African Origins of Olmec Civilization - Debunked

Video Description

In this episode we are joined by the Ancient Americas YouTube Channel, Geneticist Razib Khan and Dr. Ivan Oransky to tackle this controversial subject. In various videos, books, online forums and etc, we have seen a popular theory that the Olmecs were black or that Olmec Civilization has African roots... but is that true? Or is this merely a vicious appropriation of the history and accomplishments of Indigenous American Peoples and Cultures. We begin with Pete from the Ancient Americas YouTube channel who explains how this theory came about and how fringe historians such as Dr. Ivan Van Sertima were able to push this almost into the mainstream so to speak and how academia choosing to ignore these theories rather than debating and crushing them have caused long term issues and especially among under educated audiences. He notes the various problems with this theory and tackles more than just the "African" features in Olmec art but goes even further by destroying attempts to link Mesoamerican pyramids, writing systems, crops and mummification to African origins. Lastly he points out how this abuse of history affects the indigenous peoples of the Americas and what we should do as we continue on in the future. Next geneticist Razib Khan comes on the show to thoroughly debunk the African origins of the Olmecs by touching on ancient DNA and what it has told us about the populations of ancient and pre modern Mexico and how there is no DNA showing an African presence before the arrival of Europeans. Lastly, we are joined by Dr. Ivan Oransky who runs a website that monitors journal publications and their retractions and we explore why a history journal retracted a paper that claimed the Olmecs were black Africans and the controversy surrounding this outdated narrative and debunked theory. Support Pete and the Ancient Americas YouTube Channel Below! YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEqNbbsx0i7fhwRt0saYIcQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncientAmericas Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ancientamericas Support Mr. Khan and his awesome work below! Website: https://razib.substack.com/ Razib Khan: https://www.razib.com/bio/wordpress/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/razibkhan Support Dr. Ivan Oransky below. Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanoransky Faculty Profile: https://journalism.nyu.edu/about-us/profile/ivan-oransky-md/