Who has been to America before Christopher Columbus?

Did you know that the Spanish navigatorIs Christopher Columbus not the first person to discover America? This is just one of the officially confirmed events, and so, the Egyptians, Vikings, Chinese and representatives of many other peoples could be the first to penetrate the continent. All this happened at a time when mankind had already invented ships and other means of transportation. But it cannot be that before these discoverers only wild animals lived on the mainland? Of course not. Scientists have long found indirect evidence that the American continent was first settled by humans. about 30 thousand years ago. They were the ancestors of the native Indians, whocame to America through the Bering Isthmus from Asia during the Ice Age. But this was circumstantial evidence - more accurate evidence in the form of human footprints was discovered only recently. The scientifically proven version now says that The first humans in the Americas appeared 23,000 years ago..

Christopher Columbus is not the first person to discover America

When did the Indians appear in America?

The results of the joint work of American andBritish scientists were published in the scientific journal Science. Traces of the first people in America were found in the White Sands National Park. It is believed that during the Ice Age there was Lake Otero. As soon as the climate became warmer, all the water evaporated, causing the bottom to dry out and cover selenite - a type of gypsum.On such a surface, traces of people and animals are preserved very well, and scientists are constantly finding new samples. Previously, signs of mammoths, giant sloths and other extinct animals were found there. But recently, scientists have made an important discovery by finding human footprints in the petrified sand. It is believed that they were the first to set foot on the American continent.

Fossilized footprints of ancient people

During the study of traces, it was found thatmost of them belonged to children and teenagers - adults were in the minority. The age of the traces was different, from 21 to 23 thousand years. According to one of the authors of the scientific work Sally Reynolds (Sally Reynolds), this discovery is also interesting because it proves the interaction of ancient people with animals. Only today one can only speculate what exactly this interaction consisted of. Some scientists believe that ancient people of different ages were united by some kind of game. But it would be more logical if they were looking for a new habitat together - in those distant times, people led a predominantly nomadic lifestyle.

Animals and people who left traces found

It is important to note that scientists have previously foundevidence that people could have appeared in America much earlier, about 30 thousand years ago. According to the scientific publication Nature, human tools were found inside a cave in Mexico. But this is only indirect evidence, so it is clearly not worth believing them 100%. It is possible that scientists made a mistake when estimating the age of the artifacts. But fossilized footprints are more reliable evidence. In the end, it turns out that the first people in America appeared 23 thousand years ago.

See also: A ship from the time of Christopher Columbus was found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea

America's real pioneers

Over time, they have become the sameIndians met by the famous Christopher Columbus. Only now the Spanish navigator and his team could be the first relatively modern people who learned about the existence of the natives of the American continent. For example, the Norwegian archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl believes that the Egyptians could have been among the first to visit America. To prove his theory, in the 1970s, the scientist conducted expeditions on the Ra and Ra-2 ships, which were built according to ancient Egyptian technologies. The first boat was unable to reach the Caribbean - it lacked only a few kilometers. But the second boat was able to swim to America. So, if desired, even the Egyptians could discover America. Whether they did it or not, no one knows.

One of the ships built using ancient Egyptian technology

But the fact that the Vikings visited America,there is almost no doubt. It is believed that in the 9th-11th centuries, Scandinavian warriors often traveled from Ireland to Russia to engage in trade and robbery. The first Viking to set foot on American soil was Leif Erickson. He made this discovery five centuries before the birth of Christopher Columbus. It is known that he visited the current Baffin Land, but at that time he called it Helluland. The Viking also visited the Labrador Peninsula and the island of Newfoundland. For some time in America there was even a Viking settlement, but it was attacked by the Indians.

Leif Ericsson discovers America.
Christian Krogh, 1893

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There is a myth that before Christopher Columbuspeople believed that the earth was flat. But this is just a fiction - mankind has known about the spherical shape of our planet for a very long time. You can read more about this and other myths that it’s time to stop believing in on our website.