This Element is aimed at discussing the relations between Egypt and its African neighbours. In the first section, the history of studies, the different kind of sources available on the issue, and a short outline of the environmental setting is provided. In the second section the relations between Egypt and its African neighbours from the late Prehistory to Late Antique times are summarized. In the third section the different kinds of interactions are described, as well as their effects on the lives of individuals and groups, and the related cultural dynamics, such as selection, adoption, entanglement and identity building. Finally, the possible future perspective of research on the issue is outlined, both in terms of methods, strategies, themes and specific topics, and of regions and sites whose exploration promises to provide a crucial contribution to the study of the relations between Egypt and Africa.
This is a timely work which seeks to place Egypt in its true historical context. It captures the substantial, unmistakable evidence for the indigenous African origin of the ancient Egyptians. It also examines the genius behind their invaluable achievement in concretizing and codifying the hieroglyphic system of writing that they inherited from their ancestors. It explains their mastery of the arts and sciences as displayed in their monumental architectural feats. And finally it analyzes their highly organized-not surprisingly, matriarchal -- social system which made it possible for so many of their unsurpassed contributions to be bequeathed to human cultures everywhere. Unlike conventional treatments of ancient Egypt, however, this innovative text renders the collected data accessible to layman and expert alike through its framework of suggested curriculum outlines, thus ensuring this book's usefulness to the general public as well as to educational institutions. "Professor Crawford.. has made every effort to show that art and language are weapons in a nation's cultural survival. In preparing this book with the...hope that it will be used in a multicultural curriculum, he has opened a new educational door by showing the true significance of ancient Egyptian art and language". -- John Henrik Clarke, Professor Emeritus/Hunter College "Blending Egyptology with progressive education philosophy..., Crawford argues that Egyptian studies, with a focus on art and language, is a necessary and empowering course of study for African American students... and for students from other backgrounds as well. -- Keith Gilyard, Syracuse University "Dr. Crawford cites chapter and verse as to how wecan naturally fashion the curriculum to reflect both our diverse legacies and contributions to society and, in so doing, render diverse and sundry individual subject areas genuinely interdisciplinary....I sincerely hope that this fine work gets the broad airing it deserves. If enough educators are exposed to it, I am certain it will play an important part in energizing the studies that take place in schools across the nation". -- Arthur Lewin, Baruch College
Geographically, Egypt is clearly on the African continent, yet Ancient Egypt is routinely regarded as a non-African cultural form. The significance of Ancient Egypt for the rest of Africa is a hotly debated issue with complex ramifications. This book considers how Ancient Egypt was dislocated from Africa, drawing on a wide range of sources. It examines key issues such as the evidence for actual contacts between Egypt and other early African cultures, and how influential, or not, Egypt was on them. Some scholars argue that to its north Egypt's influence on Mediterranean civilization was downplayed by western scholarship. Further a field, on the African continent perceptions of Ancient Egypt were colored by biblical sources, emphasizing the persecution of the Israelites. An extensive selection of fresh insights are provided, several focusing on cultural interactions between Egypt and Nubia from 1000 BCE to 500 CE, developing a nuanced picture of these interactions and describing the limitations of an 'Egyptological' approach to them.
Black Egyptians sets out to prove once and for all that Black Africans started and ruled the Ancient Egyptian civilization. This is the book to finally solve the Ancient Egyptian race controversy. Drawing on a wealth of sources including Nuwaupu, genetics and archaeology, the author combines conventional and unconventional Egyptology together to form a unique record of Egyptian history and set the stage for Black Africans to unite under one common creed.
The ancient Egyptians originated in East Africa. Evidence for this can be found in the ancient religious texts of the Egyptians which describe the people and places in the Afterlife. These places coincide with real people and places in East Africa. These real people of East Africa, the Nubians, were considered, in some contexts, demi-gods by the Egyptians. The ancient Egyptian Afterlife Paradise was called the Tuat. It was imagined to be a place of lakes and mountains like East Africa. The Egyptians knew these places because they originated in this region and called it Place of the First Time. The book concludes with some wonderful pictures that make it believable that the ancient Egyptians originated from East Africa.Without Nubia there would have been no dynastic Egypt!The origins of the ancient Egypt we all know and love lie in the predynastic cultures of southern Egypt. This culture created the world's first city known as Hierakonpolis around 3800 BC. The Egyptians called it Nekhen. In this city was found evidence of the first temple, the first pottery factory, the first brewery, the first image of the Falcon Horus. Hierakonpolis was part of the Naqada predynastic culture of southern Egypt which began around 4000 BC. It was located around 100 miles from Aswan in present-day Nubia. Few people, however, are aware of the technical accomplishments and cultural impulses that came to Hierakonpolis from Lower and Upper Nubia. It made possible the economic and military expansion that created the Egyptian civilization of dynastic times. Without Nubia there would have been no Hierakonpolis! Witness the Nubian origins of predynastic Egyptian civilization in these pages.
Scholars in Egyptology have often debated the following question: was the ancient Egyptian society organized along patrilineal or matrilineal lines? In taking a fresh and innovative look at the ancient Egyptian family, Allen attempts to solve this long-standing puzzle. Allen argues that the matrilineal nature of the ancient Egyptian family and social organization provides us with the key to understanding why and how ancient Egyptian women were able to rise to power, study medicine, and enjoy basic freedoms that did not emerge in Western Civilization until the twentieth century. More importantly, by examining the types of families that existed in ancient Egypt along with highlighting the ancient Egyptians' kinship terms, we can place the ancient Egyptian civilization in the cultural context and incubator of Black Africa. This groundbreaking text is a must-read for Historians and those working in African Studies and Egyptology.
Bongo sheds important new light on the most fascinating epoch in human history: Ancient Egypt. In this heavily researched work, he traces the evolution of civilization not to the Middle East, as most scholars do, but rather the South American tribes whose cultures had greatly influenced what would become the Land of the Pharaohs.
