Lost Tribes of Israel in the New World: The Origins of the American Indians

• In Event: Europe and Other Worlds: Converts, Renegades, Slaves, Native Peoples

Abstract

According to the Judeo-genetic theory, the American Indians come from the ten Lost Tribes of Israel. After Shalmanaser V deported these tribes from the Holy Land to Assyria in eighth century B.C., all trace of them was lost. In this paper I focus on how these tribes were used to explain the ancestry of the Indians. The idea that the Indians were descendants of the Hebrews was postulated and discussed in the Sixteenth Century between Spain and the New World. My purpose is to point out which authors, sources and places are connected with this belief.

Author

• Marco Volpato, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa