Fargo

Jacob Fargo
Dr. Bain-Conkin
Multimedia Writing & Rhetoric
11 November 2014
Ancient Egyptian Race Controversy: The Origins of an Empire
The Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, Horus and Ra, all are cultural set pieces synonymous
with a romanticized and rather well-known civilization commonly referred to as Ancient Egypt. Ancient
Egypt was a civilization in Northern Africa that inhabited the area around the Nile River, around present
day Egypt. Dating its origins to approximately 3150 B.C., Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest human
civilizations to develop on a large scale. Regarded as an extremely successful early empire, Ancient
Egypt was ruled by a single pharaoh, and reigned as a powerful society until its fall to the Roman Empire
in 30 BC. During its rule, the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt were able to survive and flourish for millennia
in a harsh desert climate. The Ancient Egyptians were among the first societies to utilize the process of
irrigation, and controlled such irrigation to develop a fertile valley which led to the growth of the
societys population. Among advanced agricultural methods, the Ancient Egyptians were also able to
develop a sophisticated system of writing, known as Egyptian Hieroglyphics, becoming one of the first
civilizations with a written and recorded history, with Ancient Egyptian literature being some of the
oldest examples of poetry, historical writing, and storytelling to exist. In so far as the Ancient Egyptians
successes with the arts and culture, the civilization created masterful works of pottery, elaborate paintings
and sarcophaguses, and intricate monuments for which the civilization is most well known for. The
Ancient Egyptians were also a highly social people, trading with African, European, and Asian cultures
and documenting their experiences with each. As far as Ancient Egyptian militantly, invasions were
repelled for the majority of the civilizations existence, and Ancient Egypt is credited with developing
chariot warfare, as well as utilizing mercenary soldiers from other civilizations. The point that one can
draw from gaining information on the Ancient Egyptians, is the fact that this former empire is a very
successful civilization. One may evaluate the success of a society on many arbitrary contentions: its

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military, its culture, its arts, etc. Yet in every field of evaluation, Ancient Egypt succeeded for more than
three millennia. So then, why is recognizing this success so crucial? Let us compare the admirable traits
of Ancient Egypt to a more modern admirable trait: military service. Often if ones parents served in the
military, their children revere his or her father or mother, and proudly tell others of their dedication and
accomplishment. The child is often proud to have derived from such a parent. Much like this tale of
inherent pride, one would do well to be proud about his or her culture as well. To deny a certain ethnic
group the claim that they descended from or participated in a culture with the magnitude of success that
Ancient Egypt had would be to suppress that culture. These ideas coincide with the idea of scientific
racism, and have been further extrapolated in our modern day society.
Scientific racism, or incorrect scientific conclusions drawn about to support racist beliefs (ie:
Africans are less evolved, Blacks have an extra tendon in their heels) has been historically maintained to
develop a sense of race superiority among a predominantly Caucasian cast of 19th and 20th century
scholars. Scientific racism reached its peak during the exploration and popularization of ancient Egyptian
ruins. Caucasian scholars claimed that the Ancient Egyptian race was a race of Caucasians which had
migrated south from Greece and Mediterranean Europe and for years, this was the accepted theory. When
black looking depictions of ancient Egyptians were found in ruins, scholars theorized that they were
slaves and servants. This was exhibited by 1850s professor of anatomy and science Samuel G. Morton. In
1854, during a lecture in which Morton addressed the black population in ancient Egypt, with a
presentation entitled Negroes of Egypt, Morton stated, Negroes were numerous in Egypt, but their

social position in ancient times was the same that it now is [in the United States], that of servants
and slaves." This can be utilized early on, to show an example of scientific racism which was
present during the time. Now more than one and a half centuries later, the question must be
posed. Based on scientific evidence and depictions of the Ancient Egyptians, to which race did
the Ancient Egyptian civilization belong, and what implications does this have on the
suppression of cultures? This question is important to all cultures. Who is responsible for such an

