Ancient Egypt has long been a popular reference point for European writers as well as a dominant presence in the understanding of the archaeological record. It has in the past been suggested that numerous elements of human innovation, from pottery to metallurgy to the domestication of plants and animals and systems of kingship, had their origins in the Nile Valley. Many of these hypotheses were predicated on the late nineteenth-century belief in the perceived contrast between "white" Egypt and "black" Africa. While Egypt is geographically part of Africa, long-standing perceptions hold that ancient Egypt was an independent culture. Scholarly debate has often centered on whether ancient Egypt was, to much of Africa, the source of sophisticated culture that Greece was to much of Europe, or whether Egyptian civilization incorporated fundamental African concepts markedly different from those dominant in the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean lands. Egypt's contacts with and influence upon other parts of Africa constitute a hotly contested issue with complex ramifications. Scholarly objectivity and integrity are often questioned; public interest in a more accurate rendering of Africa's Egyptian heritage is fiercely advocated.
Ancient Egypt in Africa draws on a wide range of sources to examine how ancient Egypt was dislocated from the rest of Africa. Tracing cultural interaction between Egypt and Nubia and other regions of Africa, the book develops a nuanced picture of these contacts and describes the limitations of an "Egyptological" approach. A number of contributors describe in detail how earlier theories about ancient Egypt were shaped and distorted by racial prejudice, colonial and commercial interests, biblical sources, and now outmoded scholarly ideas. They engage with key issues such as the African dimensions in Egyptian civilization itself, Egypt's influence on Mediterranean civilization, evidence for contact between Egypt and other early African cultures, and the possible influences of one upon the other.
Making a solid contribution to the intellectual history of archaeology, Ancient Egypt in Africa reinvigorates debate on a matter of genuine interest, bringing focused research to bear on movements that are developing to affirm Egypt as a major African civilization, readily identified with present-day African nations.
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