This is the fifth installment of the For The People Nile Valley Conference series. In this episode Dr. Ivan Van Sertima continues his conversation about the African genius in science. He begins stating discoveries, mentioning that Claudia Zaslavsky a popularly known American mathematics teacher spoke about the Yoruba African’s creation of a complex mathematical system.
Dr. Van Sertima then states that in the 13th century the Dogon people of West Africa plotted solar systems, orbits, and stars. These plots are like the diagrams we have today, Dr. Van Sertima then shows a diagram comparison of orbits the Africans plotted and orbits plotted with the most advanced telescope at the time of the conference.
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima states that in medicine Egyptians had a socialized medicine where the state paid for the treatment of the people and reads from an ancient African medical book. He also says that the earliest books in the world are African, some of which are still around today.
Dr. Van Sertima explains that African mummification at this was so advanced that The University of Oklahoma acquired the mummy of African princess Mene whose cells were still active. He then speaks on Black people and their contributions to Aeronautics.
Finally, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima speaks and shows diagrams of African oceanic navigation showing that Africans invented 17 types of boats.
Side Notes
Born on January 26, 1935, in Guyana, South America, Ivan Van Sertima was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University and Rutgers Graduate School. He obtained degrees in African Studies and Anthropology. He became popularly known as a literary critic, linguist, and anthropologist.
In 1981 Dr. Van Sertima was awarded the Clarence L. Holte Prize, a prize that is awarded every two years for his book "They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America." Dr. Van Sertima lectured at universities in Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and more than 100 universities in the United States. In 1987, he was asked by Congress to appear before a Congressional Committee to challenge the Columbus myth. Dr. Ivan Van Sertima passed away on May 25, 2009.
