Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact between Native Americans and other continents before Columbus in 1492 is verified by historical and archaeological evidence. The Norse traveled to modern Canada and made colonies there around the year 1000, while Polynesians visited South America between 1304 and 1424. Archaeological evidence of the Norse’s pre-Columbian transoceanic contact fits well with Viking stories of a land west of Greenland called Vinland. Chicken bones found in Chile also suggest pre-Columbian transoceanic contact between Polynesians and Native South Americans.
Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact refers to cases of contact between Native Americans and people of other continents before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. At least two cases are generally recognized as true: the Norse traveled to modern Canada and made colonies there around the year 1000 and that Polynesians visited South America between at least 1304 and 1424.
Pre-Columbian pre-Columbian (also known as Viking) transoceanic contact is verified by historical and archaeological evidence. The remains of a Viking settlement were discovered in 1961 by archaeologists Anne and Helge Ingstad at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. Workshops and dwellings have been discovered, including an iron forge with a forge, a carpentry shop and a boat repair area. The largest building, with several rooms, measured 28.8 by 15.6 m (94.5 by 51 ft). Because of the find, L’Anse aux Meadows was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This archaeological evidence of the Norse’s pre-Columbian transoceanic contact fits well with the Viking stories of a land west of Greenland called Vinland written around that time. According to the Vinland Sagas, the North American settlement was founded by Leif Ericson, the famous Viking explorer. The Vinland sagas state that the colony subsequently collapsed due to infighting and conflict with the natives. Today, the wily call Ericson the first European to reach the Americas, rather than Christopher Columbus. The Vinland sagas and related archaeological evidence remain the earliest concrete example of pre-Columbian transoceanic contact.
In 2007, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that chicken bones located in Arauco Province, Chile, matched the genetic profile of chickens of that period from American Samoa and Tonga, 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away, and they had little in common with any European chicken. These chicken bones have been dated to between 1304 and 1424, well before the Spanish arrived. Since a breeding pair of chickens would never have made it across the Pacific Ocean by floating on a piece of driftwood, this makes it extremely likely that pre-Columbian transoceanic contact between Polynesians and Native South Americans occurred during this period.
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