21b) Life Skills – a bit of background & the history example (con’t)

Regarding the maps used by the Chinese mentioned in the prior blog, who drew them and when. Evidence suggests that they were copies of documents from prior to 2,000 BC!

But were the Norse and Chinese the only explorers to precede Columbus? Again, it appears not. There is circumstantial evidence that the Phoenicians may have made it to America as much as 2,000 years ago, the Ancient Celts around that same time and the Irish & Welsh at some time prior to the Norse. I suspect that we will learn more about these possibilities as our abilities & technology improves.

We now know, through DNA mapping, that as long ago as 24,000 years ago Europeans migrated to Northeast Asia and apparently moved with others to America and that 1/3 of ancient indigenous Americans DNA is of European origins! The assumption is that all of the European DNA is a result of the Asian migration, but there is also evidence of possible migration directly from Europe along the Ice Sheet South of Iceland, Greenland and then on to North America during the Ice Age.

This idea is based on stone age peoples using rather primitive vessels and staying close to the ice shoreline and surviving on hunting and fishing.

stay tuned for more on this next week