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Egypt Revisited
This volume represents a new departure in the examination of Egypt's place in the African context. It brings together the latest research of the 1980s on Nile Valley civilizations, what they achieved, and their impact on Africa and the world. The authors take an -Afrocentric- in contrast to a -Eurocentric- perspective in their studies of the birthplace of civilization. This volume includes sections on the race and origin of the ancient Egyptians, black dynasties and rulers, Egyptian science and philosophy, and great Egyptologists. It sheds new light on neglected aspects of history. Ivan Van Sertima is professor of African studies, Rutgers University, and editor of the Journal of African Civilizations. He is the author of They Came Before Columbus The African Presence in Ancient America, winner of the Clarence L. Holte International Prize.
454 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Ivan Van Sertima
22 books253 followersDr. Ivan Van Sertima was born in Guyana, South America. He was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University) and the Rutgers Graduate School and held degrees in African Studies and Anthropology. From 1957-1959 he served as a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the Guyana Information Services. During the decade of the 1960s he broadcast weekly from Britain to Africa and the Caribbean.
He was a literary critic, a linguist, and an anthropologist who made a name in all three fields.
As a literary critic, he is the author of Caribbean Writers, a collection of critical essays on the Caribbean novel. He is also the author of several major literary reviews published in Denmark, India, Britain and the United States. He was honored for his work in this field by being asked by the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1976-1980. He was honored as an historian of world repute by being asked to join UNESCO's International Commission for Rewriting the Scientific and Cultural History of Mankind.
As a linguist, published essays on the dialect of the Sea Islands off the Georgia Coast. He also compiled the Swahili Dictionary of Legal Terms, based on his field work in Tanzania, East Africa, in 1967.
He is the author of They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America, which was published by Random House in 1977 and is presently in its twenty-ninth printing. It was published in French in 1981 and in the same year, was awarded the Clarence L. Holte Prize, a prize awarded every two years “for a work of excellence in literature and the humanities relating to the cultural heritage of Africa and the African diaspora.”
He also authored Early America Revisited, a book that has enriched the study of a wide range of subjects, from archaeology to anthropology, and has resulted in profound changes in the reordering of historical priorities and pedagogy.
Professor of African Studies at Rutgers University, Dr. Van Sertima was also Visiting Professor at Princeton University. He was the Editor of the Journal of African Civilizations, which he founded in 1979 and has published several major anthologies which have influenced the development of multicultural curriculum in the United States. These anthologies include Blacks in Science: ancient and modern, Black Women in Antiquity, Egypt Revisited, Egypt: Child of Africa, Nile Valley Civilizations (out of print), African Presence in the Art of the Americas (due 2007), African Presence in Early Asia (co-edited with Runoko Rashidi), African Presence in Early Europe, African Presence in Early America, Great African Thinkers, Great Black Leaders: ancient and modern and Golden Age of the Moor.
As an acclaimed poet, his work graces the pages of River and the Wall, 1953 and has been published in English and German. As an essayist, his major pieces were published in Talk That Talk, 1989, Future Directions for African and African American Content in the School Curriculum, 1986, Enigma of Values, 1979, and in Black Life and Culture in the United States, 1971.
Dr. Van Sertima has lectured at more than 100 universities in the United States and has also lectured in Canada, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. In 1991 Dr. Van Sertima defended his highly controversial thesis on the African presence in pre-Columbian America before the Smithsonian. In 1994 they published his address in Race, Discourse and the Origin of the Americas: A New World View of 1492.
He also appeared before a Congressional Committee on July 7, 1987 to challenge the Columbus myth. This landmark presentation before Congress was illuminating and brilliantly presented in the name of all peoples of color across the world.
He was a literary critic, a linguist, and an anthropologist who made a name in all three fields.
As a literary critic, he is the author of Caribbean Writers, a collection of critical essays on the Caribbean novel. He is also the author of several major literary reviews published in Denmark, India, Britain and the United States. He was honored for his work in this field by being asked by the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1976-1980. He was honored as an historian of world repute by being asked to join UNESCO's International Commission for Rewriting the Scientific and Cultural History of Mankind.
As a linguist, published essays on the dialect of the Sea Islands off the Georgia Coast. He also compiled the Swahili Dictionary of Legal Terms, based on his field work in Tanzania, East Africa, in 1967.
He is the author of They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America, which was published by Random House in 1977 and is presently in its twenty-ninth printing. It was published in French in 1981 and in the same year, was awarded the Clarence L. Holte Prize, a prize awarded every two years “for a work of excellence in literature and the humanities relating to the cultural heritage of Africa and the African diaspora.”
