Cheikh Anta Diop's Two Cradle Theory

Abstract

For many scholars, the concept of race to discuss the ancient Egyptians is a modern ideological and social construct that fails to have agency in antiquity. Therefore, scholars have attempted to negate the ancient Egyptians' African identity by stating either that race does not exist or that the Egyptians were a race of their own. This article seeks to discuss Cheikh Anta Diop's two cradle theory by using historical and linguistic evidence to place ancient Egyptian culture in its proper cultural context. This study examines the “proto-cultures” of the three “cradles” posited by Diop: northern, southern, and the zone of confluence.