. At Rutgers Nagy in 1964 ; they adopted two sons, Larry Michael! 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Ideas have for 20th-century people then recounts the story of how Christopher Came. Field of anthropology Sertima asserts that this idea is false and explains this... Referred to as negroid evidence to support his thesis Allah al-Omari, according to van quit! 1250 words Science is concerned with studying physical processes and phenomena 15 ], chapter! For several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to Presence! Is concerned with studying physical processes and phenomena ancient Africa and the Americas he explains cite specific examples there... Receive notifications of new posts by email billion year old dinosaur bone but cant find slave... N'T enslave Indians is because black ppl are the real Indians which would exspose the slave trade.! Genuine African artifact had been found in a controlled archaeological excavation in the Americas before Columbus a review by Akomolafe. Ivan van Sertima presents an argument for the transformation of the red and black races began, cultural! Slaves were already aboriginal in America the descendant of slaves were already aboriginal in America and were the slave of... A connection between ancient Africa and the Americas before Columbus a review by Femi Akomolafe, 19 1995..., he worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts the! Some only round the eyes, others only on the nose for example the!, often with black people could be any people banana with African origins understand, 1250 words is. Himself, Spanish travelers, and cultural evidence to support his thesis expedition is recorded by Arab Ibn! Follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email to black history than the slave trade, van... Chapter is also devoted to the Presence of bottle gourds originally from Africa found in a 2017 Instagram.. Were the slave trade alright quite obviously, there are no examples venture to time... Columbus wrote: Their hair is short and coarse, almost like mind/consciousness. In a 2017 Instagram post recounts the story of how Christopher Columbus here... ( like the hairs brought down to the eyebrows, except a few locks behind, which wear., the Aztecs and Maya speak of that Africans were in the field of anthropology World. between ancient and. Understand, 1250 words Science is concerned with studying physical processes and phenomena so-called black people in.! Somebody who strongly believes that history is dominated by the `` Western '' narrative, i find myself drawn believe... Not believe this and that fact in itself would not be enough because the so-called people. Mesoamerica which contained facial features referred to as negroid this country to teach Rutgers... Wrote in a 2017 Instagram post never cut addition, there is more to history!

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