Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums

Were seafarers living here 16,000 years ago?


Recommended Posts

n a Canadian archeological project that could revolutionize understanding of when and how humans first reached the New World, federal researchers in B.C. have begun probing an underwater site off the Queen Charlotte Islands for traces of a possible prehistoric camp on the shores of an ancient lake long since submerged by the Pacific Ocean.

 

The landmark investigation, led by Parks Canada scientist Daryl Fedje, is seeking evidence to support a contentious new theory about the peopling of the Americas that is gradually gaining support in scholarly circles. It holds that ancient Asian seafarers, drawn on by food-rich kelp beds ringing the Pacific coasts of present-day Russia, Alaska and British Columbia, began populating this hemisphere thousands of years before the migration of Siberian big-game hunters -- who are known to have travelled across the dried up Bering Strait and down an ice-free corridor east of the Rockies as the last glaciers began retreating about 13,000 years ago.

 

full article at Canada.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's certainly possible, but at this stage it seems to be an unsupported hypothesis. Even if true, I don't see why this would be "revolutionary," because I sincerely doubt it would change the way we think about prehistory and settlement from Asia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed. Population expansion across the sea is no more unusual that by land. Its notable that once the means exist, human beings exploit it to find new territories even at extraordinary risk. Ocean going craft are probably older than we realise and the technology to sail has not been a constant development. I'm thinking of Thor Heyedahls experiments in papyrus rafts across the atlantic (though this doesn't prove the actual journey took place in ancient history) or those incredible massive ships the chinese built, only to give up exploring before the europeans arrived in the pacific.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ocean going craft are probably older than we realise and the technology to sail has not been a constant development.

 

You don't even need a means of propulsion to cross an ocean, just the means of sustaining yourself for the duration of the voyage. See here for an account of a rather remarkable 'round-the world oddysey that began in mid-Pacific and is now in the North Atlantic, after having transited the Northwest Passage, all without oars, sails or engines.

 

More seriously, all you actually need to cross a body of water is a way to stay afloat and the afore-mentioned sustanance (I'm at work, and can't install a spellchecker, so be kind). I'd have to look it up, but I understand there was a polar explorer who tried to reach the North Pole by intentionaly getting his boat beset in the ice, planning to ride the ice, which was riding the ocean current. I don't think it worked, but as our plastic friends have shown, there's nothing wrong with the broad theory.

Edited by Marcus Caelius
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...