Landmark B.c. Search Seeks To Prove Seafarers Were First To Americas

[poulsenll]

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/s...29-6b603f5e0907

Support is gathering for a new theory about North America's first inhabitants, writes Randy Boswell.

It appears that more evidence is accumulating that colonization by sea was a common occurence in precolumbian America.

Larry P

[Uncle Dale]

It appears that more evidence is accumulating that colonization by sea was a common occurence in precolumbian America.

Larry P

Of course it all depends upon what you mean when you say "by sea."

Here's an excerpt:

Proponents of coastal migration argue that Ice Age migrants in boats may have island-hopped southward along North America's west coast as early as 16,000 years ago, taking advantage of small refuges of land that had escaped envelopment by glaciers.

The same sort of boatsmanship no doubt also occurred along the EAST coast of northern North America

as well -- but that migration is not so well documented as the western one.

Far from being a forbidding place, the fringes of glaciers and pack ice supply marine life in abundance,

along with the occasional polar bear, eagle, or other predator -- all of which furnished a means of

support to early boatsmen who migrated along the ice,

But we are talking here about very small boats -- never far from the icey shore, and not about great

trans-oceanic migrations on ocean-worthy transport craft. Had the Polynesians ventured into the

Northern Pacific a few thousand years earlier -- and had there been enough islands there, for them

to do some "island-hopping," the original Americans might well have been Malays instead of Siberians

and Northern Europeans.

As it was, South America saw an occasional Polynesian landfall -- but that was after the continent was

aleady long inhabited.

Uncle "Thor Hyerdahl, you sailed in the wrong direction" Dale

[poulsenll]

But we are talking here about very small boats -- never far from the icey shore, and not about great

trans-oceanic migrations on ocean-worthy transport craft. Had the Polynesians ventured into the

Northern Pacific a few thousand years earlier -- and had there been enough islands there, for them

to do some "island-hopping," the original Americans might well have been Malays instead of Siberians

and Northern Europeans.

!6,000 years ago they may have been small but cultures 2 to 3 thousand years ago were building some mighty big boats. I just watched the show about Caligula's floating palace and was quite impressed by its size. I suspect something that size could have carried quite a large compliment by the island hopping process.

In addition the Phoenicians were building ships that were capable of crossing the Mediterranean sea which is not much different from the open ocean.

Larry P

[Scottie]

Forgive my ignorance, but weren't the vikings here long before Columbus?

[poulsenll]

Forgive my ignorance, but weren't the vikings here long before Columbus?

Scottie

Yes but this refers to west coast migrations of oriental origin not easst coast migrations of Europeans. The controversy is about how the oriental blood groups and oriental DNA originated.

Larry P

[The Dude]

Yes but this refers to west coast migrations of oriental origin not easst coast migrations of Europeans. The controversy is about how the oriental blood groups and oriental DNA originated.

It may well have originated from eastern people who used coast-hugging boats ~16,000 years ago. It doesn't say anything about the BoM unless you believe outdated hemispheric theories (and then it says you are wrong because ~16,000 YA predates Adam, Jaredites and Nephites).

[Uncle Dale]

!6,000 years ago they may have been small but cultures 2 to 3 thousand years ago were building some mighty big boats. I just watched the show about Caligula's floating palace and was quite impressed by its size. I suspect something that size could have carried quite a large compliment by the island hopping process.

In addition the Phoenicians were building ships that were capable of crossing the Mediterranean sea which is not much different from the open ocean.

Larry P

Actually, it is --- a great deal depends upon how the ship is contructed (keel first or planking first) and

what sort of ballast could be carried -- how much the displacement was -- the mast size, etc.

Every now and then a ship constructed for the Mediterranean could make it across an ocean of course;

but you should look to the Portuguese for some of the first truly ocean-worthy craft. They were sending

out fishing fleets to New England when the rest of Europe could barely make coast-hugging voyages.

Of course Portuguese ocean-going vessels were a state secret -- so I'm not sure how much info is

available about their construction, provisioning, etc.

UD

[katherine the great]

but you should look to the Portuguese for some of the first truly ocean-worthy craft. They were sending

out fishing fleets to New England when the rest of Europe could barely make coast-hugging voyages.

UD

I look to the Chinese as the earliest origin for almost all "Western " technology.