This is the first anthropological study to place African explorers in the New World centuries before Columbus. Ivan Van Sertima, professor of Afro-American studies at Rutgers University, reveals a compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Black Americans in Ancient America.

Examining navigation and shipbuilding, cultural analogies between Native Americans and Africans, the transportation of plants, animals, and textiles between the continents, and the diaries and journals of African explorers themselves, Van Sertima builds a pyramid of evidence to support his claim of an African presence in the New World, centuries before Columbus.

"Brilliantly, I think, he has demonstrated that there is far more to black history than the slave trade...There is no question but that the book is a landmark." —John A. Williams, author and winner of the National Book Award

“Comprehensive and convincing . . . a big boost to black cultural history.”
—Publishers Weekly

 
Ivan Van Sertima's pioneering work in linguistics and anthroplogy has appeared in numerous scholarly journals. He currently teaches Afro-American studies at Rutgers University.