Israel's African Ancestry

Whereas the prevailing argument among academic scholars today is that the Israelites descended mainly from Canaanite tribes and maybe even Egyptians, Israel's African Ancestry: The Ethnic and National Genesis of the Israelites takes this claim to further heights. Combining archaeological, ethnological, biblical, historical, and epigraphic data, a well-rounded, comprehensive investigation is presented into the formation of Israelite identity. This book is based on a plethora of primary and secondary source materials, synthesized with existing research on the historiography of the so-called Near East. Tracing the origins of the Israelites back to a group of Neolithic Kushites called the Anu peoples, the evolution of Israelite identity is mapped from the earliest primordial recollections of Judean scribes, which go back to the Late Neolithic Period [5th millennium BC], to the earliest historical reference to the Israelites on the Merneptah Stele, dating to the Early Iron Age [c. 1200-1000 BC]. The process of Israelite identity formation is categorized and described in three phases: the Anu identity phase, the Canaanite identity phase, and the Israelite identity phase. Groundbreaking information is presented throughout this book, challenging the predominate scholarly view that the events in the biblical account that took place before the Assyrian exile are mainly ahistorical or not related to history. Much of the biblical account, from Genesis to 1 Kings, is put into historical context, authenticating several characters of the Hebrew Canon as being, at the least, renditions of genuine historical personages.

Whereas the prevailing argument among academic scholars today is that the Israelites descended mainly from Canaanite tribes and maybe even Egyptians, Israel's African Ancestry: The Ethnic and National Genesis of the Israelites takes this claim to further heights. Combining archaeological, ethnological, biblical, historical, and epigraphic data, a well-rounded, comprehensive investigation is presented into the formation of Israelite identity. This book is based on a plethora of primary and secondary source materials, synthesized with existing research on the historiography of the so-called Near East. Tracing the origins of the Israelites back to a group of Neolithic Kushites called the Anu peoples, the evolution of Israelite identity is mapped from the earliest primordial recollections of Judean scribes, which go back to the Late Neolithic Period [5th millennium BC], to the earliest historical reference to the Israelites on the Merneptah Stele, dating to the Early Iron Age [c. 1200-1000 BC]. The process of Israelite identity formation is categorized and described in three phases: the Anu identity phase, the Canaanite identity phase, and the Israelite identity phase. Groundbreaking information is presented throughout this book, challenging the predominate scholarly view that the events in the biblical account that took place before the Assyrian exile are mainly ahistorical or not related to history. Much of the biblical account, from Genesis to 1 Kings, is put into historical context, authenticating several characters of the Hebrew Canon as being, at the least, renditions of genuine historical personages.

Carlos Deandre, born in 1979, has been extensively researching the subject of the ancient Israelites for over fifteen years. With a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies, he has taken on the challenge of dispelling Eurocentric perspectives regarding the history of the so-called Middle East and North Africa. Originally from Chicago, IL., he now resides in Israel. Deandre has resided in Israel , off and on, for nearly two decades. He is an elementary school teacher, having taught in the inner city of Chicago as well as in the surrounding Chicago area for a couple of years. Although an excellent and brillant teacher, Deandre's passion is History, particularly African History. For this he is dedicated to expanding African Studies beyond the traditional frontier. by focusing on both ancient and contemporary African societies and peoples of the Middle East. This publication is only the first of many future publications regarding the history of the ancient Israelites and the Africanity of the original inhabitants of the so-called Middle East.