Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt

by Robert Bauval, Thomas Brophy

Presents proof that an advanced black African civilization inhabited the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt

• Reveals black Africa to be at the genesis of ancient civilization and the human story

• Examines extensive studies into the lost civilization of the “Star People” by renowned anthropologists, archaeologists, genetic scientists, and cultural historians as well as the authors’ archaeoastronomy and hieroglyphics research

• Deciphers the history behind the mysterious Nabta Playa ceremonial area and its stone calendar circle and megaliths

Relegated to the realm of archaeological heresy, despite a wealth of hard scientific evidence, the theory that an advanced civilization of black Africans settled in the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt existed has been dismissed and even condemned by conventional Egyptologists, archaeologists, and the Egyptian government. Uncovering compelling new evidence, Egyptologist Robert Bauval and astrophysicist Thomas Brophy present the anthropological, climatological, archaeological, geological, and genetic research supporting this hugely debated theory of the black African origin of Egyptian civilization.

Building upon extensive studies from the past four decades and their own archaeoastronomical and hieroglyphic research, the authors show how the early black culture known as the Cattle People not only domesticated cattle but also had a sophisticated grasp of astronomy; created plentiful rock art at Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uwainat; had trade routes to the Mediterranean coast, central Africa, and the Sinai; held spiritual and occult ceremonies; and constructed a stone calendar circle and megaliths at the ceremonial site of Nabta Playa reminiscent of Stonehenge, yet much older. Revealing these “Star People” as the true founders of ancient Egyptian civilization, this book completely rewrites the history of world civilization, placing black Africa back in its rightful place at the center of mankind’s origins.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Africa, Egypt, Anthropology, Archaeology

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Robert Bauval was born in Egypt in 1948. A construction engineer, his interest in Egyptology is longstanding, having lived in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East for much of his life. In the 1980s, he developed a line of study linking the pyramids and the so-called Pyramid Texts with astronomy and famously published the best-selling The Orion Mystery. He has also written three books with best-selling author Graham Hancock (The Message of the Sphinx, Talisman, and The Mars Mystery).

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some years ago I watched an episode of the Africa series by Basil Davidson. This particular episode showed rock paintings of people living in the Sahara region at a time when it was much wetter and greener than it is today. The people depicted in the drawings, wore dress very reminiscent of that worn by the people of ancient Egypt. The 'art' suggested that we were looking at the lives of a very sophisticated people. As the climate changed and the Sahara dried up they migrated to other parts of Africa including the Nile Valley.

In the book “Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt” the authors, Robert Bauval and Thomas Brophy, present evidence that Pharaonic Egypt was established by communities coming in from the Sahara as the climate changed. Focusing on discoveries found at sites in the Egyptian Sahara, they show that these ancient people (domesticated cattle and) had a sophisticated knowledge of Astronomy which emerges later in the Nile Valley civilization. The authors also describe their own visits to and surveys of the archaeological sites.

I enjoyed reading the book and was very surprised at the amount of related information that could be found on the subject. Another interesting topic covered in the book were the various explorations into the Egyptian Sahara during the 19th and 20th Century and the discoveries which were made. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in the origins of ancient Egypt and the history of Africa.

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Africans founded the first societies and their societies an knowledge formed the bedrock of all human civilization? Well yeah, I could have told you that a long time ago. THe problem is that many professors in the academia and Egyptological world were all to quick to dismiss this notion. African scholar Amanta Dio tried to bring it to world attention but was laughed. Anyone who tried to reveal this truth recieved roughly the same treatment.

The Greeks themselves said that they learned everything about society and astral mysteries from the Egyptians and the Ethiopians and that they were black. Scholars these days have a lot to learn. Thomas Brophy and Robert Bauval have decided to expose this truth and they have done it using a very innovative tract by using archaeology and astronomical knowldege. What folows is a super detailed book whith all the events put together one after another. Their knowldge of astonomy and the sights built is rather detailed so if you wish to grasp it all you had better pay attention.

