This article will refute Van Sertimas claim that the Olmec heads were of Negroid originor were sculpted to show the appearance of Negroidsand his other claim that Mali seafarers reached the Americans some 200-odd years before Colombus. 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. As somebody who strongly believes that history is dominated by the "Western" narrative, I find myself drawn to believe Sertima. Though Egypt is located in Africa, typically little of its success has been attributed to black people, but rather to those who migrated from the Middle East. 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. Saying slave ships are a myth is a whole new level of ignorance . The reason they didn't enslave Indians is because black ppl are the real Indians which would exspose the slave myth. In response to Daniel's review Clarence Weiant, who had worked as an assistant archaeologist specialising in ceramics at Tres Zapotes and later pursued a career as a chiropractor, wrote a letter to the New York Times supporting Van Sertima's work. There are some problems with this theory. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. They are familiar with American history, right? Im pretty sure I had taken a World History course before. here is no question but that the book is landmark." John A- Wi am. My best guess would be from somewhere(s) in west and/or maybe central Africa. But once we understand, 1250 words Science is concerned with studying physical processes and phenomena. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Wow, so you (your black ancestors) got there before the Indians and the Europeans? In They Came Before Columbus,we see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of black Africans in pre-Columbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilizations they encountered. Between narrative chapters, Van Sertima develops his main claims about African contact with the Americas in an essay style and includes images of artifacts, which primarily consist of photographs of ceramic heads that Van Sertima says have African features. In his book, "They Came Before Columbus," Van Sertima, a Rutgers professor, says that African influences can be found in an array of cultural similarities between Africa and the ancient Americas - pyramid construction, the use of boat litters, the parasol, the plumed serpent motif, bronze-casting techniques. [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 couldn't be slave blacks," he said. They paint themselves black, and they are the color of the Canarians, neither black nor white. He devotes Chapter 8 to discussing the beneficial innovations and flourishing of culture under Nubian rulers in Egypt. Theres not a shred of evidence to prove this. A celebrated classic, They Came Before Columbus, dea. For example, Van Sertimas claims that the Olmec heads are Negroid due to the broad flat noses runs into a major problem: nose shape is dictated by climate; the climate of Mesoamerica and Africa is similar; the function of nose shape is to moisten air before it goes into the lungs; therefore, since climate is dictated by nose shape and the climate of Mesoamerica and Africa is similar, then they have similar-shaped noses due to the climate they lived in. One could do worse. Travel between Africa and the Americas was possible, says Van Sertima, because of the worldwide ocean winds and currents that caused drift routes from east to west. I am not completely dismissive of the idea that Abu Bakr could have in fact successfully arrived in the Americas. Van Sertimas research points to the Negroid features of giant stone heads in Mexico, our of which have been radiocarbon dated at 814 B.C. Of course I was taken aback by the bold claim. Read more Print length 336 pages Language English Publisher Random House Trade Paperbacks Publication date September 23, 2003 Dimensions This two-way trade never happened. It was generally "ignored or dismissed" by academic experts at the time and strongly criticised in detail in an academic journal, Current Anthropology, in 1997. Not only because of the apparent Asian features of some of the Olmec sculptures, but Xu also attempted to draw a connection between the Olmec script and Chinese characters. Required fields are marked *. What meaning do these ideas have for 20th-century people? In They Came Before Columbus, we see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of black Africans in pre-Columbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilizations they encountered. 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. A generation of work in this area had unearthed a large number of Negroid heads in clay, gold, copper and copal sculpted by pre-Colombian American artists. [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". Glyn Daniel, an archaeology professor at Cambridge University, called Van Sertimas book ignorant rubbish in a review he wrote for The New York Times Book Review. From left to right are: Comes Again, Iron Hawk, High Eagle, Dewey Beard and John Sitting Bull. (LogOut/ [5], Van Sertima wrote a response to be included in the article (as is standard academic practice) but withdrew it. "I nver expected any money," he explains. The accounts of people such as Christopher Columbus himself, Spanish travelers, and Herodotus, though, are harder to debate. (LogOut/ Winters writes: The first civilization to appear in America, called the Olmec culture was founded by AfricansThe original Maya were probably AfricansThe Aztecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs, and Maya usually occupied urban centers built by Africans, or Afro-Indians. He was one of the few academics who was brave enough to refute