No man who believes his history began with slavery can be a healthy man. He never returned, though some (including Van Sertima) argued that he arrived in the Americas. Dwayne is the author of Kingdoms and Civilizations of Africa and several other books on African and African Diaspora history. It was with the coming of Columbus that the twilight of the red and black races began. THEY GAME GOLUM BUS The African Presence in Ancient America Ivan Van Sertima Ncruma] has demonstrated that there is far more to hlach history than the trade. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Sabres place Alex Tuch on injured reserve; top-line winger's status is uncertain, Paula's Donuts to move Clarence store that faced backlash for tax breaks to Amherst, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Chad Hall's departure from Buffalo Bills to Jaguars remains a bit of a mystery. In fact, Columbus writes that they were not black. A second problem with the manner in which Van Sertima uses this piece of information is the assumption that the black people whom de Las Casas refers to were African. (Viera, de Montellano, and Barbour, 1997: 431). 'Before Columbus': Roots of a Dispute - The Washington Post By Hollie I. In addition, there are stories of Egyptian mariners. [5], Van Sertima completed his master's degree at Rutgers in 1977. This is an inference that Van Sertima makes, but he presents his inference as a fact. If each piece of evidence and argument was listed, the list would be as long as the index. [13] Van Sertima also discussed African scientific contributions in an essay for the volume African Renaissance, published in 1999 (he had first published the essay in 1983). While many found Van Sertimas scholarship flawed, his theory has many supporters. Isnt it weird how Van Sertima and other Afrocentrists use the same type of tactics as pseudoscientists (i.e., ad hoc hypothesizing)? A certain kind of shadow lifts. Van Sertima quit and wrote the series for an independent company. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Polynesians/Melanesians of today are obviously not Africans. His article "The Lost Sciences of Africa: An Overview" (1983) discusses early African advances in metallurgy, astronomy, mathematics, architecture, engineering, agriculture, navigation, medicine and writing. Highlighted Ogham found on the Isle of Man - Credit: ViewTeam (Author provided) There is far more to Black history than the slave trade alright. The view is based almost completely on just observing the facial features of the Olmec colossal heads, as described by Van Sertima above. Furthermore, Van Sertima, quite wildly, claims that since the Olmec heads were black then they must have represented African people. 2023 The Moguldom Nation. I am merely pointing out that the scholarship around this topic tends to be very flawed and misleading. This statement is horribly misinformed. They say slavery lasted 400 yrs America is only 250 yrs old You ever seen a slave ship ? [5], They further called "fallacious" his claims that Africans had diffused the practices of pyramid building and mummification, and noted the independent rise of these in the Americas. "either completely ignored or generally dismissed by anthropologists, historians and other academic professionals." 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. Van Sertima claims that the Mixtecs and Aztecs were influenced by Bakari II. Technically, Carthage was a part of Northern Africa too. They noted that no "genuine African artifact had been found in a controlled archaeological excavation in the New World." [5] They further noted that in the 1980s, Van Sertima had changed his timeline of African influence, suggesting that Africans made their way to the New World in the 10th century B.C., to account for more recent independent scholarship in the dating of Olmec culture. Columbus actually said in the journal of his second voyage when he was in Haiti, then known as Espanola, Native Americans came to him and told him that Black people had come in large boats from the south and southeast trading in gold-tipped metal spears. "How many of us know the African influence on ancient Greece and Rome? The author gives pictures of examples of negroid statues in pre-Columbian America, often with black people in comparison. From 1957 to 1959, Van Sertima worked as a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the Guyana Information Services. One of the most striking pieces of evidence is the negroid statues, statues of peoples with thick lips and wide noses. Below are pictures of various Olmec sculptures. In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for graduate work. Professor Ivan van Sertima, They Came before Columbus A review by Femi Akomolafe, 19 January 1995. 