" 

 ::I don't know if Toynbee is representative of ""Eurocentric"" thought, but in his Study of History he self-identifies as Western; e.g., he calls Western Civilization as ""our culture"" (referring to him and the reader). 

 ::Toynbee provides charts and dates, etc., showing that ancient Egypt is the first civilization in recorded history. I take this to mean that ""Western"" historians have no argument with the claim that Egypt predates Greece. 

 ::I suppose Western historians think the ""West"" is important, so they emphasize it in history books. But I haven't heard of any Western historian claiming that civilization itself began with ancient Greece or Rome. Toynbee never breathes the slightest hint of this idea. 

 ::I'm not sure to what extent Toynbee or others credit ancient Egypt with having influenced ancient Greece. Toynbee doesn't describe Hellenic Civ. as deriving wholly from Egypt, but I don't recall him denying any contacts in space or time. 

 ::A lot of the interplay between Afrocentrists and, er, competing schools of thought is the complaint that African or black ""firsts"" have not gotten enough publicity. Ancient Egyptians built the world's tallest buildings and should get credit for this. Perhaps most significantly, they are the first civilization of which there is any written evidence. 

 ::A major point of disagreement is the ""cradle of civilization"" idea, sometimes put forth as the claim that all civilizations that have every existed derive from (or owe major credit for their existence to) ancient Egypt. Toynbee spends several pages demolishing this idea, so there's no common ground here (!). 

 ::I'll take a look in tomorrow, if I have time. Cheers!   "