dr ivan van sertima they came before columbus

They stated that in claiming African origins for prehistoric Olmec culture (in present-day Mexico), Van Sertima had ignored the work of Central American researchers. The book had not earlier received a thorough professional academic review. A lengthy 1997 Journal of Current Anthropology article criticized in detail many elements of Van Sertima's 1976 book They Came Before Columbus. Van Sertima has been criticized by academics for making ill-founded Afrocentric claims.

It did not receive much professional attention when published, and has been criticized by academic specialists. His 1976 book They Came Before Columbus was a bestseller and achieved widespread fame for his claims of prehistoric African influences in Central and South America. Van Sertima has written a number of books in which he argues that the Ancient Egyptians were black As editor of the Journal of African Civilization and author of numerous books, he has addressed topics in literature, linguistics, anthropology and history. He is Associate Professor of African Studies in the Department of Africana Studies. In 1977 he completed his master's degree. Van Sertima began his more than 30-year teaching career at Rutgers as an instructor in 1972. In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey for graduate work.

In doing field work in Africa, he compiled a dictionary of Swahili legal terms. He worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa.

During his studies he became fluent in Swahili and Hungarian languages. In addition to producing an array of creative writing, Van Sertima completed undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 1969, where he graduated with honors. He went to London in 1959 for university. Van Sertima completed primary and secondary school in Guyana, and started writing poetry. Van Sertima's father Frank Obermuller was a trade union leader. Van Sertima was born in Kitty Village, Guyana, on 26 January 1935, when it was still a British colony.

Dr ivan van sertima they came before columbus