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amazing civilization? Denying the creation of this advanced empire to a race is to oppress an
entire ethnic group or groups. With racial suppression being commonplace in our worlds
history, another instance of this would be more than harmful to all. Yet, perhaps the plight of the
ancient Egyptians was more than just black or white, African or Mediterranean. Perhaps this
ancient trading post was comprised of several races, a sweet medley of Africans, Europeans,
Asiatic races, and Arabic. Mayhaps the ancient Egyptians could teach our present day world a
valuable lesson in multiculturalism. Through scientific evidence, depictions of Egyptians in art,
and references in literature, a reasonable conclusion is vital to understanding this culture and
preventing the suppression of a culture.
Nearly one century after the theory of a Caucasian Egypt, the Afrocentrist movement gained
power and influence. Afrocentrists believed that Ancient Egyptians were of Negroid descent. The sources
that Afrocentrists maintained were depictions of black pharaohs and interpretations of hieroglyphics.
Modern day evidence is also used to provide support for the Black Egyptian Hypothesis. Writer and
Egyptologist Kathryn Bard affirms the hypothesis, and states that facial reconstruction analysis of the
Great Sphinx of Giza, strongly resembles a sub-Saharan Negroid. Author Bruce Dain provides a piece of
evidence explaining how the Caucasian Egyptian Theory gained support even while nothing of the
Egyptians race was known, when he cites several examples of white scholars defacing and hiding
drawings and sculptures which depicted black Egyptian pharaohs and nobility. This idea that the nobility
could not have been darker skinned, or black, is an idea rooted in scientific racism. The aforementioned
accounts of white scientific racism among the scholars plagued the 19th and 20th centuries, yet uncommon
of the time, Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion, did not contribute to scientific racism, when he
wrote of blacks in Egypt long ago. Champollion maintained, The Copts are the proper

representatives of the Ancient Egyptians, due to their jaundiced and fumed skin, which is neither
Greek, Negro nor Arab, their full faces, their puffy eyes, their crushed noses, and their thick

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lips...the ancient Egyptians were true negroes of the same type as all native born Africans.
Afrocentrists drew from Champollions accounts as the basis for a black Egypt and the
movement has since grown into a theory of its own. Without any evidence to prove that the
Ancient Egyptians were fully white, or ruled by a Caucasian population, the Black Egyptian
Hypothesis, while rather prolonged, does provide valuable insight and allows one to affirm
several things. First, Negroids did exist in Ancient Egypt. Second, Negroids were not confined to
slavery, and were not lower than other racial groups on any sort of hierarchy, and lastly, there is
both melanin evidence, and depictions, to support the claim that pharaohs and nobility could
have been black. Yet, one must not go too far left with the Black Egyptian Theory. The white
scientists of old did not base their assumptions off of complete nonsense. As mentioned before,
there is evidence to support the fact that there were Caucasian races in Ancient Egypt, and, since
it is already established that blacks were not lower on a racial hierarchy than lighter skinned
Caucasians, it is rational to assume that this was the same with whites. The Black Egyptian
Theory is based in fact, but it is a retaliation to the scientific racism experienced before, it is clear
that not all of Egypt was black, and this racial hierarchy did not exist, on either end.
After introducing the Caucasian and Black theories, it is important to address the
scientific facts surrounding the issue. A melanin DNA test conducted by the University of Dakor,
found that the Egypt pharaoh Ramesses II was indeed black by modern day standards. A case
study which collected DNA samples conducted by NATURE returned results which concluded
that the entirety of Ancient Egyptian DNA could be traced back to Asiatic races in Western Asia.
A Melanin DNA test ran by the Natural Museum of History on the Pharaoh Tutankhamen,
indicated that Tutankhamen was of Caucasian descent. If one was trying to affirm a White,
Black, or Asiatic Egyptian Race Theory, then these tests exhibit that scientific evidence is

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inconclusive. To further maintain this point, allow us to look at a statement from The Oxford
Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, "Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends
on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Therefore these, catch all racial
theories cannot be utilized. These tests only help to prove one thing: as mentioned earlier, the
only thing that is apparent is that more than one race existed in Ancient Egypt. On top of this,
more than one race held the position of pharaoh and the positions of power. This negates the
possibility of a racial hierarchy and the rationales for scientific racism.
After providing varying viewpoints, and unveiling the inconclusiveness of scientific
DNA studies, a conclusion must be made concerning who comprised the Egyptian race. Due to
the white and black depictions of Egyptians, the Asiatic origins of the tests, and the black and
Caucasian conclusions drawn from melanin tests, we can deduce a fact from history. The trading
post empire that was ancient Egypt, was more than likely a multicultural nation! Renowned
Egyptologist, Frank Yurco, summarizes the multicultural view of Egypt the best, when he states,
Was Nefertiti (empress of Ancient Egypt) "black" or "white"? The ancient Egyptians did not
think in these terms. The whole matter of black or white Egyptians is a chimera, cultural
baggage from our own society that can only be imposed artificially on ancient Egyptian society.
The ancient Egyptians, like their modem descendants, were of varying complexions of color,
from the light Mediterranean type (like Nefertiti), to the light brown of Middle Egypt, to the
darker brown of Upper Egypt, to the darkest shade around Aswan and the First Cataract region,
where even today, the population shifts to Nubian. Ancient and modern Egyptian hair ranges
from straight to wavy to woolly; in color, it varies from reddish brown to dark brown to black.
Lips range thin to full. Many Egyptians possess a protrusive jaw. Noses vary from highbridgedstraight to arched or even hookedto flat-bridged, with bulbous to broad nostrils. In

