Science, Medicine & Engineering
Household Name
Ivan Van Sertima
1935 – 2009
Author of They Came Before Columbus
Household Name is level 4 of 4 in the Guyana Hall of Fame: known and loved across the country, whatever the body of work behind it. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
A Guyanese-born scholar who taught African studies at Rutgers University.
His book They Came Before Columbus (1976) argued that Africans reached the Americas before Europeans did. The book found a wide readership, while most archaeologists and historians reject its central claim.
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