Publisher's Synopsis
This book describes ocean travel from the earliest times and looks at the possibility of cultural transmission from Africa, Asia and Europe to the ancient New World. It draws on archaeology and looks at similarities in the design of ancient artifacts and tools. It examines early records from ancient civilizations in China, Japan and Korea as well as in Greece, Rome and the Middle East. The plausibility of voyages across the oceans in antiquity and the various theories proposed by scholars are examined too. There is definite evidence of the Viking discovery of America and a very strong case for cultural transmission from China to the New World. Many voyages of ocean exploration from China, Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa did not return and the possibility that they reached America is examined. Then there may have been unintentional voyages to the Americas on which ships disabled in storms drifted across the seas on ocean currents. Maritime technology and geographical knowledge may not have been advances enough for those reaching the New World to return. All these theories and possibilities are examined in some detail. Some attention is also paid to Native American voyages across the oceans. The apparent landing of indigenous Americans near the mouth of the Rhine is based on written evidence from ancient Rome and the plausibility of this is examined. Then the latter period just before the voyage of Columbus in 1492 saw fishing expeditions kept secret from rival fishermen and many of these must have reached the New World. Early maps are examined too for evidence of pre-Columbian ocean voyages. In this revised edition Chinese names have been changed to standard Hanyu Pinyin Romanization and characters inserted for better identification. For example "the Stag Gallery" mentioned in the translation of the Shu Jing by W.G. Old now has the clarification: [or Deer Terrace Lu Tai ], and the place name "Kiu Kiaou" has been changed to "Ju Qiao " in conformity with international standards. A total of 364 footnotes refer to the 70 books and journal articles consulted in the writing of this history and they are listed alphabetically.
