He Westward Spread Of Inca And Egyptian Culture Essays - Reed Boats

He Westward Spread Of Inca And Egyptian Culture The second half of the twentieth century has seen many changes in theories concerning the mode of colonization of the islands of Micronesia, and the rise of the Inca Empire, with it's striking similarities to Egypt. In the past, it has been suggested that Asians had worked their way through the Pacific, over a period of thousands of years. It was believed that each island group had formed independently, and that the residents, while they were of the same race, had totally different cultures. Since the 1940's, however, these views have been changing. It is now accepted by many scholars that early Egyptians sailed as far west as South America, in their huge reed boats. In turn, the Incas, who owe many of their technological advancements to these Egyptian travelers, set sail to the west, colonizing Easter Island, Hawaii, and the other Pacific islands. The most common misconception about these early travels is that they took place on boats or ships. This is definitely not the case. In fact, the Egyptians and Incas relied on rafts; the Incas used balsa logs ( Kon-Tiki 21), the Egyptians used bundles of papyrus reeds (Ra 3). One striking piece of evidence for Egyptian-Inca contact is the existence of reed rafts on Lake Titicaca that are exactly like rafts used on Lake Chad and the Nile (Ra 3). Of course, this could be merely coincidence, but much more evidence exists to support the theory of ancient contacts between Egyptians and Pre-Colombian Incas. The most positive, though hardly concrete, item is the legends of the *I*Viracocha*/I* (which translates as white man in English) people of Lake Titicaca in South America. The *I*Viracocha*/I* are said to have been the first builders of the reed boats in South America and came forth in a flotilla of reed boats,... appearing to the local Indians who at the time were ignorant of sun worship, architecture, and agriculture (Ra 30). These reed boats were the same size and specification of the boats used by Egyptians, and the people who crewed them began, among other things, building pyramids and statues, many of which still stand throughout Central and South America (Ra 3). In fact, the most concrete piece of evidence linking the Egyptians and early Americans is a small stone statue, discovered in Mexico, bearing features that are decidedly similar to those of Egyptian sculpture. The statue was carbon dated 800 BC (Begley, et al 28), long before Europeans were said to have contacted Central and South Americans. The Aztecs and Mayas of Central America also provide evidence of Egyptian contact. The starting date of the Maya calendar is 12, 3113 BC. This is in the middle of the first dynasty of the Pharaohs. If these Indians had already been in the Western Hemisphere for 15,000 years, why was it only after the Egyptians started using calendars that they did, and used such similar methods. Mayan and Aztec texts also state that they became civilized only after a man, claiming descent from the sun arrived from the Gulf of Mexico, with a complement of astronomers, architects and priests. The Aztecs called the man/god Quetzalcoatl, and the Mayans called him Kukulkan. Both names translate as Plumed Serpent (Ra 258). A plumed serpent decorates some of the Pharaohs' tombs in Egypt, as well as Papyrus scripts. This mixture of birds and snakes is prevalent in Egypt, Mexico, and Peru. In addition, Peruvian and Egyptian art depicts birdmen, assisting the sun king's voyages. It is not, however these supernatural men who are credited with the technological advancements in the area (Ra 259). Instead, normal men, who wore sandals and robes, and arrived on reed boats are attributed with this. They taught the primitive natives to write, build, weave, and worship the sun. They also built schools primarily teaching history. Native legends throughout Central America, and the Inca empire, from Bolivia to Peru agree that men on reed boats brought them technology (Ra 259). Portraits found in Olmec ruins in Mexico bear decidedly African features, including black skin, rounded faces, and broad noses, versus the angular faces of the American natives. Moreover, there are paintings and statues bearing Semitic characteristics, including hooked noses, goatees, and sharp facial features. Some are depicted as carrying walking staffs (Ra 260). A good deal of 'circumstantial' evidence also points to Egypt-Inca contact. This includes the fact that both cultures demonstrate traditions of intermarriage to preserve royal blood lines, and hieroglyphic writings. Both societies also embalmed their dead in the same way, and performed cranial surgery (Geographic 47). One noted anthropologist with the University of California documented sixty features, all of an unusual nature, unique to only the Egyptian and Inca empires (Ra 24). These include, in addition to the aforementioned ceremonies, paper-making with reeds, the use of adobe bricks, false beards for