Hannibal said:
I appreciate your argument Bob; at least you are basing it on what you believe is correct science and not racism. However, the Olmecs left writing in America and traces of their spoken language still survive in the Mayan language. Modern linguistic studies show that it was closely related to the "Mande" language of Africa (the Mandingo language). This language was the language of the original Berbers (who call themselves Amazigh, the Romans called them Berbers or "barbarians") and its roots can still be found in their language.
In addition to the language, skeletal remains of African people have been found in Olmec sites as well as in other ancient America sites. The native Americans even told the Conquistadors that they knew of Black people. And added to all the above, you cannot dispute the statues are of Black Africans. Its just racism to attempt otherwise. If they were statues of caucasians there would be no debate and we would be saying that vikings or semites birthed the Mayan civilization.
If your hypothesis concerning pyramids are true, then why are they not found in other societies...China, or Europe. But they are very common throughout Africa...north and south.
No, it is sad to say that racism has stolen the history of Africa which, along with India, created the oldest civilizations of the world and had a trading empire from the old world to the new, thousands of years before Greek civilization flourished.
Thanks for responding to my points
I cannot claim that i have any great expertise on this subject....
But where are the Pyramids in South Africa, and west Africa for that matter where the migrants would logically be embarking for America the only pyramids i know of are in Egypt and Nubia.
- About the natives telling the conquistadors about black people... well this is thousands of years after the event, (how many Africans actually migrated btw) and also the Aztecs seemed to have a folk memory of white people...
This just shows how unreliable memory is particularly when it is manipulated by people looking for something in particular.
- However the fact that NO authority in any book i have ever read on history or archaeology seems to mention your claims.
- It is an extraordinary claim to make that a huge group of
people (including architects,engineers,priests,warriors etc) crossed the Atlantic ocean and not only survived but created a great civilisation and to prove that requires extraordinary evidence for me to be convinced like that (i.e. contempory written records/inscriptions, similarities in burial practice, African artifacts in the Americas, farming methods) rather than just those Olmec heads!
The thing that i really find unpalatable about this otherwise enjoyable debate, is your slinging of the racism card; let us turn this on its head aren't we being prejadiced against the native people of the Americas in assuming that a great civilisation cannot emerge from the indigenous people.
Do you have any reputable evidence to support your claims (links), excavation reports, articles and can you explain why apart from racism this is not accepted?