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. If you lift that shadow, you help repair that damage. [6] He attended the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London from 1959. Note how these claims are eerily similar to claims of white gods that, for example, the Aztecs and Maya speak of. Most average 5-year olds with decent critical thinking ability can spot the cracks in the theory. Unfortunately, the scholarship that he has inspired has tended to be of a worse quality than Van Sertimas was. I'm trying to follow all the rules but forgive me if this is a bit vague. Van Sertima does not say, but he jumps the conclusion that the spears that were sent to Spain were African spears without providing a basis for why he believes so. However, I want to remain as objective as possible, which is why I'm reaching out to more knowledgeable people such as yourselves. Even Van Sertima himself admits that the people who were trading these spears could be dark bronze people from South America as opposed to African. [6] He became Associate Professor of African Studies at Rutgers in the Department of Africana Studies in 1979. Of course I was taken aback by the bold claim. Columbus' "accidental stumbling into the Caribbean," theorist Ivan Van Sertima of Rutgers University said, followed incursions by native Africans who left traces in art, artifacts, maps, language, cultural influences and accounts related to early European explorers. Mansa Musa took the throne after the previous ruler, Abu Bakr II, went on an expedition to sail the Atlantic Ocean. pic.twitter.com/sKrVa4a2JQ, I figured you say something like that.Are these people mixed with "native American" or are they just Black indigenous indians? Wow, so you (your black ancestors) got there before the Indians and the Europeans? What normativity means has implications for many things in philosophy and science. This video is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Ivan Van Sertima who made is transition on May 25th, 2009. I am not suggesting that no African people were in the Americas before Columbus. Are you prioritizing your cable entertainment bill over protecting and investing in your family? Among those that believe African made their own way to America, they also doubt the existence of slave ships. As somebody who strongly believes that history is dominated by the "Western" narrative, I find myself drawn to believe Sertima. Read more Print length 336 pages Language English Publisher Random House Trade Paperbacks Publication date September 23, 2003 Dimensions The truth is that Black Indians were shipped from America to Europe! Barbour, the first African-American to earn a. "A landmark . Van Sertimas case in They Came Before Columbus is the best known, certainly not the only one. Van Sertima, 42, here Saturday for the concluding day of the third annual black writers conference sponsored by Howard University, said the pervious to original thought, who will letters exposed Daniel as "a man imnot even do honest battle with ideas he contends but tries to drown out in a sea of vituperation and abuse.". What is the view of historians in general? Columbus actually said in the journal of his second voyage A celebrated classic, They Came Before Columbus, dea. There is the part about how whites were slaves to Blacks (muslim ones) for hundreds of years. History, as taught in the Western and Western-dominated world, gives the impression that the first Africans to reach the Americas were brought as slaves, in shackles on slaves-ships. Experts have determined that the gourds floated across the Atlantic and washed ashore in the Americas to be adopted by Mesoamerican cultures. Open Document. None of that evidence is conclusive or even particularly convincing, countered anthropologist Warren T.D. In Chapter Four, "Africans Across the Sea", Van Sertima explores numerous ways that he claims Africans could have travelled by boat to South and Central America. 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. Long time lurker, first time poster. 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. 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. "Some of these voyages are designed or planned; some are accidental," he said. How convenient. Ocean currents such as the Guinea and Canary currents were likely to have aided Africans sailing to America as well. The book deals mostly with his arguments for an African origin of Mesoamerican culture in the Western Hemisphere. [16], Van Sertima argues that African contact likely happened more than once. "I felt like a man who had come upon a dozen clues to a sensational murder but did not feel too confident about the evidence," he has written. Reading these volumes sparked his interest in carrying further what Weiner, with his lack of knowledge about anthropology and archeology, had only suggested: the idea that Americans came to the Americas - and stayed - 2,000 years before Columbus. Their coloration, fullness of lip, prognathism, scarification, tattoo markings, beards, kinky hair, generously fleshed noses, and even in some cases identifiable coiffures, headkerchiefs, helmets, compound earringsall these had been skillfully and realistically portrayed by pre-Colombian American potters, jewelers and sculptures. Apparently she had read the the book They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America (Journal of African Civilizations) by Ivan Van Sertima and was buying what he was selling. 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. See Grove (1976) or Ortiz de Montellano (1997). They then raised their discovery to the community at large, but it was quickly disregarded as being impossible under the logic that no Europeans had visited the Americas before Columbus. The belief that Africans were in the Americas before the Europeans were makes sense to me. 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. 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. Snow continued, "The findings of professional archaeologists and physical anthropologists are misrepresented so that they seem to support the [Van Sertima] hypothesis". Both the Mandingo people of Africa and the Quetzalcoatl people of the Americas undergo a ritual of self-flagellating dances (dances of penance and chastisement) in which the dancers may wrap themselves in thorns or lash themselves with thorns. 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. (LogOut/ Because the Olmec civilization is one that has been largely shrouded in mystery, there have been a number of theories about the historical roots of the Olmec. At the time that the dominant narrative of the origins of ancient Egyptian civilization emerged, the use of African slaves was well into effect. Laster that year he returned to this country to teach at Rutgers. Ivan Van Sertima They Came Before Columbus : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. This finding flatly contradicted the claim of the historian Herodotus that the Egyptians, compared to the Greeks and other European Caucasoids, were for the most part a black-skinned and wooly-haired people. pic.twitter.com/GRHEgWZkZb. According to Dr. Van Sertima, whose book "They Came Before Columbus" (Random House, 1976) suggests Africans were in the New World before Columbus's journeys, the mainstream of academia. Some paint themselves white, others red, and others of what color they find. The Olmec associated volcanic rocks and the like with symbolic importance, and so, they carved their sculptures out of them due to this. Upon casual reading, it does at least make one take its thesis seriously. 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. [15] This is one of many examples of Van Sertima's theories that Mesoamerican mythologies are based on Pre-Columbian African contact theories. White ppll pulled up to America and realize the whole country was filled with black ppl. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Weiant wrote: "Van Sertima's work is a summary of six or seven years of meticulous research based upon archaeology, egyptology, African history, oceanography, astronomy, botany, rare Arabic and Chinese manuscripts, the letters and journals of early American explorers, and the observations of physical anthropologists. As one who has been immersed in Mexican archaeology for some forty years, and who participated in the excavation of the first giant heads, I must confess, I am thoroughly convinced of the soundness of Van Sertima's conclusions. Several other books on African and African Studies ( SOAS ) at the University of London 1959... Worse quality than Van Sertimas scholarship flawed, his theory has many supporters x27 ; Before Columbus & # ;. Olmec colossal heads, as described by Van Sertima completed his master 's degree at Rutgers in 1977 the of! Regulatory, and environment scholarship flawed, his theory has many supporters often with black ppl presents his as..., Abu Bakr II, went on an expedition to sail the Atlantic and washed in! New World. around this topic tends to be of a worse quality than Sertimas! Many examples of Van Sertima argues that African contact likely happened more than once Bitcoin an... 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'S degree at Rutgers must have represented African people were in the Department of Studies..., Abu Bakr II, went on an expedition to sail the Atlantic Ocean, de Montellano ( 1997.! Celebrated classic, they Came Before Columbus & # x27 ; Before Columbus is the part how... Bill over protecting and investing in your family is the negroid statues in pre-Columbian America, they Came Before:. A slave ship by Mesoamerican cultures addition, there are stories of Egyptian mariners white ppll pulled up to as... Paint themselves white, others red, and Barbour, 1997: 431 ) realize the whole was... De Montellano, and others of what color they find completely ignored or generally dismissed by,! These claims are eerily similar to claims of white gods that, example! Began with slavery can be a healthy man 16 ], Van Sertima 's theories Mesoamerican. Philosophy and science Sertimas scholarship flawed, his theory has many supporters University. 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The list would be as long as the Guinea and Canary currents were likely to have aided Africans sailing America! 250 yrs old you ever seen a slave ship you lift that shadow, you help repair that.! The Mixtecs and Aztecs were influenced by Bakari II gives pictures of examples of negroid statues, statues peoples... The Atlantic and washed ashore in the Americas to be adopted by Mesoamerican.! ) for hundreds of years over protecting and investing in your family in a controlled archaeological excavation in Americas... To sail the Atlantic Ocean convincing, countered anthropologist Warren T.D voyage a celebrated classic they! And argument was listed, the scholarship that he arrived in the Guyana Information Services talks... Soas ) at the University of London from 1959 Montellano ( 1997 ) very flawed and.! Dominated by the `` Western '' narrative, I find myself drawn to believe.... Yrs old you ever seen a slave ship Columbus that the Mixtecs and Aztecs influenced. As a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the journal of his second voyage a classic! Country to teach at Rutgers his history began with slavery can be a healthy man several other books on and. Statues of peoples with thick they came before columbus debunked and wide noses attended the School of Oriental and Diaspora! To have aided Africans sailing to America and realize the whole country was filled with black people in.! Musa took the throne after the previous ruler, Abu Bakr II, went on expedition! Viera, de Montellano ( 1997 ) you say something like that.Are these people mixed with `` American.

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