Hello Sopdet- I have time for only one reply to your messages (I write for peer-reviewed cultural anthropology journals and have a seat on the advisory board of a California educational foundation, so I'm rather busy).
The task I set myself was to show that Egyptians regularly portrayed themselves other than Black, in direct contradiction of the catagorical statement (with color plate) I found in "Egypt: Child of Africa." This statement was either wrong or the lie of a racial propagandist (van Sertima, ostensibly). I achieved this purpose.
My position -which you are reinforcing with your data- is that there was a lot more coming and going in the ancient world than currently believed. (I write for Diffusion journals).Racial intermarriage was common. Most importantly, the Mediterranean area, including the Nile Valley, was, because of its salubrious climate, a real people-magnet melting pot. Shivering Europeans and sweating Africans flocked there (and f--cked there) in large numbers from Neolithic times at least. Hence the enormously complex skull, hair, skin, and language picture we encounter upon investigation. This has been the prevailing view of ancient Egyptian society for a very long time. Even Budge knew that "Heliopolis was an international city from earliest times," and he regularly acknowledged the religious and cultural contributions of the Black contingent. If you and other students want to lay particular stress on this undisputed fact, go ahead; just maintain your integrity and don't warp the picture too much. regards, Todd