Starting with Jebel Wainat and the Oasis Dakla in the Sahara the authors piece together an intriguing narrative. These sights housed cave, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Cave painting. Heiroglyphics?? THe Egyptians were never have thoughtto made it that far out into the wilderness. The drawing show cows, humans dress as cows enacting shamastic rites. Archeaology shows that there were donkey trails leading out into the Sahara complete witth watering stations for supplies. These runin though predate Egyptian civilization as do the hieroglyphics. Other sights include rings of stone that ar somewhat reminiscent of Stonehendge. Nabta Palya had such a ring along with the burial of cow bones and a huge cow stone.

What were these rings for? It is obvious that these Aricans venerated cows and the Egyptians venerated Hathor the cow Goddess who's thigh is represented by the big dipper. Closer examination shows that these rings measured the movements of the stars in the sky. Most important for them was them was the rising of the Sirius star in midsummer which brought on the midsummer monsoons. For the Egyptians it was the flooding of the Nile.

These Saharan Star people moved through the desert as it became too dry. They first settlec in the Elehantine area and moved up. THe au8thors bring forward convincing proof that the Pyramids of Giza were also contructed to measure the Rising of Sirius Star. Other stars that were also observed were Orions Belt, the Sun and the Big Dipper.

One fantastic fact filled book. For those interested in African or Egyptian history or just regular truth seekers this book is for you.

[Muhammad Rasheed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caucasian friend of mine saw the title of this in my office and dismissed it, thinking it was yet another afrocentric rant or something, but I don't collect those. Black Genesis was written by Robert Bauval (he's French/Greek or something like that and born in Egypt) who is a top-notch scholar. The book shows the truly ancient remains of a people who lived and thrived on the African continent during a time period when the Sahara Desert was fertile. Paintings of people and tropical animals on boulders in the currently 100% inhospitable areas of the legendary desert lands, as well as megalithic structures that, as usual, line up with the stars from some ancient date far back on the Precessional long-count calendar. This is the data that goes hand-in-hand with the work of Ivan van Sertima and Cheihk Anta Diop representing more pieces of the puzzle of the mysterious past of the ancient human being.

It's a wonderful book for people genuinely interested in ancient history, which presents data greatly in need of more dedicated professional archaeologists -- who are honest truth seekers -- to build upon.

[Jasiri Uhuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nonbiased, candid & truthful account of the history of Khemet (ancient Egypt) & the origins of humanity as well as the arts & sciences. Anyone who is interested in uncovering the TRUTH should delve into Bauvals works. You wont be disappointed.

[JRT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book advances the relatively straightforward premise that ancient Pharaonic Egypt was started by “Black Africans” originally from the Sahara. While this thesis should not be that much of a surprise given the proximity of Upper Egypt to the specified regions of “Black Africa,” as the authors point out, it is a theory that has been summarily dismissed by “Egyptologists” who favor a Western Asian origin. The authors of this book seek to set the record straight, pointing to archeological and cultural evidence that links the founders of Pharaonic civilization with the Africans who once inhabited the Lake Chad basin just south of the Sahara. In doing so, the authors (both of whom are white) vindicate the work of African anthropologists and scientists like Cheikh Anta Diop, who the authors recognize as the preeminent proponent of the “Black Egypt” position. I appreciated the authors reference of Diop at the outset of the book and their in-depth analysis of his work and contributions in Chapter 5, not just because of who Diop was and what he represents, but because it prevented the all-to-often practice of white scientists piggy-backing off the work of Black scientists without assigning due credit.

The authors use findings from the cutting-edge field of “archeoastronomy” to convincingly connect Egyptian civilization to older settlements and sites in the Eastern Sahara. Not only do these scientific findings blow a hole through conventional wisdom about who the founders of Egyptian civilization were, it demonstrates just how advanced human beings were at that time. Further, the findings indicate that traditional Egyptologists have not only misrepresented the origin of Egyptian civilization, they have likely grossly underestimated its age.

In short, Black Genesis provides perhaps the most comprehensive compilation of evidence for a “Black African” origin of Egyptian civilization outside of Diop’s work, and indeed, builds on Diop’s work in extremely vital areas. While this book obviously centers ancient Egypt, the use of the term “Nile Valley” made me initially think that at least some attention would be given to the Nubian civilizations up-river. Did these same people from the Eastern Sahara bring about the rise of the Nile Valley civilizations in Nubia? That is an area of inquiry I would have liked to see referenced. Nevertheless, this is an extremely valuable piece of historical, anthropological, and astro-archeological work that reinforces what so-called “Afrocentrists” have said for generations: Egypt was an African civilization founded by "Black" people.

[SnarkyMoggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really interested in this, because I liked the idea of reading a book of proving where the original Egyptians came from to the early Pharaohs. And it started off well, because the author had us out in the desert, talking about religion and the aspects of this religion that shows up in the later years of the Egyptian pharaohs. But then it got got into Astrology, which is interesting but... I got lost in the degrees and what year certain stars would be in a particular position to be seen by specific positions on land, or through the help of a monument. And it continued along that line, and I couldn't keep up.

So, in the end I sped up the audiobook (really glad that I got this through Audible Plus) until I finished it. And I can't state exactly what the rest of the book was about, because it descended into Astrology, and maths, and neither of them are my strong suits. It sounded as though the author had points that proved that early Egyptians were from the southern areas of Africa (primarily the desert around the 1st or 2nd Cataract I think of the Nile) but I can't really pass that on. I don't know what they were, other than a vague idea so I'm really sorry that I can't write a review that explains it better.

This is a 1.5 Star. The narrator ( Michael Page) was really good though; I liked his voice.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a scholarly work that became tedious. The entire book is summarized in one of the appendices. The appendix is insufficient without some of the supporting material from the book. However, the book could have been a shorter, quicker read. I read the book and looked at satellite photos from Peakbagger.com and Bing Maps. As a result I learned a lot about Egypt, the Sahara and the preconceptions of Egyptologists.

[Rik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Few good chapters at the start but a lot of reaching and speculation. Honestly i think if Bauvals dog took a crap on the pavement he'd manage to line it up with some constellation or other. Some interesting accounts of desert rock art and ancient egyptian envoys though. Also the chip on the shoulder and bitterness of academic unacceptance of previous books/theories is apparent and tediously reiterated numerous times.

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4 tv-programs called "Pyramid Coode" about the ancient egyptians and way beyond were so very interesting to watch. One of the researchers interviewed is Robert Bauval who in this book presents a fascinating and enjoyable smorgasbord of thinking, reasoning, and hands on investigations about a population prior to what we generally think we know about old Egypt. The finds challenge the status quo and offers evidence favoring the theory of a highly intelligent society thousands of years ago of black peeps from the Sahara desert tracking the stars Sirius and the Orion belt.

[Sonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bauval has a convincing theory for the origins of Ancient Egypt, yet he fails to convincingly rationalise the leap from North African herders to the high civilization of the Egyptian Pharaonic Dynasties. A few small henges in the middle of the desert dating back 5,000 years to the Pyramids of Giza is a huge technological challenge, certainly not the result of watching stars and herding cows whilst looking for greener pastures.

[Sumayyah]

Such heavy reading. I will re-read when I able able to devote full brainpower to understanding this book.

[bimri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bauval and Brophy intellectual fidelity and acute acumen has produced this ingenious masterpiece. It will go down as a great work alongside's Cheikh Anta Diop's own works as a tide which turned fortune towards the true inception of ancient Kemet's story.

