Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
61 used & new from $5.32

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.
 
  

Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology (Paperback)

by Cheikh Anta Diop (Author), Yaa-Lengi Meema Ngemi (Translator) "The research conducted in humanistic paleontology, particularly by the late Dr. Louis Leakey, has helped to place the birthplace of humanity in East Africa's Great..." (more)
Key Phrases: double remen, behold your majesty, generalized slavery, Black Africa, Rhind Papyrus, Upper Paleolithic (more...)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.95
Price: $14.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.99 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, July 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
27 new from $10.24 34 used from $5.32
Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (1st) 5 used & new from $50.00

Frequently Bought Together

Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology + The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality + Precolonial Black Africa
Price For All Three: $39.20

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology by Cheikh Anta Diop

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality by Cheikh Anta Diop

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Precolonial Black Africa by Cheikh Anta Diop

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This last work of the well-known Senegalese scholar (1923-86) is a summation and expansion of his two previous volumes-- Precolonial Black Africa (1987) and The African Origin of Civilization (1974)--and offers a refined statement of his life's work, to prove the primacy of African culture by proving that ancient Egypt was a black society, first in many cultural achievements later claimed by the following Indo-Aryan cultures. To this end, Diop discusses the paleontology, sociology, anthropology, and intellectual history of the ancient Egyptians set against contemporaneous cultures and also the modern Wolofs. This is a fascinating and frustrating volume. The organization is patchy; one central section seems to have gone off-course into an apology for Marxist political theory; the translation stumbles badly, especially in the early chapters; and one feels that history is being stretched (a la Velikovsky) on the author's Procrustean bed of African genesis. But Diop's erudition is patent, his place in African letters is secure, and his major works should certainly be available. For academic and large public collections.
-Jo-Ann D. Suleiman, SANAD Support Technologies, Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Challenging societal beliefs, this volume rethinks African and world history from an Afrocentric perspective.


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Lawrence Hill Books (April 1, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1556520484
  • ISBN-13: 978-1556520488
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,102 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)



What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of scholarship, June 12, 1999
By A Customer
Diop demonstrates his multidisciplinary genius in this book. His scientific approach leaves no stone unturned, even when dealing with linguistics. He addresses so many topics, from the origins of civilisation to political and social organisation in ancient states. I especially treasure the chapters on Africa's contribution to humanity in sciences and philosophy. A real eye-opener. Mostly French speaking authors are referenced and critiqued though. It's a shame there aren't more African scholars following Diop's lines of research.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting perspective on the origins of civilization, June 10, 1999
By Randall J. Burns (Skamania County, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'd suggest this book to anyone who is reading recent books on the origins of civilization. What I liked about it is that Diop was bringing a wealth of research that was otherwise inaccessible to me to the this issue--and I found that I could connect this history to that of Europe and Britain using other resources that I have. the issue I have with is is that some of the work struck me as oriented to handling one set of politically motivated forms of anthropology that he found objectionable-but he didn't consider the work of a lot of other major authors (i.e. the work of Lewis Spence on connections between North Africa and Ancient Britain). I thought Diops criticisms of Gimubutus were especially interesting.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No wonder there is Racism!!!!, September 20, 2004
By Knowledge (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
Reading this book, by a profound author by the name of Cheikh Anta Diop, as well as other great books by other great authors, leads one to understand why there is racism, for example Diop talks about life and how it started in Africa, beginning with Australopithecus,Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo Sabiens Sapiens then the Grimaldi Negro and the migration to Europe, you see Caucasians have only been in existence for about 20,00 years, and during Diops time they were denying that, and saying that Europe was the origin of life, and it was so racist during that time, that Anthropologist and Archaeologist got together and totally fabricated and created fake fossils better know as the "Piltdown Man, and even if you don't but this book do a engine search on that name (www.yahoo.com or www.google.com) and you will read about how hard racist tried to cover up the origin of history, the book also talks about how Arabs,Chinese,Latinos,Japanese, etc... came into existence, I wont spoil the beans for you but this is by far one of the best books that I have ever read, Diop does a good job with refuting racist philosophers, and one more note it is time for people to stop believing in His-Story and read real History, because you saw how they are still trying to depict Jesus like an European, and it clearly states in Rev 1:14,15 that he had woolly hair and bronze feet, so you see racism is still here Brothers and Sisters.
Comment Comments (3) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Ad
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A NEW AFRICAN EGYPTOLOGY..........
Dr. Diop's great work CIVILIZATION OR BARBARISM is a very technical and sophisticated scholarly work. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Donald Peyton

5.0 out of 5 stars An Anthropological Guide to African History
For those who are serious about their African Studies, this is a must read. Cheikh Anta Diop's book serves as a guide for African Anthropology and in many regards African... Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. N. Gamble

5.0 out of 5 stars Civilization or Barbarism is still man's choice
If you have a 3 week open period in your life this book will enlighten you, make you question history, understand history, question religion, understand religion, question... Read more
Published 12 months ago by E. Polk

5.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedic Proof
This book, although a challenging read, should be read by every person with an honest curiosity about the history of humanity as it relates to black Africa. Read more
Published on July 9, 2007 by Bryan Ellis

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to reviews that don't actually talk about the book!
Funny how most of the 1 star reviewers never deal with the facts of whats stated in the book. Even if they do have valid issues, where are the counter references beyond, he (C. Read more
Published on July 9, 2006 by Anthony Stewart Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Disregard Lupa
The negative review preceding this one should be exposed for what it is. The pseudo intellectual ramblings of someone who probably didn't even read the book. Read more
Published on January 31, 2006 by www.neo-kem.com

1.0 out of 5 stars Black Senegalese glare?
Cheikh Anta Diop - civilization or barbarism ( an Authentic Anthropology )

Written as a genuine masterpiece of anthropological thought based on Africa it is... Read more
Published on January 8, 2006 by Lupa

1.0 out of 5 stars A waste of time and paper
In my retirement I have been spending time reading some books I never had a chance to read while I was working. Read more
Published on November 24, 2005 by Retired Sara

1.0 out of 5 stars A sad racist polemic
There's a great deal to be said for disrupting the Eurocentrism of historians and other scholars but Diop goes overboard into racist harangues. Read more
Published on March 18, 2005 by Chris from ABQ

5.0 out of 5 stars Astoundingly Afrikan!
There isn't much more to say on to the wonderful reviews posted by others here. I will say that this book helped changed my life along with Marimba Ani's "Let the Circle Be... Read more
Published on July 26, 2004 by Awotunde

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Cut Wood Down to Size

Cut Wood Down to Size

Split wood with ease using a log splitter from the Outdoor Power & Lawn Equipment Store.

Shop all log splitters

 

Best Books of 2008

Best of 2008
Find our top 100 editors' picks as well as customers' favorites in dozens of categories in our Best Books of 2008 Store.
 

Buy Three Books, Get a Fourth Free

4-for-3 Books
Order any four eligible books under $10 and get the lowest-price book free in our 4-for-3 Books Store. See more details.
 

Best Books

Best of the Month
See our editors' picks and more of the best new books on our Best of the Month page.
 
Ad

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Free
Free by Chris Anderson
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930 Doyle
My Soul to Lose
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates