Basically this all began with my new found interest in history and archeology, which was sparked when I started researching the origins of religion in antiquity, the beginnings of civilization, epic of gilgamesh etc. Eventually I stumbled upon the Aztec civilization, and after being fascinated by them, I began researching the Olmecs.
The first thing I thought when I seen the Olmec heads was “Well those look like African people...” and since then I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly is going on here. The head dubbed “El Negro” looks especially African in appearance. I’ve seen pictures showing how the Olmec heads also somewhat resemble the Native Americans in that area, but I still feel that they more closely resemble African people. Since this is inconclusive and can’t really be considered solid evidence, I continued my research.
What I found was similar small inconclusive pieces of evidence, some left open ended, some disproven, but then I stumbled upon this anomaly: https://blog.cansfordlabs.co.uk/hair-testing-cocaine-mummies-real-or-fake
How do these Egyptian mummies have narcotics in their system which can only be found in the Americas? I tried to google it to find an answer, but I literally could find nothing. There’s no reputable sources which explain this, in fact all I could find are news articles which reported it and conspiracy websites talking about the trans Atlantic communication conspiracy. Is there any explanation for this, or is this some actual evidence which needs to be examined?
When I googled DNA/genetic testing of Native American and ancient Native American bones, it appears that no African DNA has been found in these peoples. I’m also not certain on the conclusiveness of this though, as I don’t trust my amateur (at best) researching skills, so does this irrefutably disprove an African connection with the Americas?
Some other small evidences I’ve seen: -Claims of Olmec language being very similar to African Mande language -Olmec heads also seem to have braids -Aztec codex which shows some individuals appearing with darker skin and greater stature than the lighter skinned individuals (I know Aztec=/=Olmec but it suggests the presence of black Africans in the Americas) -Apparently some African artifacts and African metals have been found in the Americas? (not sure the legitimacy on this one, again researching these things it’s actually surprisingly hard to find conclusive data) -African and Meso-American art being made of the same jade material (same inconclusive data as above) -Apparently the Olmecs and Aztecs worshipped “black gods” (according the Clyde Winters)
I’ll add that all of these claims come from Clyde Winters and Van Sertima, and you can even see them saying these things yourself on Quora if you try to research this stuff.
So, can a historian tell me what’s going on here? Is there actual legitimacy to Winters and Sertimas claims of an African presence in the America’s? Or are these just Afrocentrists trying to play culture culture and rewrite history?
Not to discourage any future comments but you might be interested in these two previous AskHistorians threads:
Hi! So we had a productive conversation in a different thread and I just wanted to push one here. Personally, I would be careful with this. I'm not sure if you're on other social media's, but this theory started from an African man who claimed native americans ARE africans, we are just brown from mixing with colonizers and therefore, all of south america belongs to african american descendants and it's their culture to do with. Look up Hoteps and Dr. Umar.
Polynesians likely hit us first before anywhere else. It's not unusual that my southern cousins have larger noses as every race near the border does -- polynesians and south asians included. It's not a black thing - it is a near the equator thing.
Additionally, we didn't have much metal materials in the Americas like they do in Asia, Europe, and Africa. We used Jade in the south because there was a large abundance of it, same with lead and flint in the north. Researching deposits will help you here. Cave systems were vital for this.
Also, having darker skin isn't abnormal being in a hot ass climate. There are darker polynesians, indians (india), natives, black individuals, etc. It's normal to have variances in skin color, think Italians versus Irish.
and by black gods, they mean literal like night black, and gods were meant to be different. Researching indigenous religion will help you understand that better.
Every culture has invented braids. Braiding is a huge part of our culture with furniture, baskets, even decor and how we built offerings. Many of our cultures didn't cut hair, so braiding was a great way to keep the heat out of it.
Just be careful in your research bc this ideology has been proven false and leads down a very dark, twisty rabbit hole.