At the 1974 UNESCO Symposium in Cairo two African scholars, Cheikh Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga, were able to conclusively demonstrate that ancient Egypt was a Black African civilization and explain the Nubian Meroitic script.
Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, and physicist who dedicated his life to studying African history and culture. He believed that ancient Egypt was a Black African civilization and that its achievements had been unfairly attributed to other races, particularly Europeans. Diop’s work was groundbreaking because it challenged the dominant narrative that had been established by European scholars, who had claimed that ancient Egypt was a Mediterranean civilization and that its people were not Black.
Theophile Obenga, a Congolese historian and linguist, was another African scholar who challenged the Eurocentric view of ancient Egypt. Obenga’s work focused on the Meroitic script, an ancient writing system used by the people of the Kingdom of Kush, which was located in what is now Sudan. The Meroitic script had long been a mystery to scholars, and many had dismissed it as a “dead” language that could not be deciphered. However, Obenga believed that the Meroitic script was a key to understanding the true origins of ancient Egypt.
At the 1974 UNESCO Symposium in Cairo, Diop and Obenga presented their findings to an international audience of scholars and experts. Their presentations were groundbreaking because they provided evidence that directly contradicted the Eurocentric view of ancient Egypt. Diop’s presentation focused on the physical anthropology of ancient Egyptians and demonstrated that they were of African descent. He argued that the ancient Egyptians were part of a broader Black African civilization that included other cultures, such as the Nubians, the Ethiopians, and the people of the Congo.
Obenga’s presentation focused on the Meroitic script and demonstrated that it was a direct ancestor of the hieroglyphic script used by the ancient Egyptians. He argued that the Meroitic script was not a “dead” language but rather a living language that was still spoken by the people of Sudan. Obenga’s presentation also challenged the Eurocentric view that the hieroglyphic script had been “invented” by the ancient Greeks or Phoenicians and that the ancient Egyptians had no real connection to the script.
Together, Diop and Obenga’s presentations provided compelling evidence that ancient Egypt was a Black African civilization and that the Meroitic script was a direct ancestor of the hieroglyphic script. Their work challenged the dominant narrative that had been established by European scholars and demonstrated the importance of African scholarship in the study of ancient history.
The impact of Diop and Obenga’s work was profound, and it continues to influence scholarship today. Their research inspired a new generation of African scholars to study the history and culture of their continent and to challenge the dominant narratives that had been established by European scholars. Today, there is a growing body of research that supports the idea that ancient Egypt was a Black African civilization, and that the people who built it were part of a broader African cultural and historical legacy.
In conclusion, the work of Cheikh Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga at the 1974 UNESCO Symposium in Cairo was groundbreaking and transformative. They challenged the dominant narrative that had been established by European scholars and provided compelling evidence that ancient Egypt was a Black African civilization. Their work inspired a new generation of African scholars to study the history and culture of their continent, and it continues to influence scholarship today.
Ultimately, the legacy of Cheikh Anta Diop and Dr Theophile Obenga is that of Afrocentric Scholars who were able to establish the Black African Origins of Ancient Egypt at the 1974 UNESCO Symposium in Cairo.