He also authored Early America Revisited, a book that has enriched the study of a wide range of subjects, from archaeology to anthropology, and has resulted in profound changes in the reordering of historical priorities and pedagogy.
Professor of African Studies at Rutgers University, Dr. Van Sertima was also Visiting Professor at Princeton University. He was the Editor of the Journal of African Civilizations, which he founded in 1979 and has published several major anthologies which have influenced the development of multicultural curriculum in the United States. These anthologies include Blacks in Science: ancient and modern, Black Women in Antiquity, Egypt Revisited, Egypt: Child of Africa, Nile Valley Civilizations (out of print), African Presence in the Art of the Americas (due 2007), African Presence in Early Asia (co-edited with Runoko Rashidi), African Presence in Early Europe, African Presence in Early America, Great African Thinkers, Great Black Leaders: ancient and modern and Golden Age of the Moor.
As an acclaimed poet, his work graces the pages of River and the Wall, 1953 and has been published in English and German. As an essayist, his major pieces were published in Talk That Talk, 1989, Future Directions for African and African American Content in the School Curriculum, 1986, Enigma of Values, 1979, and in Black Life and Culture in the United States, 1971.
Dr. Van Sertima has lectured at more than 100 universities in the United States and has also lectured in Canada, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. In 1991 Dr. Van Sertima defended his highly controversial thesis on the African presence in pre-Columbian America before the Smithsonian. In 1994 they published his address in Race, Discourse and the Origin of the Americas: A New World View of 1492.
He also appeared before a Congressional Committee on July 7, 1987 to challenge the Columbus myth. This landmark presentation before Congress was illuminating and brilliantly presented in the name of all peoples of color across the world.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 15, 2021
This book collects studies on what the ancient Egyptians knew, which of course is a fertile field for wacko speculation. But even with a healthy dose of skepticism, the essays are both entertaining and thought provoking. For example, Dr. Charles Finch analyzes ancient medical texts, including a treatise called the Edwin Smith papyrus. This is a 15-foot scroll, describing anatomy and treatment in apparently actual cases of injury to the head and neck. The complete text probably went on to describe the whole body. Finch records some of the case titles as follows:
• Case # 6 — A Gaping Wound in the Head with Compound Comminuted Fracture of the Skull, and Rupture of the Meningeal Membranes
• Case # 7 — Compound Fracture of the Skull Displaying No Visible External Injury
• Case # 22 — A Wound to the Temple Causing Total Aphasia [inability to speak due to brain damage]
• Case # 31 — Dislocation of a Cervical Vertebra
Dr. Finch points out that cases 29 through 33 deal with various types of vertebral dislocations. And since modern physicians find it difficult to identify such injuries without X-rays, it is unclear how the ancients diagnosed and described these problems with such accuracy. Case 6 refers to a rupture of the meningeal membrane surrounding the brain, and this also is an observation not matched until recent centuries in the West. The descriptions of symptoms from brain injuries, as in case 22, suggest some understanding of which parts of the brain control certain bodily functions. In Western medicine, the area linked to speech was “discovered” by 19th century French doctors, and named “the Broca’s area.”
According to Finch, the Edwin Smith papyrus is written by a physician with almost modern abilities to observe and interpret the body, but with primitive skills in treatment. Many cases are described as “an injury not to be treated.” But at least the physician seems sensitive to whether or not the available treatments will do more harm than good.
The papyrus which the text is written on dates from around 1200 BCE. But according to James Breasted, the writing style resembles the language of Old Kingdom inscriptions from around 2400 BCE. The papyrus itself cites yet older medical works, called "The Book of What Pertains to the Embalmer," and "The Book of What Pertains to Wounds."
• Case # 6 — A Gaping Wound in the Head with Compound Comminuted Fracture of the Skull, and Rupture of the Meningeal Membranes
• Case # 7 — Compound Fracture of the Skull Displaying No Visible External Injury
• Case # 22 — A Wound to the Temple Causing Total Aphasia [inability to speak due to brain damage]
• Case # 31 — Dislocation of a Cervical Vertebra
Dr. Finch points out that cases 29 through 33 deal with various types of vertebral dislocations. And since modern physicians find it difficult to identify such injuries without X-rays, it is unclear how the ancients diagnosed and described these problems with such accuracy. Case 6 refers to a rupture of the meningeal membrane surrounding the brain, and this also is an observation not matched until recent centuries in the West. The descriptions of symptoms from brain injuries, as in case 22, suggest some understanding of which parts of the brain control certain bodily functions. In Western medicine, the area linked to speech was “discovered” by 19th century French doctors, and named “the Broca’s area.”