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short, ancient Egypt, like modern Egypt, consisted of a very heterogeneous population. From
this it is affirmed that Ancient Egypt was truly a successful multicultural society. Several
different races composed this single civilization. To award any total part of the credit, or to
suppress a certain race from this inherited pride would be a fallacy as a multicultural civilization
shares the pride with the aforementioned several ethnic groups. Black author Frank Snowden
draws the conclusion as well, when he states, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans attached no
special stigma to the colour of the skin and developed no hierarchical notions of race whereby
highest and lowest positions in the social pyramid were based on colour. Here one can see that,
not only was Ancient Egypt a multicultural society, but there was no racial hierarchy and there
were no special notions concerning race. This is impactful as it shows the erroneousness behind
the scientific racism. It also exacerbates the effect this could have on the suppression of cultures.
If one ethnic group or race gains all the credit that this multicultural society has to offer, the idea
of a hierarchy in races is strengthened and soft power of multiculturalism is harmed. When the
stigma surrounding multiculturalism is improved, it not only helps the worlds view of
multiculturalism and its positive potential, but it helps the movement itself.
All in all several aspects of the Ancient Egyptian Race Controversy must be examined
and surveyed. There is a history of scientific racism. It is based in several findings, but those
findings have been both purposely and non-purposely misconstrued due to a strong belief in
racial superiority. These examples supported a Caucasian Race Theory, and during the
Afrocentric movement they were combated with findings that supported a Black Egyptian
Theory. Due to recent scientific evidence it is a fact that Caucasians, blacks, and Asiatic races
existed in ancient Egypt. Because nobility and pharaohs were found to be different races there
was no racial hierarchy. Lastly, due to the lack of a hierarchy, and the presence of many races,

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we can deduce that Egypt was a multicultural society. Yurco and others maintain, Egypt was the
precursor to the melting pot of society. With this fact being recognized, racial suppression is
absent, although scientific racism may still linger. Yet, well informed individuals can be aware,
that several cultures took part in this great society. Therefore both questions posed have been
answered, and something is learned as well. The value of a multicultural society is shown. One
that has lasted for well over 3000 years. A multicultural society can be a successful society, with
a rich culture, and a lasting impression on the world.

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"Ancient Egyptian Race Controversy." Cyclopedia.Info. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 October 2014.
Cyclopedia.Info is an online encyclopedia that gathers information from the inter-webs on a
large variety of topics. Because it is not a published source, I do not intend to utilize
statements from their article, but rather I intend to use some of their information regarding
the history of scientific racism and the origins of the controversy. Cyclopedia.net informs the
reader that the controversy arose out of scientific racism in the 19 and 20 century and in
th

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retaliation to it, Afro-centrists developed their own theory. This article will help my reader to
see some of the background behind the argument. Setting up the argument is crucial, and I
Cyclopedia introduces the distinction between black African and Caucasian very well.

Bard, Kathryn A. "Ancient Egyptians and the Issue of Race." Bostonia Magazine 1996. Web.

28 October 2014.
This is a Primary magazine article from historical analyst and writer Kathryn A. Bard,
professor of Archaeology. Director of Undergraduate Studies, at Boston University.
Kathryn argues that the Great Sphinx of Giza, which was originally thought to be a
depiction of Khafre, who is thought to be Arabic, bears little resemblance to the former
pharaoh. Bard did a facial reconstruction project on the Sphinx and contends that the
undoubtedly Negroid features of the Sphinx, along with other artistic depictions of
Egyptians in other cultures artworks, is proof of the sub-Saharan origins of the Ancient
Egyptians. I could utilize this information by showing a scholarly viewpoint on a
depiction of Egyptian art. A useable passage reads: More recently, in 1992, the New
York Times published an article reporting the findings of Frank Domingo, a
senior forensics artist with the New York City Police Department who had traveled to
Egypt to take exact measurements of the Sphinx's head. Domingo, credited with

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convening the first national gathering of forensic artists almost ten years earlier,
generated a model of the head of the Sphinx both by hand and utilizing computer
graphics, and determined that the Sphinx represented a person other than Khafra.
According to Robert M. Schoch of Boston University, "forensic expert Frank Domingo
of the New York Police Department has definitively proven that the face of the Sphinx
face of the Sphinx and the face seen on signed statues of Khafre are not of the same
person." Schoch further wrote that the "Sphinx has a distinctive 'African,' 'Nubian,' or
'Negroid' aspect which is lacking in the face of Khafre.

Champollion, Jean-Franois. Egypt Ancienne (1839). Web. 11 28 October.

