They Came Before Columbus

Does it have basis in fact or is it bullshit?

does it mention the chinese or the norse at all?

i dunno, i havent read the book! i think its premise is that this is 600 years before columbus

i think theres another book about moorish settlers and early islam in america

True story:

I was out playing lacrosse one day (wall ball, actually) and naturally I get the cadre of curious local people saying, 'what that game is?' and shit. Anyway, this little old caribbean woman comes up and says, "You know how to play LACROSSE?" complete with correct French pronunciation.
'Yes,' I said.
'Oh, you KNOW that was invented by Native Americans, don't you?' she continued.
'Yes, ma'am, I do...'
'You look Oriental!'
'Yes ma'am. Half, thank you.'
'You know, some people think that the Native Americans came over a land bridge between Asia and Alaska!'
'Yes, ma'am. The Bering Strait, ma'am'
'I have a DIFFERENT theory!'
'What's that, ma'am?'
'I THINK THE NATIVE AMERICANS WENT THE OTHER WAY -- TO ASIA!'
'Well, if your theory is true, it just goes to show who the smart ones were.'

*astounded*

I've read most of Guns, Germs and Steel which seems to have a decent account of America's earliest settlers who most assume came via the Russian straits. That said, I saw very recently that yes, there is new evidence that people from Africa may have settled before Columbus.

Is this a book about Colombus's parents?

I didn't think there was really any dispute that Columbus *didn't* DISCOVER America. It was already inhabited, and he thought he was in India ferchrissakes. He gets credit because he proved (sort of) to the "civilized" world that you could sail to the West and hit land. So it was opening new trade routes for Europe and exploring and expanding into new territory that he's getting credit for.

It's like "discovering" a new restaurant - everyone else already knew it was there, but now that you've found it, hooray for you. (Everyone else is pissed now that the wait is longer to get in. And you're a boor.)

jaymc discovered Joanna Newsome

i dont think the books point is arguing columbus didnt discover america! i think the books point is arguing there were west africans there before him (not that west africans were 'first', but that they were there)

but then, i havent read it yet! though i have just ordered it

I'd be interested in reading that.

Variously Vikings, Basques, Welsh and Egyptians have been claimed to have landed in the Americas as well, before Columbus. The Vikings there is pretty strong evidence for. The Egyptians one is a bit shaky, the evidence mainly being that they have the same kind of boats on lake Titicaca and the Nile and that Thor Hyerdhal fancied another lunatic adventure after Kon Tiki.

The Basques is perhaps the most interesting. They were almost certainly fishing Cod and whaling off Newfoundland in the 13th and 14th centuries, if not earlier. they had the best ships in the middle ages and were supplying a large chunk of Europe's holy day salt cod and wale meat. They had however found some places where they wouldn't end up scrapping with the Scandinavians, British and Icelanders.

Columbus' ship was crewed by significant numbers of Basques and IIRC was of Basque construction. He ended up so far south partly due to Basques steering him away from their lucrative Cod and Wale stocks.

As for the Welsh, they reckon prince Madoc or Meurig was there in 1160:
http://www.madoc1170.com/home.htm

I actually stole this from a bookstore in my late teens(I had forgotten what the book jacket looked like!), i recollect that it concentrates on artifact/historical evidence in Olmec cultures and anectodatal evidence in a few other, mostly south and central American civilizations. I have another book that's more comprehensive and includes evidence for European and African pre-colombian exploration, I'll have to look at home for the name tho.