Written by John Lounsbury
Some researchers claim evidence exists that places many earlier explorers in the Americas. Chinese explorers may have reached the new world, not only in the early 1400s sailing across the Atlantic, but 1,500 years ago across the Pacific. Of course, Viking settlements from a thousand years ago have been discovered in Newfoundland, Canada. But there is some evidence that Europeans may have reached the New World as long as 20,000 years ago.
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Of course, the well-documented discovery of the Norse site L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, in 1963 is an established pre-Columbian presence in North America. But there are other possible events less well established, including Chinese explorers reaching the New World, Polynesian contact with South America, and others. One example is the presence of the sweet potato, native to South America, in eastern Polynesia before European contact. One possibility is that migration back to Asia from the Americas happened in pre-history but others have argued that the contact was trans-Pacific before Columbus. A good summary review can be found in Wikipedia.
Co-discoverer Anne Stine Ingstad examines a fire pit at L’Anse aux Meadows in 1963. Smithsonian Institution via Wikipedia.
This video is 14 minutes long:
Source: YouTube
For those who will entertain what I would call “conspiracy theories” that have some overlap with the video above, here is a short 7-minute video for your entertainment:
Source: YouTube
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