The little-known 'mother culture' that inspired the Maya - BBC REEL 

the minoans

Gobustan is the most pivotal area in Azerbaijan, which is located in the Caucasus, and I would think there have many mysteries which has been not solved. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rqkwtwKNHr4.html

Our students would love to know more about Caral and Ancient Peru!

I would love to see something about the Zimbabwean ruins and the peoples that created them.

The Dogon.

Y de hecho creo q gran parte de a quien se le recomendó esto también es latino XD

Ya ni con pendejos que crecen estudiando al fondo para sentir nuestra historia prehispánica en Latino America :v Antes eramos mucho y ahora ya nunca ni la abuela nos pareo

Guatemalan people are STILL, the loveliest and very Hardest Working people around.

Don't mean to correct you but I have to they made it all the way to Honduras and El Salvador...😉

No problem. That's good to know.

They developed trade, roads ECT so I'm sure migration happened all across south and north. People moving to City to City from different native civilizations.

I just got back to the hotel room after visiting the Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA), tomorrow we go to Veracruz to study more Olmec Culture. So, I can tell you from first-hand experience that many of these Olmec leaders were obviously African.

@@akken2112 No. They were native people from these lands. The idea is to mix the psyche of a jaguar on the face of a man.

@ I've heard that lame excuse before but, I can't get around the fact that those heads look like Nubians/Black Africans. Combine that with the fact that the Canary Currents will take someone from Africa to the Caribbean, it's very plausible that the Olmec heads were indeed modeled after Black Africans. All you have to do is compare the Olmec heads that are in MNA with the face of Bol Bol of the Phoenix Suns in order to see the very obvious resemblance.

@@akken2112 the problem with you people is the ignorance. Tell me, what technology did a Nubian, a Puntian or a Kushite, living in the total opposite side of the African country had to travel to Mesoamerica? All the subsaharian cultures were in the stone age back then. Lame excuse? Have you talked with the experts of the topic before? For the Austrian painter, it was also a lame excuse to not recognize Quetzalcoatl as an Aryan, he was totally sure about that. Especially when he is described as white skin and long beard. One thing is what you believe and another what happened in reality. But you can go to northern Oaxaca and visit the native people living there, they are the mixe, the nearest descendants of the Olmecs.

@ Actually, the problem is your ignorance combined with your anti-black Eurocentrism. As the late great Dr M. L. King stated, "nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance combined with conscientious stupidity". In 1970 Thor Heyerdahl built a boat from papyrus using ancient building techniques and called it the Ra II. He sailed in this boat from Morrocco to Barbados using nothing but the current and the wind. If that could be done in 1970 A.D why couldn't it be done in 1970 BCE or earlier? No one can say for sure who the Olmecs were. This notion of African heads being jaguars instead of human is pure theory motivated by the desire to say they aren't African even though the resemblance to Africans is as obvious as the broad noses on their faces. I've never seen a cat with broad African noses or thick African lips. If they are jaguars, where are the canines, the whiskers, the spots? How about you do a little research yourself, compare the two heads at MNA with the face of Bol Bol of the Phoenix Suns then compare the heads to the face of any Mestizo in Veracruz and you tell me who looks more like the heads, Bol Bol or some random Mestizo. Also, if you actually knew what you were writing about you would know that Egypt is not the only place in Africa with pyramids. Sudan has pyramids, Zimbabwe had pyramids. You should also know that the Arab invasion of Africa did not occur until the 7th century AD, hundreds of years after the Olmecs therefore, prior to the Arab onslaught, many Africans in North Africa probably looked much like the Nubians. So, it is very plausible that Africans who've had experience building pyramids, sailed using the Canary Current from Northwest Africa to the Western Hemisphere and taught the Olmecs how to build pyramids along with advanced agriculture. I know your Eurocentric mind will have a difficult time wrapping itself around this theory but, that theory makes more sense to me than someone carving a huge head of a cat that has no teeth, no feline ears and no whiskers. I suggest that you read 'They came before Columbus' written by Dr Ivan Van Sertima so that your obvious ignorance is curtailed to some degree.

Exactly. My family is from Veracruz and we all resemble the Olmec heads feats but we aren’t black.

i can ask you the same thing. why is it important that they aren’t black?

You mean Black skin.

The fact that these people are going out of their way to prove that they aren’t black should alert you to something 😅

@@tonylvez Bcuz Olmec never were black. black is the paint they painted their bodies with & they also painted their bodies white and red too.

How can I copy paste this I'm tried of arguing with black people claim mexican were black

@@jimmiehernandez5625 read all articles...read the article of genetic DNA of ancient DNA studies Mesoamerica to have a better understanding on the basis of DNA ....