Champollion was a 19th century Egyptologist and decipherer of Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
Unlike others scholars from his time, Champollion believed that the Ancient Egyptians
were cross-bred blacks. He compared this group to the (at that time) modern day Copts of
northern Egypt, a mixed ethnic group. Champollion stated that in Egyptian tombs, there
was no distinction between Nubians (blacks) and Egyptians. Champollion states,
"The Copts are the proper representatives of the Ancient Egyptians" due to their
"jaundiced and fumed skin, which is neither Greek, Negro nor Arab, their full faces, their
puffy eyes, their crushed noses, and their thick lips...the ancient Egyptians were true
negroes of the same type as all native born Africans." I can use this journal to provide an
alternative viewpoint when scientific racism was at its peak.

Dain, Bruce R. A Hideous Monster of the Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
2009. Web. 28 October 2014.
Professor of History at the University of Utah, Bruce Dain explains biological and scientific
racism from the 1800s to the present day. Dain does this primarily by giving examples in the

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American slavery times as well as in modern accounts of Ancient Egypt. Bruce gives
accounts of scholars defacing and hiding artifacts and tombs in Egyptian ruins. I can utilize
Dains work to show the harms of scientific racism and explain how it is used to suppress
cultures. I plan to move onto the bigger idea concerning the consequences of not recognizing
races that contributed to Ancient Egyptian society, and since scientific racism is a cause of
this suppression, Dains book should be implemented well.

Morton, Samuel G. "Negroes of Egypt." 1854. Web. 28 October 2014.

1850s professor of science and anatomy, Samuel G. Morton, displays a classic sense of
scientific racism. Typical of Caucasian scholars at the time, Morton upheld the ideal that
a race hierarchy had developed in Ancient Egypt. Morton is credited with ending the
debate over the issue, until the 20th century. In his lecture, Negroes of Egypt, Morton
states, Negroes were numerous in Egypt, but their social position in ancient times was
the same that it now is [in the United States], that of servants and slaves." I can use
Mortons work as an example of scientific racism, and the other extreme in juxtaposition
to the Black Egyptian Theory.

Redford, Donald B. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press, 2001. Web. 28 October 2014.
Donald Redford is a Canadian Egyptologist and a Professor of classics at Pennsylvania
State University. Redford argues that applying race to the Ancient Egyptians is can only be
done by present day cultural boundaries, as in the Ancient times, they all comprised of one
culture. Redford also discounts scientific evidence due to this. Redford argues, "Any
characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions,

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not on scientific study. I can apply Redfords evidence to take the focus off the subject of
scientific studies.

Snowden, Frank. Blacks in Antiquity. Cambridge, MA: Belkap, 1970. Web. 28 October
2014.
Frank Snowden was an American Professor at Howard University, best known for this
book, concerning Negroid races in antiquity. Frank Snowden rejects theories of societal
hierarchy in Egypt based on race, and thus, rejects scientific racisms viewpoints. He
maintains, "Egyptians, Greeks and Romans attached no special stigma to the colour of the
skin and developed no hierarchical notions of race whereby highest and lowest positions in
the social pyramid were based on colour." I can utilize Snowden by citing him and arguing
the theories that one race controlled the others. Snowdens statements can also be used to
exhibit the superficiality of the suppression of races.

Yurco, Frank. "Were the Ancient Egyptians Black or White?" BAR Magazine Sept. 1989.
Web. 28 October.
The late Frank Yurco is a world renowned Egyptologist known for his work on dissecting
the culture of the Ancient Egyptians as well as exploring their ruins in the 1980s. In this
article, Yurco argues that the Ancient Egyptians were neither black nor white. He argues
that as Egypt was a trading post, the originally multi-hued African races intermingled
with the Arabic and European Races. Frank affirms that the Ancient Egyptians were
comparable in ethnic proportionality to modern day Americans, due to how blended their
cultures were. Yurco states, Was Nefertiti "black" or "white"? The ancient Egyptians did
not think in these terms. The whole matter of black or white Egyptians is a chimera,

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cultural baggage from our own society that can only be imposed artificially on ancient
Egyptian society. The ancient Egyptians, like their modem descendants, were of varying
complexions of color, from the light Mediterranean type (like Nefertiti), to the light
brown of Middle Egypt, to the darker brown of Upper Egypt, to the darkest shade around
Aswan and the First Cataract region, where even today, the population shifts to Nubian.
Ancient and modern Egyptian hair ranges from straight to wavy to woolly; in color, it
varies from reddish brown to dark brown to black. Lips range thin to full. Many
Egyptians possess a protrusive jaw. Noses vary from high-bridgedstraight to arched or
even hookedto flat-bridged, with bulbous to broad nostrils. In short, ancient Egypt, like
modern Egypt, consisted of a very heterogeneous population. This passage can be used
to explain how much Egyptian physical characteristics vary.