Page 7 Portland O bserver O C T O B E R 12, 1989
PERSPECTIVES
by Mckinley Burt
W ell, last week 1 got your attention by
w riting about 'B la ck Pirates'. There
was a method in my madness as I
wished to draw attention to the fact that
contrary to most contemporary white
historians, there is a long and well-
documented tradition o f African sea-
farers-5000 year tradition. This had
been a touchy subject, since roaming
sailors and soldiers are known to leave
quite visible evidence o f their pres­
ence-vis a vis their genes.
We may begin our older citations with
'Queen Hatshepsut' (1390-1468 B.C.),
the great Egyptian ruler o f Ethiopian
descent. The w orld ’s first 'U rban
P lanner', she b uilt paved roads 3200
years before the United States (The
1794 Lancaster Turnpike which linked
Philadelphia w ith Lancaster, Pennsyl­
vania). This is the same Black queen
whose seaborne expeditions to the 'Land
o f P unt' are described in the Bible
(today’s countries o f Oman and Yeman.)
From this Red Sea Coast o f Arabia,
many African Pharaohs brought back
many shiploads o f gum and resin-laden
trees-the Bibical “ frankincense and
m y rrh ” .
Queen Hatshepsut was succeeded by
her brother, Thotmese III (Thutmose)
whose seaborne e' ped.tions o f discov­
ery and conquest ranged from the fast­
ness o f Asia M inor and the marshes o f
the Upper Euphrates to the swamps o f
Babylon and the islands o f the M edi­
terranean. African voyage like these
led the ancients to give to today’ s Per­
sian G u lf its original name. The 'E th io ­
pian Sea'. Thotmese, a great builder o f
temples, also constructed two huge
'obelisks', stone towers sim ilar to the
Washington Monument. One has been
brought to Central Park, New York
C ity, and the British have set up the
other on the Thames embankment in
London England.
But even in earlier times the Bible tells
us o f the 'Reed boats o f the E th io p i­
ans' (Isaiah), boats exactly the same as,
found today o r both coasts o f Africa.
They are also found throughout the Pa­
cific Rim and Polynesia, including Easter
Island, and on Lake Titicaca in South
America’s Andes Mountains. It was
this knowledge o f the proliferation o f
the fabled African craft that prompted
the noted explorer, T h o r Heyerdahl,
to test the theory o f prehistorical trav­
els from A frica (o f course, American
Blacks already knew that the majority
o f the peoples o f these lands look ex­
actly like most o f our ghetto popula­
tion.
Heyerdahl, in his famous book, 'K on -
T ik i' (1950), also describers a 4000
mile voyage in a balsa wood and reed
raft from South America to the South
Pacific islands o f Polynesia. Equally
significant is his 'reed raft* expedition
from the West Coast o f A frica to the
Americas-these vessels having been
constructed by the Africans themselves
and modeled to their ancient tradition.
But, for the most concrete and compel­
ling evidence we are indebted to the
ancient A frica n ’s demonstrated a b ili­
ties in mathematics, astronomy and
Map-making-and their history-preserv­
ing habit o f w riting in stone or sturdy
papyrus. We have the follow ing from
p.136 o f David Grecnhoods’s book.
Mapping:
“ A cone is another round shape which
can be unrolled to lie flat. It can fit a
globe as nicely as a hat can fit a head.
And the ‘ sweatband’ w ill take an accu­
rate print o f everything it touches on
that dome. S lit the cone from rim to
point, ro ll it out, and you’ll have a kind
o f fan. The ribs o f the fan w ill be the
meridians.”
“ This is a very old trick. About 1800
years ago, over in Egypt, a map-maker
worked this trick and made a splendid
map o f the then known world. Il ex­
tended from the longitude o f Ireland to
that o f ‘silkland’ or China. On the
right-hand edge he put figures showing
the number o f hours in the longest day
o f the year at each latitude” .
Other, much older maps, indicate that
the African’s had accurately pinpointed
specific sites in Russia, and even India.
This is revealed by 4000 year old pa­
pyri and stone steles in European
museums Not loo much o f a “ tr ic k ”
if you arc the one w ho taught the Greeks
mathematics.
COMPUTER OPERATIONS
SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Capitol Health Care, a w holly owned
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This position w ill:
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" F ill in for P.M. computer operator
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon
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Human Resources Dept., 5th Fir
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Equal Opportunity Employer
ADMINISTRATION DI VISON
MANAGER
Public Works
C ity o f Eugene,OR
This position w ill manage, direct,
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Responsibilities also include corri-
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C LO S IN G D A T E : O ctober 27,
1989. A A /E O E
E X E C U T IV E D IR E C T O R
M en tal H ealth Association o f O re­
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An Equal O p p o rtu n ity Em ployer
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ACCOUNTANT-
H A LF-T IM E
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M E D IC A L C L A IM S
A N A L Y ST S
Duties include accounts payable, ac­
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prefer degree in accounting,business
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plus generous benefits. Send res­
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Deligiorgis, OPB Foundation, PG
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon is currently accepting
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» Demonstrated knowledge o f medical terminology and anatomy.
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» ICD-9/CPT -4 Coding
w A m inimum o f 6-12 months experience using a CRT in a produc­
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» Fast, accurate use o f a 10-key calculator
Affirmative Action/Equal Oppor­
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Previous claims processing or insurance b illing experience highly
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M E D IC A L Opening for OR RN
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon offers an excellent employee
benefits package, competitive salary and flex time work hours. Please
apply or send resume to:
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Human Resources Dept, 5th Fir
100 S.W. Market
Portland, OR 97201
Blue C ross
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SE R V IC E W O R K ER
w<»•«*>
Cleaning and Servicing District buses.
Hours from 7:00p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Monday through Thursday. Quali­
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Wage $7.73 per hour plus $.40
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