Olmecs and Western African Accounts

The Olmecs

• The Olmec civilization inhabited present-day Mexico from 1200 to 400 BCE.
• The Olmecs are known for their giant stone heads.
• Some scholars believe the Olmec people were influenced by Africans, citing similarities in cultural practices and facial features of the stone heads.
• Ivan Van Sertima wrote a book arguing that Olmec cultural practices closely parallel those in ancient Egypt and Nubia.
• In 1972, Polish professor Andrzej Wiercinski claimed to have found African skeletons at Olmec sites.
• The Olmecs are also known for their pyramids, mathematics, and written language.
• Some theorize that traders from Egypt or Nubia brought knowledge to the Olmecs.

Western African Accounts

• Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, told a story about his predecessor, Abu Bakr, who sent a fleet of ships to explore the Atlantic Ocean.
• The fleet was said to have disappeared, but a single ship returned with tales of a mysterious river in the middle of the ocean.
• Abu Bakr's decision to leave the country was considered a shameful act, and the event may have been suppressed in oral traditions.
• Critics argue that such a major event would have been mentioned in Mali's oral traditions, but supporters of the theory suggest it was forbidden to speak about it.

Spanish Explorers

• Bartolome de las Casas, who accompanied Christopher Columbus, wrote about reports of black people coming to the Caribbean Islands from the south and southeast.
• The Indians described these black people as carrying spear points made of a metal called "guanin," which they said was 32 parts, with 18 parts gold, 6 parts silver, and 8 parts copper.
• The word "guanin" and the composition of the metal were similar to those used by West Africans.
• Some Spanish historians believed Africans were present in the Americas before them, suggesting the origin of these people was from shipwrecked Ethiopian pirates.
• Critics contest the validity of these accounts, suggesting the black people mentioned may have been darker-skinned indigenous people from the Americas.

Drugs and Mummies

• In 1992, cocaine and nicotine, drugs only native to the Americas, were found in Egyptian mummies.
• Researchers claim that all nine mummies they studied contained cocaine, and eight contained nicotine.
• Some researchers suggest this is evidence of trade between South America and Africa before Columbus.
• Critics argue that the mummies could have been tampered with or faked.
• Others suggest a chemical used by Egyptian priests may have changed over time to resemble cocaine and nicotine.

Archaeological Evidence in the Americas

• Russell Burrows claimed to have found a cave in Southern Illinois containing carvings, coins, statues, weapons, and scrolls with ancient Egyptian and Greek engravings.
• The artifacts were proposed to be from the tomb of King Juba II, a North African ruler who died in 44 CE.
• Inscriptions in the Malian language, Mandinka, have been found in Arizona.
• One inscription translates to "Birds are numerous, white," and another reads "The elephants are sick and angry. At present sick elephants are considerable."
• Some believe these findings are evidence of people from Mali traveling to the Americas.