​@@jimmiehernandez5625dont bother arguing with them, they love stealing and claiming every culture except their own

Not true, shame on you for misleading people. The connection between the Olmec civilization and African groups was discovered through the work of various researchers in the fields of archaeology and genetics. Some notable figures who have contributed to this research include Dr. Clyde Winters, an anthropologist who has studied the African presence in ancient America, and Dr. David Imhotep, a historian who has written extensively on the subject. Additionally, scholars such as Dr. Ivan Van Sertima and Dr. Runoko Rashidi have also explored the possibility of African influence in ancient Mesoamerica. It is important to note that the research in this area is ongoing, and multiple researchers have contributed to our understanding of this connection.

@@jimmiehernandez5625 They are talking about the original Mexicans not the impostors. 😂

Like a different yet Same world. Who knows maybe one day this too will become an ancient pre wtv civilization.

This catch my eye immediately, I hope, they put an errata.

They are not comptemporaries to the mayans because they preceeded the mayans. Get your facts straight.

@@Horemakhet_ in fact they were contemporaries to the Maya in the latter times as they both lived simultaneously regardless of the Maya emerging before. There’s Mexica influence in wall structure that the Maya constructed in their latter times as well. In fact they still do exist this very day.

@@BanneroftheSun The mayas never built any of those pyramids not 1. Those Olmec Heads are Afrakans that 1st settled in mexico around 1600BCE before a mayan even stepped foot in america.

@@Horemakhet_ ​ ​ 😂 Afrikans yeh ok dude 🤦🏽‍♂️ Your reach for he Cosmos is ridiculous beyond a shadow of a doubt. You need to quit it already. Your conjecture feeds into your fantasy. We derive from a single founding population and are more closely related to one another than any other race of peoples. Evidence supports that fact and shows we been migrating this continent for over 20,000 years much longer than 1600 BCE 😂 Your history on these lands began some 500 years ago lol. A site in Mexico that is still being excavated found artifacts that date back more than 200,000 years ago. Peer review studies prove that the bones found in Loma del Zapote and San Lorenzo belong to haplogroup A which is the most common in ancient Meso’Americans. Present day non-Arctic indigenous peoples of the Americas like myself (not you), belong to haplogroups A2 B2 C1 D1 & D4h3a. If they were of an African black population those studies would reveal haplogroup L but they don’t so take your “L” like an adult cause you “L”ost. 🐲🌽🦅🦬🦜🥔🌵💪🏽

Simon

the olmecs were way before the other civilizations. No one knows for sure its ongoing research and you are just as ignorant trying to claim you know the truth. No one does, and even the DNA evidence you claim is ongoing and outdated methods have been debunked. You are no different than them.

I guess agent history started with slavery

They were most definitely black.

@nigelstanford4 There are several ancient human fossils of the Americas' first inhabitants. None have African DNA NONE! They looked for it, but NADA, ZERO, ZILTCH! The African came with the European on ships of horror, and it's very well documented on paper and DNA trail. The ancient DNA studies have been done and verified. The Aboriginals of Australia, the Negritos from the Philippines, the Natives of Papua New Guinea and others, are not from Africa. They are from Asia, Eurasia, to be exact. The world knows that tight curly hair and dark skin don't always equal black African. Take your ridiculous argument to the scientists and genealogists. They disagree with you. Catch up with science, and put some real substance behind the BS!

What do you mean?

@Nin10dofan8culture vultures I tell you

They look like the people from Nigeria as the haplogroup suggests.

@Nin10dofan8 this guy's a Nazi ignore him!

You are right they don't look anything like the heads, It's all make-believe! There are several arguments that suggest the Olmecs originated from Africa: 1. Physical similarities: Some researchers have noted physical similarities between Olmec sculptures and African features, such as broad noses and full lips. This has led to speculation that there may have been a connection between the two cultures. 2. Cultural parallels: The Olmecs and certain African cultures share similarities in their artistic styles, religious practices, and agricultural techniques. For example, both cultures placed importance on the cultivation of maize and worshipped deities associated with fertility and water. 3. Linguistic connections: Some linguists have proposed similarities between certain Olmec words and African languages, suggesting a possible linguistic link between the two cultures. However, this is still a topic of debate among experts. 4. Genetic evidence: Recent genetic studies have found traces of African DNA in ancient Mesoamerican populations, including the Olmecs. This suggests the possibility of migration or contact between African groups and the Olmec civilization. 5. Ancient trade routes: It is known that ancient trade networks connected Africa with other parts of the world, including the Americas. These trade routes could have facilitated the exchange of ideas, goods, and even people between Africa and Mesoamerica. The connection between the Olmec civilization and African groups was discovered through the work of various researchers in the fields of archaeology and genetics. Some notable figures who have contributed to this research include Dr. Clyde Winters, an anthropologist who has studied the African presence in ancient America, and Dr. David Imhotep, a historian who has written extensively on the subject. Additionally, scholars such as Dr. Ivan Van Sertima and Dr. Runoko Rashidi have also explored the possibility of African influence in ancient Mesoamerica. There is evidence to suggest that the Olmec civilization in ancient Mesoamerica may have had some connections to African groups. DNA analysis of ancient Olmec remains has revealed genetic markers that are also found in present-day African populations, particularly those from Nigeria and Cameroon. This has led to theories of transatlantic contact or migration between Africa and the Americas in ancient times. ❤️