[WIlliam Gerrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Robert Bauval's work. I have been an avid reader of his writing since I first encountered the seminal 'The Orion Mystery' several decades ago. He is a deep, intelligent author that tests a reader's intelligence and as an unorthodox, archaeo-astronomer that revisits and questions mainstream archaeology he often gives a fresh outlook on ancient sacred sites, giving modern scientific explanations of complicated alignments of these monuments to the stars. In doing this he justifies the very reason the priests and pharaohs built such temples and his methods, often ridiculed by so-called experts, give a rational and clear scientific explanation of the real advanced knowledge of the ancients which with his clear arguments demonstrates the irrefutable truth of his theories. In this Black Genesis, we head off into the desert, into the Egyptian Sahara or the Western Desert. In ancient times where global climate patterns were much different this wasn't the barren, arid area that it is today but was a fertile, well-watered productive agricultural region with advanced settlements. Bauval argues that here, in the deeper darker regions of 'Black Africa' we discover the true origins of early Egypt. The site in focus in this book is Nabtya Playa, a relatively obscure recent discovery with a crude stone circle jutting out in the middle of the desert. Later we learn of the key astronomic alignments of Nabtya Playa with, as often in the case of ancient temples, the star Sirius or Sothis, the Dog Star, is a key indicator. It is Sirius that the Queen's Shaft of the Great Pyramid of Giza aligns with and at its heliacal rising, when it initially shines right down the pyramid, the ancient priests could determine the annual flooding of the River Nile, so critical to the farmers who toiled under pharaonic rule. Modern technology is used to determine exact histories of Nabtya Playa and other sites with computer simulation of star movement in the known precession of the equinoxes giving archaeo-astronomers insight into exact times when ancient sacred monuments were most likely erected. We see other sites in the interior such as Jebel Uwainat (inside Libya) which has ancient hieroglyphics.Also, significant prehistoric rock art at Gilf Kebir. IN these remote adventures in an alien landscape, untouched by humans fro so long, we are at the cutting edge of archaeological discovery. One of the saddest parts of this tale is how these remote sites are not protected en0ugh by the Egyptian authorities who are supposed to protect antiquities. Rogue tourists and trophy hunters have disturbed the alignments of stones in the circles etc and also natural climate change and weather conditions mean that these very old ruins are often more susceptible to the extreme erosive conditions of nature in their geographical desert locations. It is interesting to not the significance of bulls as a venerable animal of sacrifice and worship, the practice of which was continued in later Egyptian kingdoms more familiar with us. The book looks deeply at the calculations for Zep Tepi (The First Time) That I have previously visited in another of Bauval's books - 'Keeper of Genesis' which looks at the origins of the Great Sphinx. The Black Genesis idea, of a Black African origin for advanced Egyptian society under the early pharaohs is perhaps a bit more speculative and not concrete but there has been previous work suggesting certain theories akin to Bauval. He traces the son of Noah, Ham to be the founder of Hamites or Black Africans and even looking at analysis of genetic material on preserved early Egyptian Mummies it can be clearly seen as evidence that there is a real validity to the Black origins of the great ancient culture of Egypt. For me, the personal highlight of this book was reading about a really really obscure really remote site known as the Bagnold circle. This took me back to my study of Geography at UCL back in 1996 where remote stone desert circle where i picked up a dusty old book by R A Bagnold, a desert explorer in the early twentieth century. This dusty old university book was probably the best book I ever read during my degree course, a fully scientific academic study of the science of the formation of sand dunes. When the Bagnold Circle crops up in Bauval I was well chuffed to see that one of my favourite random Imperial travellers at least achieved some lasting fame for his devotion to the advancement of global knowledge, even if, unfortunately little remains intact of this Bagnold Circle.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before digging into the history of ancient Egyptian expeditions into the eastern deserts of current Libya as well Punt, Yam and other locales that to this day, modern archeologists have no firm idea where they were located, there is a few trips with Ahmed Hassanein and his interaction with Rosita Forbes as they gain access to the Napta Playa restricted regions. A bit of the same old, same old, British explorer takes advantage of local guide, taking credit for discoveries, etcetera, etcetera.

As for Napta Playa site itself - which has Bauval fascinated - it is considered one of the earliest Egypt Neolithic sites with a calendar circle of monoliths aligned with Sirius and Dubhe. The authors go into detail regarding how the stars moved and how their alignment affected the calendar of the times but since this was an audiobook, there are no maps nor diagrams available to help the listener to understand exactly how the monoliths interacted with the mentioned stars. Which, sadly, makes a section of the book barely comprehensible.

There was talk of the Shem Su Hor, the so called 'followers of Horus" that were the pre-dynastic Egyptian kings that have become more myth than fact, contributing to the legends of an ancient civilization that preceded pharaoh Narmer. And there is evidence of pre-historic settlements and agricultural advances that keep their legacy being hinted at.

As for them being "black" it is entirely possible as the rulers of nearby tribes and family groups likely possessed a diverse set of skin tones - some lighter, some darker.

