For many centuries, white Europeans (including their descendants in the United States) ignored the achievements of sub-Saharan Africans. This attitude was Eurocentrism, the idea that European culture provides the standard by which all others should be judged. Combined with racism, Eurocentrism helped justify the slave trade, but even long after slavery ended, many whites continued to take a condescending attitude toward Africa.
Obviously, these were ignorant attitudes, and eventually a variety of movements developed in reaction to them. Among these was Afrocentrism which, in contrast to Eurocentrism, sought to interpret the world from an African perspective. Afrocentrists placed a great emphasis on the study of African cultures and past civilizations. They pointed out the obvious fact that Egypt was an African
Civilization, and called attention to its links with Nubia, or Kush.
These were positive and much-needed changes in the character of historical study; but many Afrocentrists went much further. In 1954, for instance, George G. M. James published Stolen Legacy, in which he claimed that the ancient Greeks "stole" their civilization from secret societies in Egypt. His "proof" for this extraordinary claim rested primarily on a tradition among the Masons, a group which developed in Europe in the a. d. 1700s. The Masons held that many Greek philosophers such as Aristotle had been influenced by so-called "mystery religions" of Egypt, though the best example of this alleged influence was the fact that Aristotle had written about the concept of the soul— hardly an idea unique to the Egyptians.
Nor was this much of a substantial basis on which to write a history; but in
Phered—chiefly by comparing it with hieroglyphic records recording the same events—the language itself has never been translated.
Prior to their development of the Merotic script in about 300 B. C., the Kushites had written in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Egyptian influences were evident in the building of pyramids, which were smaller and much steeper than the pyramids of Egypt. Like the pyramids of Egypt, and unlike those of Mesoamerica, the pyramids of Meroe were built as tombs for kings and queens.
Fact James's book was not so much history as it was conspiracy theory—the idea that the world is controlled by a few shadowy figures who pull all the strings. It is difficult to change the minds of people who subscribe to a conspiracy theory, because they interpret every piece of evidence that contradicts them as part of a massive cover-up, and thus as further proof of their position.
Afrocentrists in subsequent years made claims that increasingly went against the record of historical scholarship, and instead of conducting research, they simply looked for "evidence" that agreed with their beliefs. True historical study is scientific in nature: it seeks to discover all possible facts, and from these facts develops a theory about history. It is hard work. Politically or racially motivated "historians"—an extreme example would be the Nazis, with their false explanation
Of the Indo-European past—have a much easier job. They know in advance what conclusion they intend to reach, and then look for any "facts" (no matter how questionable) to back them up. Anyone who presents other evidence is treated not as a fellow scholar but as an enemy.
Certainly the Egyptians influenced Greece, but to claim that the Greeks "stole" their civilization from anywhere reflects a basic misunderstanding of how civilizations affect one another. In any case, the very idea of viewing cultures in racial terms goes against serious historians' most basic beliefs about how they should study history. Today no one but an absolute quack or racist would claim, for instance, that the achievements of Greece or Rome show the superiority of white people. The glories of the ancient world are human achievements, not racial achievements, and they belong to all people regardless of ethnicity.
The quality of Merotic pottery was outstanding and reflects a standard of craftsmanship equal to that of any ancient civilization. Trade also flourished during the Merotic phase of Kushite history. Not only did the people of Kush trade with the Egyptians along the Nile, they used Red Sea ports to conduct trade with southwest Asian lands. Through Egypt, goods from Kush—including elephants, ostrich feathers, ivory, and various animal hides—reached Greece and Rome; and Greek and Roman products such as jewelry and pottery made their way to Kush.
Mountains of Ethiopia.
Photograph by Cory Langley. Reproduced by permission.
The Kushite civilization reached its peak in the four centuries from 250 b. c. to a. d. 150. By then it had become more and more separate from Egypt, which was conquered in turn by the Greeks and the Romans. Kush began to decline after a. d. 150, however, in part due to the rise of a new Red Sea trading kingdom at Aksum.
World History