@@MrMotown2011 the olmecs weren’t loitering ❤️ try again culture vultures 😘

You are right, they are African. 1. Physical similarities: Some researchers have noted physical similarities between Olmec sculptures and African features, such as broad noses and full lips. This has led to speculation that there may have been a connection between the two cultures. 2. Cultural parallels: The Olmecs and certain African cultures share similarities in their artistic styles, religious practices, and agricultural techniques. For example, both cultures placed importance on the cultivation of maize and worshipped deities associated with fertility and water. 3. Linguistic connections: Some linguists have proposed similarities between certain Olmec words and African languages, suggesting a possible linguistic link between the two cultures. However, this is still a topic of debate among experts. 4. Genetic evidence: Recent genetic studies have found traces of African DNA in ancient Mesoamerican populations, including the Olmecs. This suggests the possibility of migration or contact between African groups and the Olmec civilization. 5. Ancient trade routes: It is known that ancient trade networks connected Africa with other parts of the world, including the Americas. These trade routes could have facilitated the exchange of ideas, goods, and even people between Africa and Mesoamerica. The connection between the Olmec civilization and African groups was discovered through the work of various researchers in the fields of archaeology and genetics. Some notable figures who have contributed to this research include Dr. Clyde Winters, an anthropologist who has studied the African presence in ancient America, and Dr. David Imhotep, a historian who has written extensively on the subject. Additionally, scholars such as Dr. Ivan Van Sertima and Dr. Runoko Rashidi have also explored the possibility of African influence in ancient Mesoamerica. There is evidence to suggest that the Olmec civilization in ancient Mesoamerica may have had some connections to African groups. DNA analysis of ancient Olmec remains has revealed genetic markers that are also found in present-day African populations, particularly those from Nigeria and Cameroon. This has led to theories of transatlantic contact or migration between Africa and the Americas in ancient times. ❤️

@@MrMotown2011 they are not African stop spreading lies

the American school system has failed again [some think Cleopatra was black]@@Itzpapalotl.

Stop spreading that myth, it is racist. @@MrMotown2011

First pyramids in mesoamerica are from teotihuacan, hundreds of years before tenochtitlan

@Nin10dofan8 😂

@Nin10dofan8 There are several arguments that suggest the Olmecs originated from Africa: 1. Physical similarities: Some researchers have noted physical similarities between Olmec sculptures and African features, such as broad noses and full lips. This has led to speculation that there may have been a connection between the two cultures. 2. Cultural parallels: The Olmecs and certain African cultures share similarities in their artistic styles, religious practices, and agricultural techniques. For example, both cultures placed importance on the cultivation of maize and worshipped deities associated with fertility and water. 3. Linguistic connections: Some linguists have proposed similarities between certain Olmec words and African languages, suggesting a possible linguistic link between the two cultures. However, this is still a topic of debate among experts. 4. Genetic evidence: Recent genetic studies have found traces of African DNA in ancient Mesoamerican populations, including the Olmecs. This suggests the possibility of migration or contact between African groups and the Olmec civilization. 5. Ancient trade routes: It is known that ancient trade networks connected Africa with other parts of the world, including the Americas. These trade routes could have facilitated the exchange of ideas, goods, and even people between Africa and Mesoamerica.

@Nin10dofan8 It's tough when you're wrong, I understand. Your wishful thinking won't stop the truth from emerging. Your comments are futile and childish to say the least.

@Nin10dofan8 I'm not American and I'm not black. So you're so stupid that you think that only black Americans would make any type of counter comment. You're clearly a Nazi.

@Nin10dofan8 Your profile links to "me gusta se nazi". It translates as: I like being a Nazi. I could tell you were dumb by your first comment but clearly you are a Nazi!

