Items of interest uncovered in 2009
North America Atlantic Coast
After reading the French version of 1421, one of our readers recalls an article published in Le Soleil newspaper of Quebec City in 2008:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil/200809/08/01-654581-et-si-jacques-cartier-navait-pas-ete-le-premier-europeen-a-setablir-au-quebec.php – Prof. Bernard Chaput
During the 1990’s one of our readers observed and photographed the Waubansee Stone, a carving of the Waubansee Indian Chief found on the shore of the Chicago River. There is much speculation over the origins of the piece. The following article from the examiner.com includes an image: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-mysterious-waubansee-stone. – Ben Tackitt
The Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, Ontario houses a large collection of African art. Many of the masks have distinct Oriental features. http://www.aeac.ca/mobius/info.php?f=CATEGORY1&type=browse&t=objects&s=AFRICAN+ART.– Jane Kaduc
North America Pacific Coast
The Bute Inlet is a fjord off the coast of British Columbia. The river valleys that feed the inlet give access to the interior, where the Chilcotin people claim to have a horse culture that predates the arrival of Columbus. As far inland as Kootenai, Idaho there are petroglyphs depicting horses, dogs, men in hats, and chained prisoners.
In 1911, the last member of the Yahi Indian tribe walked from the southern foothills of Mt. Lassen to his first contact with western people. Known as Ishi, this man was put into the care of anthropologists in San Francisco who studied his language, culture and technical abilities. His biography, Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber is still in print and available. In it, Kroeber discusses his archery techniques that are similar in fashion to the Mongols and not found in other Native American peoples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_bow – Stan Stumbo
Legend has it that a tunnel exists in Leechtown, Vancouver Island, approximately 25 miles from Victoria, BC. Chiselled out of the rock and with multiple galleries, a gold prospector named Ed Mullard is said to have come across ancient artefacts at the site in the 1950’s. It is said that “the things he found inside, tools and pottery, were unquestionably Chinese in origin.”Unfortunately, before further expeditions could be carried out, Mullard passed away without documenting the site’s exact location. To this day it remains a mystery, along with the gold bar that was on display at the Mineral Titles office in Victoria until it disappeared in the early 1980’s. Does anyone have further information on this story? http://detecting.org.uk/html/Ed_Mullards_Lost_Tunnel_of_Leechtown_Metal_Detectors_Treasure_Hunting.html
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee recounts the destruction of American Indians during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the book, the author Dee Brown explains how Navajo Indians were repelled from their lands when government authorities ringbarked five thousand peach trees and destroyed their orchards. The presence of peaches, which originate in China, but were here found in the Navajo heartland, suggest pre-Columbian contact between Old World and New – Gary Rumble
At Santa Catalina Island a number of shipwrecks exist on its ocean side (the Isthmus area). One is Chinese, has a teak keel and is said to be four hundred years old. Does anyone have further information on this find? – Forrest Shattuck
The following links to a documentary discussing the origin of iron knives used one-thousand years ago by the Thule Inuit of Siberia. The film claims that they were brought over from Asia through trade with the Chinese. As the tribe moved north into the Arctic, crossing over the eastern side of North America, they were able to conquer the Dorset people with their superior weaponry and technology. http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2009/inuitodyssey/– Gary Craigs
South America Pacific Coast
In 1965 the Smithsonian Institution published results from their site research at Valdivia Bay and elsewhere on the Ecuadorian Pacific coast. Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador: The Valdivia and Machalilla Phases describes well-established Japanese settlements dating back 2-3,000 BC. It also describes relevant ocean currents in detail. More info here: http://amzn.to/YbScL6
New Zealand
One of our readers would like to share this article on New Zealand’s most important archaeological site: the Wairau Bar. At this location the faint outline of a seven-hundred-year-old building has been found. NZ scientists find 700-year-old workshop– Barbara McGrath
With regard to the tsunami that deposited Chinese ships along the coast of New Zealand, one of our readers points us to the following article from Dominion Post: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/2953668/Tsunami-wiped-out-historic-knowledge. – Michael Poole
Mexico/Central America
Lacquer technology was well known in Mexico at the time of Spanish invasions. Pre-Columbian Amerindians practiced lacquering for several centuries, but where did they learn this process? Derived from tree sap, lacquer originated in China approximately 7,000 years ago. From there it was introduced to Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India and most likely west Mexico. Further research needed.
One of our readers would like to share an interesting study on the Chinese and Asiatic influence in pre-Columbian music by Rojas de Perdomo. The article is in Spanish and can be accessed through the following link: http://aquichan.unisabana.edu.co/index.php/pyc/article/view/279/1504. – Edgar Orozco
General
1509 – The Battle of Diu discusses Alfonso de Albuquerque’s fleet and the Frol de la Mar, a ship built in Lisbon in 1502. After years of participation in significant battles, the ship sank when returning from Malacca on the night of 20November, 1511. On it was Afonso de Albuquerque, carrying with him an array of gold, precious stones and most notably a map, which he had mentioned in a letter written to the Portuguese King: ‘a great letter from a Javanese pilot, which had the Cape of Good Hope, Portugal, the land of Brazil, the Red Sea, the Persian sea, the islands close, the navigation of Chins and Gores with their lines and direct routes which their ships crossed.’ Where did he acquire this information? Further research required – Carlos Neto
In the autumn of 1998 a reader attended a conference hosted by Ancient Ways of Knowing, an organization based in Colorado Springs, USA. Amassing healers from Native American peoples, including the Blackfoot, as well as healers from China, some interesting discoveries were made. It is said that many of the healing languages passed down from generation to generation were identical, and is thus would suggest some form of interaction between China and North America in ancient times. We are told that a scholar at the conference discovered what appeared to be correspondences between Mayan hieroglyphs and Chinese writing. http://www.ancientways.org/ Does anyone have further information on the subject? – Sarah Daniel
An article in The Sydney Morning Herald, “Pacific Islanders May Hail from Taiwan”:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/pacific-islanders-may-hail-from-taiwan-20090123-7o79.html.
Some suggested further reading:
Ancient Navigators Could Have Measured Longitude! Rick Sanders, 21st Century, Fall 2001;
http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/fall01/navigators/navigators.html
The Decipherment and Discovery of a Voyage to America in 232 B.C., Marjorie Mazel Hecht, 21st Century, Winter 1998-1999, p. 62;
Indian Inscriptions from the Cordilleras in Chile found by Karl Stolp in 1885, 21st Century, Winter 1998-1999, p. 66;
When China Rules the World by Martin Jacques http://amzn.to/13YyB5k
The Secret : America in world history before Columbus by Joseph Mahan, Ph.D.
http://amzn.to/Zr8qi6
