By the time Columbus arrived in what is now America in 1492, Native Americans had been there for tens of thousands of years. The Vikings had also been there for about 500 years, and it's possible that the Polynesians had made voyages there before Columbus.
So, who were the first people to discover America?
The first people to set foot in America
The first people to set foot in the Western Hemisphere were Native Americans, descendants of a group of ancestors including ancient Northern Siberians and East Asians. They migrated along the Bering land bridge by land or sea.
The exact time when the first Americans set foot there remains a subject of debate.
Several studies have uncovered numerous fossilized human footprints in White Sands National Park in New Mexico dating back approximately 21,000 to 23,000 years. This was during the coldest period of the last ice age (which lasted from about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago), when the northern part of the continent was covered by glaciers and ice sheets.
Other studies suggest that traces of human activity there predate it even further. For example, one study dated stone artifacts in the Chiquihuite Caves, Mexico, to over 30,000 years old.
However, it remains unclear whether humans actually created these rocks or whether they formed naturally in that way. Therefore, this assertion is not entirely convincing.
In 2017, a study published in the journal Nature indicated that humans had impacted the tusked elephant bones in California approximately 130,000 years ago, proving that humans were present there much longer than when Columbus arrived.
However, other experts suggest that a natural event or other animals may have altered the elephant teeth and bones in California.
Vikings in the Western Hemisphere
The Vikings traveled to the Western Hemisphere in the 11th century, about 500 years before Columbus, even establishing a base at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland.
There is some evidence in Icelandic epics that recount these journeys. These epics were written by descendants of the Vikings in the 13th and 14th centuries.
According to Kevin McAleese, director of the Provincial Museum Rooms in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, who has done extensive research on Vikings, in "The Tale of Erik the Red," a merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson and his crew may have been the first Vikings to set foot in North America in the late 10th century.
The story goes that the crew was blown off course by the wind while attempting to reach Greenland and ended up sailing along the coast of what might have been North America. Herjólfsson decided not to land, but instead sailed along the coast before heading toward Greenland.
However, McAleese also mentioned another story from Greenland that claims Leif Erikson was the first Viking to arrive in North America in the late 10th century and made numerous voyages there.
Regardless of which Vikings were the first to arrive in North America, Norse narratives suggest that all attempts at colonization were thwarted because the Vikings had a hostile relationship with Native American groups and were outnumbered by them.
What were the sea voyages of the Polynesians?
Polynesians may have migrated to the Western Hemisphere centuries before Columbus arrived. In 2020, a DNA study revealed that Polynesians and Native Americans – possibly from what is now Colombia – coexisted approximately 800 years ago.
However, this DNA trace does not confirm whether the interbreeding was due to Polynesians sailing to the Western Hemisphere or Western Hemisphere people sailing to the Polynesian islands.
Many plant species from the Western Hemisphere, such as sweet potatoes, have been found in Polynesia, sparking debate about whether they were brought to the islands by humans or ocean currents. A 2024 study analyzing plants from Easter Island suggests that the island's inhabitants were eating South American-derived plants as early as 1,000 years ago.
Christopher Columbus
Although Columbus is famous for his voyages to the Western Hemisphere, he still maintained that the lands he set foot on were all in Asia.
"He staked his reputation on the expectation that he would reach Asia," said Ida Altman, a history professor at the University of Florida. "This is why so many people paid for his voyages, and it made it difficult for him to back down."
Furthermore, Columbus was motivated by the promise from the Spanish court that they would grant him high titles and a share of the wealth derived from trade in Asia if he successfully found a new route to Asia.
Towards the end of his life, Columbus's position may have shifted somewhat. "His position wasn't entirely consistent, and in some later writings, he referred to America as a kind of 'paradise' that he had found, implying that it was a new area for Europeans," said Anna Suranyi, a history professor at Endicott University in Massachusetts.
Regardless of Columbus's beliefs, the impact of his voyage on the world was immense. With indigenous groups in the Americas being afflicted by diseases brought by Europeans and subsequent European invasions, new nation-states eventually formed in the Americas.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/ai-la-nguoi-tim-ra-chau-my-20251113022954852.htm
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