Teotihuacan actually, not toltec

Simmer down brother 😆it can easily happen there are many pyramids and tribes in Mexico Aztec, Maya etc its easy to mistake one for the other.

@@1988vikable this is the Bloody BBC & supposed to be a documentary, not a home madevamateur production !!!

Yes! I have! In Mexico. What an ignorant question. The Aboriginals of Australia r not from Africa. They are from Asia, so are the Negritos from the Philippines and the Natives of Papua New Guinea. The ancient DNA studies have been done and verified. They and others are from Asia, Eurasia, to be exact. Tight curly hair and dark skin don't always equal black African. It's been known for a long time that diet and environment can dictate your physical appearance, including hair texture and skin color. New advanced technology and genetic studies are giving up many surprises with more to come. You can't use old cave art of dark skin ppl and old articles, or Columbus said this and that anymore. Put some science and substance behind your BS culture vultures crap! You're the laughing stock with your phony crap! The country is going cross-eyed from rolling their eyes at their wannabe BS! This is a pathetic cult. Aren't they trying to be Egyptian this month?

yeah. they’re called native americans

@@brn7939 You can't show one painting, sculpture or monolith of Native Americans outside Olmec Culture that looks like that.

@brn7939 Yes, and the Aboriginals of Australia, the Negritos of the Philippines, the Natives of Papua New Guinea and others, are not African either. They are from Asia, Eurasia, to be exact. Catch up with science. There are several ancient human fossils of the Americas' first inhabitants, and none have African DNA, NONE! They looked for it, but NADA, ZERO, ZILTCH. Infact with new sophisticated genetic studies and dating techniques, every new found ancient human fossil, tool, and site, seems to strengthen the position of the REAL Indigenous of the Americas and makes bigger fools of these wannabes. They are a cult. The world knows that tight curly hair and dark skin don't always equal black African. The ancient DNA studies have been done and verified and and it's given up a lot of surprises with more to to come. The dark skin ppl in Brazil and Beliz are European with ancient DNA from the ancient Celts and another Caucasian light skin group. They probably are a good example of how diet, environment, and other elements can dictate your physical appearance, including hair texture and skin color. The world knows that diet and environment can dictate your physical appearance. Catch up with science. The OOA is a theory. It isn't now , nor has it ever been, a scientific fact. The OOA theory is running on 9⁰% dogma. New sophisticated genetic studies and dating techniques have found ancient human fossils that don't fit into the OOA timeline. Catch up with science. You can't just go on looks, old cave art of dark skin ppl, old books and articles. There is too much recent sophisticated science out there, Catch up with it.

@akken2112 The world knows that tight curly hair and dark skin don't always equal black African. There was NEVER an empire called the Olmecs. We woke up one morning, and we had a new "mother culture," based on the big heads that the wannabe cult claim are African. There are several ancient human fossils of the Americas' first inhabitants . None have African DNA, NONE! The African came with the European on ships ships of horror, and it's very well documented on paper and DNA trail. Australian Aboriginals, the Negritos from the Philippines, the Natives of Papua New Guinea, and others, are not African. The ancient DNA studies have been done and verified, they are from Asia. Catch up with science. New sophisticated genetic studies and dating techniques have given up lots of surprises with more to come.

This was made by the BBC? Why don't you take your complaint to them? :/

Yes they are. Stop your delusion

There’s no genetic, anthropological, archeological, or linguistic evidence to prove or substantiate the “black Olmec” theory. In fact, it has been debunked and the first so called “scholar” Ivan Van Sertima to promote it isn’t credible and is not respected in the intellectual community. His theory were ripped apart due to modern advancements In technology. Also may you explain, If the Olmecs were African then why haven’t any sub Saharan African culture from Senegal to South Africa ever invented what the Olmecs/Mayans had like a written language, advanced mathematics, agricultural methods, advanced irrigation techniques, and complex lasting architecture????

Too bad archaeology supports that the olmec were native american, because Olmec DNA is Native American DNA.

Don’t say nonsense. Olmecs and Mayans had no connection to africans at all. Stop trying to appropriate our culture.

@@diegoaviles6663 It’s not nonsense at all, I don’t know why people have such a hard time grasping the original man concept. The Olmec heads have clear features that we’d call “black” from our modern perspective. Before the colonial era, Africans of multiple different genotypes could already be found all over the world. For example: the indigenous people of Australia. These so-called Africans pioneered the culture upon landing in the South America’s thousands of years ago. So when we say Olmecs and Mayans have no connection to so-called Africans we must ask ourselves what Africans are we referring too. So-called Africans have the most diverse DNA, physical features, and genealogical footprint on the planet. There are blond Africans, Africans with slanted eyes identical to those of the so-called Asians, Africans with silky hair, I could go on and on. This tends to be the problem with most takes on this topic. You all assume that the so called African is a monolith. Yet even modern science had to admit that the original man on the planet is the so-called African Man. In order to have the most Dominant genes on the planet you must naturally be closest to the original pigmentation of the human race. We are literally ALL simply offshoots of that original DNA. So when we talk about the DNA signatures of the Olmecs and Aztecs of course they’ll be traced back through Native American DNA. Also known as West Indians. Who were the original native Americans? Archeology also shows that West Indians traded and intermingled with so-called Africans for many centuries before the Colonial era. Which is really the origin of all of this confusion. Before the modern concept of race was beaten into the rest of the world, everyone understood this to be true. Now that the European is largely in charge of the story history is confusing, briefly told, largely without context, and clearly unequally yoked. The original South Americans, including the Olmecs and Aztecs were indeed what we would call “Africans” or at the very they were taught and inspired by them. It doesn’t mean we’re trying to “appropriate your culture” we’re trying to teach you and the rest of the world where your original culture truly came from.

@@77Productions77 it’s nonsense

That is a racist conspiracy theory meant to deprive Native Americans of their history.

Because they weren't

@@Oppolo77 what were they then ?

​@@khalid5538Amerindians, who contributed more than your kind

Idk about if they were ALL black but the ancient worldwide civilization your talking about has definitely been lost to time and history. I think since they were clearly able to travel worldwide it’s ok to say that all types of people were apart of it and able to travel where they wanted. Less division my friend I believe thats the goal of all the deceit.

@@lawrencetrujillo7365 It's a scientific fact, that the world was first inhabited (entirely) by ancient black africans. So it wasn't my intention to cause division when I said that the mayans and aztecs were descendants of those first humans who populated the world.

@@ryonworthy7990 yes but since the discovery of the elongated red haired skulls found in Peru dna tested to be of Mediterranean decent I think it’s safe to say that history is much more complex then we currently know.

Egyptians are not the typical 'black' Africans..also the pyramids are not same and don't have similar purposes...Mayan pyramids are different in structure very much similar to ancient Hindu temples which are mostly found in South India & Angkor Wat!

@@Kitty_Lalee The ancient egyptians were indigenous black africans such as ethiopians, somalis, sudanese, eritreans, beja's, fulani's ect. And the pyramids of the americas were constructed thousands of years after the art of pyramid building had already been perfected by africans in africa.

Need a "Proof" not just speculated...??

Yes, first human coming from africa, but they are different with africa today, also this "African" didn't build the civilization, but their descendent are...

There was no such thing as Africa then, it was Pangea.

I think it’s good you’re aware that history is a lie… but I think you’re taking it down a wrong path. Since there’s evidence that this past civilization built these pyramids all over the world that means they were able to travel around the whole world already. That means they were most likely a mix of different people just like modern day civilizations. Why is everyone so easily divided now in days?

Vedas? Lol

Nobody asked you

Mansamusa

The only difference between those empires is the Europeans value power over eco cohabitation.

What a dumb comment

Eurocentric bullshit. You can't measure one culture's way of life against another culture's way of life. The two cultures belief different things.

Culture vultures BS! No science behind it, pitiful. Not even the Aboriginals of Australia r from Africa, it's been known for several years. They are from Asia, Eurasia, Oceana. Seems like the features that ppl think r unique to Black Africans r not. The Negritos from the Philippines r also from Asia. Get over it, you ain't Native and we ain't Afro. Take ur rediculous wannabe interloping intrusive menacing culture vultures BS to science and genealogists, they disagree with you!

Hmm..they have strong black features.

@@fredrikr6280 considering the Aboriginals of Australia r NOT from Africa, it seems like the features that ppl think r unique to Black Africans r not. It's been known for several years that the Aboriginals of Australia came from Asia, so do the Negritos from the Philippines. It's been known for several years that what you eat and environment can dictate ur physical appearance including hair texture and skin color. You black culture vultures need to put some science behind ur BS! There are several ancient human fossils of the Americas first inhabitants, they looked for it, but none have Afro DNA, NONE! Spin it all u want, spin it till ur dizzy, you can't change genetics.

@@fredrikr6280 Thats A Fact

@@Jah_AP What fact? The fact that there has been no traces of African dna ever found in any of the ancient skeletons of the Americas including olmecs? Your people came as slaves after 1492, don’t forget that.