Afrocentric claims; unfortunately many academics are too afraid to criticize and reject pseudo-historical Afrocentrism because as soon they do that Afrocentrists start personally attacking them. Also, Van Sertimas case could be strengthened if statues and art known to intended to depict Native Americans were also shown in comparison. He argued that all the archaeology and all the excavations point to an indigenous American culture. He also points to the Negroid features of giant stone heads in Mexico, our of which have been radio carbon dated at 814 B.C. https://twitter.com/BreeNewsome/status/1404242564585246720?s=20&t=Lv4XscKZw3SR_tmBhetmbg, https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1501640824576110595?s=20&t=Lv4XscKZw3SR_tmBhetmbg, https://twitter.com/RDCRaissa/status/1503381403836293127?s=20&t=Lv4XscKZw3SR_tmBhetmbg, https://twitter.com/JaKaB0i_116/status/1503133876637638663?s=20&t=Lv4XscKZw3SR_tmBhetmbg, The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States. However, some of the biggest resting points of his theory attribute Mesoamerican pyramids, mummification, symbolism, mythology, calendar technology, and much of the art to African influence and guidance. Hip-hop artist B.o.B,who is also a flat Earth believer. We were taken from Africa, but who were we before slavery? The ocean currents could account for the spread of plants, and the linguistic claims aren't as clear as Van Sertima believes, Barbour said. Van Sertima uses written, archaeological, and cultural evidence to support his thesis. The Eurocentric view of history is being debunked by anthropologic research. [15] The claims in this book are not generally accepted in the scientific fields of archaeology and anthropology. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. He died on 25 May 2009 aged 74. There is also a vast body of knowledge to be uncovered about Africa and America. Van Sertimas main evidence for his claims regarding a pre-Colombian contact between ancient Africans (Nubians) and Olmecs rests on the supposed similarities between Negroid facial features and the colossal Olmec heads. Dan Von Hoyel ~ Black Before Columbus Came: The African Discovery of America Odd Salon DISCOVERY: Six stories of rigorous inquiry and accidental revelations, [] Oral traditions of Native Americans, according to reported Mexican authority, Nicholas Leon, include the belief that the oldest inhabitants of Mexico were Negroes among other stories. Van Sertima accomplishes this through chapters relying heavily on dramatic storytelling. Maize has African origins. Moreover, how would he have known? Highlighted Ogham found on the Isle of Man - Credit: ViewTeam (Author provided) New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. They can find a billion year old dinosaur bone but cant find any slave ships, B.o.B wrote in a 2017 Instagram post. Change). What did I know or was taught? The author gives pictures of examples of negroid statues in pre-Columbian America, often with black people in comparison. Van Sertima married Maria Nagy in 1964; they adopted two sons, Larry and Michael. Van Sertima answers that Africans were indeed sailors, that a division of Negro sea captains and mariners is reported to have been in the Egyptian navy of the 19th dynasty and the East Africans sailed between their countries and China in the 13th century. These strong currents, which Mali oral tradition describes as "rivers in the middle of the sea," could have helped propel African vessels to the American continents, he adds. The Book Review received about 70 letters, the most reader reaction it's had on an issue since the reviewer attacked Robert Frost several yeas ago. As I sought out sources to find out more, this book appeared several times as a must-read. brilliantly [demonstrates] has that there is far more to black history than the slave trade."John A. Williams They Came Before Columbus reveals a compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Africans in ancient America.Examining navigation and shipbuilding; cultural analogies between Native Americans and Africans; the . In addition, Spanish explorers found African war captives with American Indian tribes. They noted that no "genuine African artifact had been found in a controlled archaeological excavation in the New World." Columbus and his men encountered the naked Taino people on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, so named for the Savior whom Columbus believed had delivered him to land. This was all that I could recall being formally taught. Ivan Van Sertima's They Came Before Columbus is the first monographic treatment of this problem since Leo Wiener's Africa and the Discovery ofAmerica (3 vols., Philadelphia, 1920-1922), although M. D. W. Jeffreys has littered the intervening fifty years with articles on various aspects of it, often drawing heated responses I am not suggesting that no African people were in the Americas before Columbus. In the first place, there are no Egyptian historical records which suggest that the Egyptians ever sailed to America or even attempted such a journey. Not completely dismissive of the Canarians, neither black nor white pretty sure I had taken a history. Ppl are the real Indians which would exspose the slave myth the Indians the! `` I nver expected any money, '' he explains we were taken from Africa, but who we! Of evidence to support his thesis flourishing of culture under Nubian rulers Egypt... 1964 ; they adopted two sons, Larry and Michael a myth they came before columbus debunked whole! Strengthened if statues and art known to intended to depict Native Americans were also shown in comparison new! 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