The book ended with a rather open, nothing is confirmed but also with an epilogue regarding the damage discovered in 2008 to have been done to the calendar circle at Napta Playa. Megaliths have been removed and broken. Truck tracks and garbage is strewn across the main site as tourists have tampered with the site as well as built fake reconstructions, moving the monoliths to different locations and making duplication of earlier studies impossible. Unfortunately, Egypt has declared that a salvage of Napta artifacts will be made as extensive reclamation has been declared by the government. Translation: destruction since the government plans on making water canals for desert irrigation in southern Egypt. As of 4/2010, unauthorized visits are still on-going. There is no security system at the site and it is unlikely to be protected nor the site artifacts removed since this was the beginning of the Arab Spring protests movement.

And as this book was published in 2011, there has been no update on the situation.

Overall, as a book, it was likely more interesting. As an audiobook, the lack of maps or reference diagrams make parts - especially figuring the movement of the stars during various millenia - difficult and hard to comprehend unless the reader is really familiar with astronomy and astroarchaeology.

2025-025

[K. K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know where the higher ratings are coming from. The book itself was very basic and had no advanced knowledge whatsoever.
There's no such thing as coincidences, and sphinx is not 7000 years old. If u scholar and say that in todays standards is very poor.
We need to look into the sky like ancient people, and we see all the star Constellation and how the buildings were exactly connected to the certain star Constellation.
Looking through the ancient mindset, we gonna see that the buildings were way older than what the mainstream science say.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groundbreaking!!!! The book makes the claim that the origins of Egyptians civilization are found in sub-Saharan Africa. The evidence for this has a great deal to do with an astronomical sight called Napta Playa, which pre-dates dynastic Egypt, but shares common religious and astronomical themes. Bauval makes the assertion that these themes set the foundations for which the Ancient Egyptian religious and philosophical thinking was founded.

[Rukiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all in the details

This book is full of a vast amount of detailed information. It wasn't a quick read but it kept my interest. I truly appreciate the search for truth especially in a field of study where many have gone out of their way to remove Egypt from the rest of Africa...especially in a society that has actively denied & attempts to hide the contributions of Black Africans to civilization.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOT actually a book for laypeople, like it claims in the intro. On the plus side, you can zone out or dissociate during the mathematical explanations and not miss much. I don't know enough about astronomy or archaeology to judge how sound the findings in this book are, but I get the impression that the authors are, if anything, downplaying the eurocentrism of traditional archaeology.

[Abstract Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative!

Detailed text about an alternative view to the origins of ancient Egyptian civilisation. Great focus given to some spectacular but less known Egyptian artefacts and ancient locations. Audio narration added a star to what otherwise (in places but not overall) would have been a scientific read.

[Zdenek Sykora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt by Robert Bauval is a fascinating and insightful book. Bauval’s exploration of ancient Egypt’s deep connections to Africa’s prehistoric roots is both compelling and thought-provoking.

[Klaas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to read books which go outside the box and this is certainly the case with this book. I do not necessarily believe all that I written in it but I keep the knowledge as much as possible for future times. I will also look for more books with this subject.

[Femi Kush · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty obvious plenty of research went into writing of this book, which is why I'm not surprised this book turn out great!

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great book with some very good historical information. Will recommend this to my friends to read. Can wait for my next read.

[Aindriú Mac Giolla Eoin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bauval can be very academic but the book is a very interesting theory on an ancient advanced civilization of 'the cattle people'.

[Doris Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

[J. Maximilian Jarrett II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent detailed and methodical field research,cogently presented with very persuasively argued findings. This is one of the books I that read in 2020 which informed me the most about two subjects I have long had great interest in (Africa’s prehistoric era and its ancient history) and in which I wanted to significantly deepen my knowledge and understanding last year. Black Genesis hit the spot. Recommended reading.

[FMLDNR · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting

[Charlotte Wenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a bit heavy on stating every single precise measurement, which detracts from the readability. Nevertheless provocatie theories are supported with concrete evidence. Quite a good book.

[Gail Nyoka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years of archeological and astrological research give the authors a convincing case for Black African desert dwellers being the originators of Pharaonic culture .

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither very enjoyable nor particularly compelling.

The word of the day? It's Egyptologist. Someone who thinks the writers of this book are crackpots.