Who Really Discovered America?

by Kurt
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Anyone see this show on Discovery Channel?

It's really interesting. They explore various legends and theories about possible visitors to the Americas and the USA before Columbus.

While not a lot was settled with some of the legends, there's now pretty conclusive proof that the Polynesians came to the Americas, landing near Santa Barbara, CA, USA and somewhere in S. America sometime between 1000-1300 AD...

In the Santa Barbara case, pottery and canoes are almost identical to Polynesian canoes of that era, and the native word for this "canoe" is almost identical to the Polynesian word.

Circumstantial evidence is that the Polynesians reached virtually every island in the Pacific during this time, so it's seems pretty far-fetched that they would have missed two entire continents.

Intersting stuff...I think it's a safe bet that the Americas have been "discovered" many times throughout history before Columbus in 1492. As the show points out, water has never been a barrier for human travel and has acted more like a highway than an obstacle throughout our past.
  • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
    The Vikings were first.

    The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000

    Also, Columbus discovered The Bahamas. He never set foot on North American soil, in fact, Columbus never even saw North America or knew it existed.

    The Columbus Myth
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

      The Vikings were first.

      The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000

      Also, Columbus discovered The Bahamas. He never set foot on North American soil, in fact, Columbus never even saw North America or knew it existed.

      The Columbus Myth
      No, the Vikings weren't first. In addition to the Native Americans that came across the Bering land bridge 12,000 years ago, there's many other possibilities, including the Polynesians which I mentioned above.

      It's also possible Europeans came 22,000 years ago, bringing clovis type tools. And there's plenty of evidence Australian Aborigines came to S. America 40,000 years ago. The evidence is archaeological as well as supported by DNA testing.

      There's some evidence the Japanese came in the 800's AD and the Chinese in the 400s AD.

      There are Egyptian mummies that have traces of tobacco and coca (cocaine), plants only native to the Americas.

      I wouldn't be so bold as to state as fact the Vikings were the first. History is still being discovered.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        I wouldn't be so bold as to state as fact the Vikings were the first. History is still being discovered.
        OK, the first from across the Atlantic to leave indisputable archaeological evidence. If you want to take it all the way, there is always this -

        New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50,000 Years Ago
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        • Profile picture of the author Kurt
          Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

          OK, the first from across the Atlantic. If you want to take it all the way, there is always this -

          New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50,000 Years Ago
          So why did you declare the Vikings were first?

          I didn't start this thread to "take it all the way" as if it's some type of intellectual challenge to come up with who was first as a means for you to pump up your ego. I started this thread to discuss alernatives, but no longer have any interest discussing this with you. Are you moving on or am I?
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          • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
            Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

            So why did you declare the Vikings were first?
            Just the "before Columbus" thing. No ego expressed at all in bringing up the earliest humans on the continent. No one actually discovered North America, various explorers over the last two millennium visited and some even met the people already living here. They were all visitors, not discoverers.

            On topic, the earliest "civilized" country to establish themselves was China. Pottery and artifacts dating 900 AD and earlier have been documented.

            This link goes into detail about China establishing a presence long before the Spanish.

            1421 Evidence | Chinese Shipwrecks | Chinese Exploration | Chinese Renaissance | How China discovered the world| Gavin Menzies Research |Voyages of discovery

            It's a great read and shows how young our current countries really are.
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    • Profile picture of the author weegie
      Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

      The Vikings were first.

      The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000

      Also, Columbus discovered The Bahamas. He never set foot on North American soil, in fact, Columbus never even saw North America or knew it existed.

      The Columbus Myth

      the knights templar discovered America before Columbus
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

      The Vikings were first.

      The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000

      Also, Columbus discovered The Bahamas. He never set foot on North American soil, in fact, Columbus never even saw North America or knew it existed.

      The Columbus Myth
      Well, that second link is certainly biased, so frankly, I for one wouldn't really bother with it. Even if columbus DID discover america, it would serve better as a justification to give the continent to the mexicans(Since the obviously had some ties to spain which funded the voyage) than it would to provide justification to hurting the indians. Earlier excuses I have heard for hurting the indians didn't even MENTION columbus, let alone use him as an excuse. And HEY, the story practically made a JOKE out of columbus calling the inhabitants INDIANS!

      The vikings are certainly known for exploring, and if they discovered it in 1000, I would wonder what took them so long! But one still has to wonder if anyone got there earlier.

      On "wierd or what", they had someone on that claimed that the CHINESE were the first to discover america. Part of their evidence is the apparent discovery of ships with HUGE rock anchors. Larger than anything a poor chinese worker would create in the US, and supposedly the rock anchors were used only till about the bronze age or so, which maybe puts this as late as 600BC. But, WHO KNOWS????

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Ancient remains found in a mound near Nashville dated to
    3 million yrs ago. They're gonna call him: Kurt Man.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lett
    I am pretty sure that Chuck Norris discovered pretty much everything.
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  • Profile picture of the author TLTheLiberator
    These giant heads have been carbon dated at 800 BC...

    The Giant Heads of Mexico


    TL
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Nobody discovered it. People magically were dispersed here after a certain tower was destroyed about 5,000 years ago.



    ~Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas
    Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

    Re: Who Really Discovered America?
    I doubt anybody will ever really know buuuuuuuuut... we were there vandalising the place with graffiti about 1,500 years ago.
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  • Profile picture of the author bugbuguk
    Didnt the Americans discover america??
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    • Profile picture of the author highhopes
      It has been documented even the people from a little country called Wales, part of the UK colonised America in the 6Th Century.
      But politics being as it is prefers the Columbus idea, no matter what.

      Did The Welsh Discover America?
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