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Scientific Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages

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Scientific Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 133 April, 2004 Scientific Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages by John L. Sorenson and Carl L. Johannessen Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS FOUNDED 1986 Editor-in-Chief VICTOR H. MAIR Associate Editors PAULA ROBERTS MARK SWOFFORD ISSN 2157-9679 (print) 2157-9687 (online) SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series dedicated to making available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor-in-chief actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including romanized modern standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino- Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. Submissions are regularly sent out to be refereed, and extensive editorial suggestions for revision may be offered. Sino-Platonic Papers emphasizes substance over form. We do, however, strongly recommend that prospective authors consult our style guidelines at www.sino-platonic.org/stylesheet.doc. Manuscripts should be submitted as electronic files, preferably in Microsoft Word format. You may wish to use our sample document template, available here: www.sino-platonic.org/spp.dot. Beginning with issue no. 171, Sino-Platonic Papers has been published electronically on the Web at www.sino-platonic.org. Issues 1–170, however, will continue to be sold as paper copies until our stock runs out, after which they too will be made available on the Web. Please note: When the editor goes on an expedition or research trip, all operations (including filling orders) may temporarily cease for up to three months at a time. In such circumstances, those who wish to purchase various issues of SPP are requested to wait patiently until he returns. If issues are urgently needed while the editor is away, they may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. You should also check our Web site at www.sino-platonic.org, as back issues are regularly rereleased for free as PDF editions. Sino-Platonic Papers is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR PRE-COLUMBIAN TRANSOCEANIC VOYAGES TO AND FROM THE AMERICAS John L. Sorenson1 and Carl L. Johannessen2 INTRODUCTION This paper is an expanded version of a presentation given at a conference, “Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World,” held at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, May 5, 2001. The conference was organized by Victor H. Mair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also editor of the volume of papers from that conference in press at the University of Hawaii Press in 2004. Since our initial paper was submitted for inclusion in that volume, we have made further discoveries. The present book incorporates the new materials, constituting a revision and extension of the original paper. Because much of the literature that enters into our argument in the extended paper is interpreted here in ways other than biologists conventionally do, for readers’ convenience we give in the Appendix précis of our reference materials on each species discussed. Selected illustrations and a bibliography for both the text proper and the Appendix follow. Support for the preparation and presentation of the original paper was provided by the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, at Brigham Young University, and the Center for Ancient Studies of the University of Pennsylvania. We express gratitude to those organizations, but, of course, we authors alone are responsible for the views expressed and for any errors. Our appreciation also goes to Linda S. McElroy for her helpful editing of the present manuscript. ABSTRACT Examination of an extensive literature has revealed conclusive evidence that nearly one hundred species of plants, a majority of them cultivars, were present in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres prior to Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. The evidence comes from archaeology, historical and linguistic sources, ancient art, and conventional botanical studies. Additionally, 21 species of micro-predators and six other species of fauna were shared by the Old and New Worlds. The evidence further suggests the desirability of additional study of up to 70 other organisms as probably or possibly bi-hemispheric in pre- Columbian times. This distribution could not have been due merely to natural transfer mechanisms, nor can it be explained by early human migrations to the New World via the Bering Strait route. Well over half the plant transfers consisted of flora of American origin that spread to Eurasia or Oceania, some at surprisingly early dates. The only plausible explanation for these findings is that a considerable number of transoceanic voyages in both directions across both major oceans were completed between the 7th millennium BC and the European age of discovery. Our growing knowledge of early maritime technology and its accomplishments gives us confidence that vessels and nautical skills capable of these long-distance travels were developed by the times indicated. These voyages put a new complexion on the extensive Old World/New World cultural parallels that have long been controversial. John L. Sorenson and Carl L. Johannessen, “Scientific Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages” Sino-Platonic Papers, 133 (April 2004) THE PROBLEM In general, scholars concerned with the ancient culture history of the Americas believe that there were no significant connections by voyaging between the Old World and the New World before 1492. To the contrary, our data from an extensive literature that hitherto has been inadequately searched demonstrate that fauna and flora were extensively shared between the Old and New Worlds before Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. The only plausible explanation for this bi-hemispheric distribution is that those shared organisms moved across the oceans via intentional voyages that took place during the eight millennia or more immediately preceding Columbus’ discoveries. This book presents and documents the evidence for our position. We believe students of the human past are obliged to adopt a new paradigm for the role of long-distance sea communication in history and culture. In the past, arguments for transoceanic contacts have relied mainly on evidence from cultural parallels (Sorenson and Raish 1996). Some of those parallels are indeed striking, but scholars generally have rejected their value as evidence that significant pre-Columbian contacts took place with the Americas across the oceans (see, e.g., Kroeber 1948, 538–71; Rands and Riley 1958). Over a century ago, Tylor (1896) compared details of the Aztec board game, patolli (e.g., the board’s layout, the sequence of moves, and cosmic associations of the pieces and moves), with the game called pachisi in India. Even Robert Lowie, an influential anthropologist who was usually critical of diffusionist (voyage-dependent) explanations for such similarities, accepted that in this case “the concatenation of details puts the parallels far outside any probability [of having been invented independently]” (1951, 13). Still, tentative acceptance by some influential observers, like Lowie, of the possible historical significance of the cultural parallels has always ended up being rebutted by a demand from critics for ‘hard,’ or ‘scientific’ evidence for voyaging. Often, the sort of evidence demanded was demonstration that numbers of plants were present on both sides of the oceans before Columbus’ day (Kidder et al. 1946, 2). Data from the life sciences now provide that desired evidence, not only for the flora, but for fauna as well. The largest body of data is on plants. (See Tables 1, 2, and 3, below.) We will also deal with shared infectious organisms as evidence for voyaging (see Tables 4 and 5), as well as some larger animal forms (see Tables 6 and 7). An example from the history of health-damaging organisms demonstrates our approach while illustrating the power this kind of evidence can provide in the study of human history and prehistory. The hookworm Ancylostoma duodenale causes one of the most widespread human ailments. The long-term prevalence of the hookworm in East and Southeast Asia makes that area the obvious source from which the organism reached the Americas. A. duodenale was at first assumed to have been introduced by slaves brought from Africa. Early in the 20th century, Fonseca (not fully published until 1970) discovered the parasite in an isolated Amerindian population in the Amazon basin. Shortly afterward, microbiologist Samuel Darling (1920) pointed out that the hookworm apparently had infested South American tropical forest peoples since before Columbus arrived. If a date for the parasite in the Americas before European discovery could be proven, he observed, then the only explanation for the parasite in the New World would have to be that it arrived anciently via infected humans who had crossed the ocean—“storm-tossed fishermen,” he ventured. His reasoning sprang from facts about the life cycle of this worm.
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