Debate. The people of ancient Egypt were typical North Africans. Their direct descendants are the current population of Egypt. A history of racist interpretation of ancient data by scholars in Europe and America claimed the Egyptians as Near Eastern or Indo-Aryan, disregarding the African component in Egyptian culture. In reaction to this racism that denied African achievements, a group of Afrocentric scholars has developed an equally misguided view of the Egyptians as racially "black." As Stuart Tyson Smith has observed, both groups mistakenly equate cultural achievement with race.

Misconception. Early white scholars did not believe that Africans could have achieved the sophistication of Egyptian culture. Afrocentric scholars equate the value of their own humanity with ancient cultural achievement. Neither group is quite right. Egyptian culture certainly had some characteristics in common with other African cultures including divine kingship, use of headrests, body art, circumcision, and...