According to Finch, the Edwin Smith papyrus is written by a physician with almost modern abilities to observe and interpret the body, but with primitive skills in treatment. Many cases are described as “an injury not to be treated.” But at least the physician seems sensitive to whether or not the available treatments will do more harm than good.
The papyrus which the text is written on dates from around 1200 BCE. But according to James Breasted, the writing style resembles the language of Old Kingdom inscriptions from around 2400 BCE. The papyrus itself cites yet older medical works, called "The Book of What Pertains to the Embalmer," and "The Book of What Pertains to Wounds."
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July 16, 2014This book is an eye opener. One million stones when to its construction, place so actually side by side that it is impossible to slide a razor blade between them. One could fit 31 Empire State Buildings inside. A six foot wall stretching from NY to LA could be built from the building materials. The book delves into the pyramid's astrological significance as well it remarkable geocentric location. And, there is lots more.... It all go to validating that the Kemetians or son of Nubia could be described as Genius. It also debunks many of the arguments that the pyramids of Giza were built by anyone but the indigenous black population or the inhabitants of the Nile Valley.
August 1, 2010
A collection of essays arguing that conventional views on Ancient Egypt reflect racist biases that have inflated or invented European and Asian influences on ancient Egypt and minimized Egypt's contributions to later European cultures. The different chapters range from soberly reasoned dissent from present and former orthodoxies to far-out claims such as that Egyptian civilization lasted ten thousand years. The editor's explicit aim is to bring Egypt into the canon of an African cultural identity, a project which seems very much like nationalist ones and similarly dangerous.
November 2, 2011
Too technical in the area of anthropology. Working through it.
December 30, 2018
Egypt Revisited is a collection of essays that do a fair job challenging and disproving some of the popular and widely held views regarding Egypt’s history. The book is broken into four sections with supporting essays for each section:
1.) Race and Origin of the Ancient Egyptians
2.) Black Dynasties and Rulers
3.) Philosophy and Science of the Egyptians
4.) Miscellaneous Essays
Each essay was scholarly, erudite, and replete with evidence and arguments. There were also some fascinating visual aids in the form of pictures of actual artifacts and structures.
For the topics I was interested in—Race and Origin and Dynasties—the essays proved very fruitful and intriguing. As for the topics I had little interest in—philosophy and religion—I skipped past those pages. Because it’s not a story with a beginning, middle, and end there was no harm in skipping whole essays. I think this book serves as a very good reference for anyone with a budding interest in ancient Egypt.
1.) Race and Origin of the Ancient Egyptians
2.) Black Dynasties and Rulers
3.) Philosophy and Science of the Egyptians
4.) Miscellaneous Essays
Each essay was scholarly, erudite, and replete with evidence and arguments. There were also some fascinating visual aids in the form of pictures of actual artifacts and structures.
For the topics I was interested in—Race and Origin and Dynasties—the essays proved very fruitful and intriguing. As for the topics I had little interest in—philosophy and religion—I skipped past those pages. Because it’s not a story with a beginning, middle, and end there was no harm in skipping whole essays. I think this book serves as a very good reference for anyone with a budding interest in ancient Egypt.
September 7, 2018
A good analysis of the African influence in ancient Egypt.
April 24, 2021
I read this book, (among many others) many years ago in the midst of the darkest time of my life. The chapter I like to call "Soul Searching".
It's a complete, descriptive history of African culture and how African people were attacked from the Near & Middle Eastern people, and all of Europe, in the most brutal and strategic evil you could imagine. Chasing Africans around the entire continent until they were finally trapped in the northern section of West Africa. By this time, history was erased (or so everyone thought) and brains were washed.
Enter the British slave trade.
Couple good books worth mentioning: African Origin Of Biological Psychiatry- The Black Dot
Metu Neter
It's a complete, descriptive history of African culture and how African people were attacked from the Near & Middle Eastern people, and all of Europe, in the most brutal and strategic evil you could imagine. Chasing Africans around the entire continent until they were finally trapped in the northern section of West Africa. By this time, history was erased (or so everyone thought) and brains were washed.
Enter the British slave trade.
Couple good books worth mentioning: African Origin Of Biological Psychiatry- The Black Dot
Metu Neter
August 25, 2018
Enjoyable
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews