Early America Revisited (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This text puts forward a case for an African presence in America, before Columbus' voyages. The author provides anthropological and pictorial evidence to support his case, and looks at how two peoples and cultures can cross-fertilize, when brought together.

Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (August 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765804638
• ISBN-13: 978-0765804631
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Van Sertima Responds to his Critics, May 20, 2005

By	Jeffrey Carey (willingboro, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the l970's Ivan Van Sertima came out with his ground breaking book "They Came Before Columbus." In this book he put forward the theory that Africans came to America before Columbus and the "European Age of Exploration" in two major waves. The first wave was when the Egyptian/Phoencians crossed the Atlantic between 1200B.C-800B.C this wave influenced the "Mother Culture" in the Americas known as the Olmec Culture.The birth of pyramid culture and the African phenotypes found in the colossal stone heads bear witness to their arrival.
The Second Wave of Africans who came to America before Columbus were the Mandingos of Mali who set sail under the guidance of their king Abu Bakari the brother of the famous Mansa Musa. Abu Bakari set sail with a fleet of 2000 ships. This story is recorded in the rare Arab works "Al-Qalqashandi" and "Masalik el absar fir Mamelik el Amsar" this exploration took place around 1310A.D.Many scholars rallied to attack Van Sertima for his unconventional theories. Out of all the scholars who attacked "They Came Before Columbus" three stand out they are Bernard Ortiz de Montellano, Warren Barbour, and Gabrial Haslip-Viera. Those interested in purchasing the book "Early America" be warned it is not a new version of "They Came Before Columbus." Early America was written as a response to critizism leveled against They Came Before Columbus.

Van Sertima is very technical and meticulous in his book Early America, no stone is left unturned. In order to prove Africans made contact with the Americas before Columbus he provides many examples there are too many to mention here in this brief review, so I will touch on two or three. He has Bart Jordan a mathmatician and child prodigy of Einstein show us the mathmatical parallels between pyramids in America and those in Egypt. He also elaborates on the botanical evidence of South American cocaine found in African mummies made famous by the toxicologist Dr. Balabanova, New World crops found in the Old World before Columbus is only possible if contact was made between Africans and Americans. He also highlights African/Egyptian rituals that originated in Africa but are strangely enough found in America. We have the Egyptian "opening of the mouth" ceromony found on a wall painting in a cave at Juxtlahuaca. There is also the cross libation ritual found in a Mexican Codex this ritual is definitely Egyptian in origin all scholars know that the Gods Thoth and Horus always baptised the Pharoah with cross libations. The Egyptian use of the leopard skin(animal skin) in ritual is also found in Mexico as well as the double crown worn by the Pharoahs with the bird and snake the bird representing Upper Egypt and the Snake representing Lower Egypt. The mythos of bird attacking snake is an African mythos based on indigenous African animals like the Secretary Bird of Africa a famous snake killer one can see the parallel between this and the Mexican god Quetzacoatl when broken down linguistically Quetzacoatl means bird and snake.
Ivan Van Sertima is one of those rare underappreciated scholars whose work is too advanced for its time. Van Sertima's scholarship will only be acknowledged in another lifetime by another generation of scholars much like Copernicus and Galileo followers of Van Sertima's theories will find out that convention is hard to change.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Scholarship, March 20, 2007

By	Voracious Reader - See all my reviews

Dr. Van Sertima delivers again. I highly recommend to all -- from the serious scholar to the simply curious.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, A SCHOLAR'S SCHOLAR, July 11, 2005

By	Richard J. Godbolt (Willingboro,Place of Rebirth) - See all my reviews

Ivan Van Sertima is one of the greatest minds living today, despite the fact that, at an early age he lost half of his brain. Van Sertima clearly destroyed all of his critics in this book, in every individual circumstance. If you are of fan of his first book on this subject, "They came before Columbus," or you have never heard of Ivan Van Sertima, you will deeply be convinced that "BLACK'S WERE CO-CONTRIBUTERS TO THE BEGGINNING OF THE ANCIENT AMERICAN CIVILIZATION." This book verifies this by rituals, customs, and many other things, too lengthy to be said here. In the end, when reading, blacks open your eyes and ears to the information presented, and objective whites, "LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE, NOT THE COLOR OF THE PEOPLE WICH THIS BOOKS TRIES TO GIVE CREDIT."