Controversial Evidence – Ancient Chinese Visited America 2,500 Years Ago
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Examination of rock carvings in Arizona and New Mexico has led scientists to the conclusion that "Chinese explorers not only reached the Americas in pre-Columbian times but that they interacted positively with Native populations, sharing both intellectual and cultural information."
In his science paper "Ancient Chinese Rock Writing Confirm Early Trans-Pacific Interaction", John A. Ruskamp, Jr., Ed.D. explains how many symbols carved on the North American rocks are ancient Chinese script petroglyphs.
Ancient Chinese script petroglyphs in the Petroglyph National Monument. Image credit: John A. Ruskamp
Ruskamp discovered the ancient signs while walking around Albuquerque's Petroglyph National Monument.
Some of the signs struck him as unusual, and he decided to consult with experts on Native American rock carvings and compare them with symbols he remembered from ancient Chinese scripts.
His analysis has led him to believe that the sign carved on the rocks offers intriguing proof Chinese explorers visited this part of the world thousands of years ago.
Ruskamp discovered ancient written Chinese symbols of Xiàn (to offer in worship to the deceased ancestors); Quăn (dog); Dà (great); Jié (to kneel down in reverence); Dà Jiă (the name of the third king of the Shang dynasty); and Gèng (the seventh Chinese Heavenly Stem).
Ancient Chinese pictograms were inserted over their corresponding petroglyphs. Image credit: John A. Ruskamp
Ruskamp is not the only scientist convinced ancient Chinese visited North America. David N. Keightley, Ph.D., who was the first to recognize the name of the Shang king, Dà Ji?, upon this boulder, also confirmed that these petroglyphs have the form of Chinese scripts.
Additionally, Michael F. Medrano, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Resource Management for Petroglyph National Monument, personally evaluated the petroglyphs upon this boulder on November 13, 2013.
With more than 25 years of experience working at the Monument with local Native cultures, upon viewing these figures, Medrano commented, "these images do not readily appear to be associated with local tribal entities," and "based on reputation appear to have antiquity to them."
According to Ruskamp, it isn't easy to physically date petroglyphs with absolute certaint. Stilll, the syntax and mix of Chinese scripts found at these two locations correspond to what experts would expect explorers from China to use some 2,500 years ago.
Several scientists have questioned the idea that Columbus discovered America. An ancient Chinese map dated 1418 reveals that Zheng He, a Chinese admiral whose fleets roamed the oceans between 1405 and 1435, visited the continent before Columbus.
His exploits, which are well documented in Chinese historical records, were written about in a book that appeared in China around 1418 called "The Marvellous Visions of the Star Raft."
Six Chinese characters in the upper right-hand corner of the map say this is a "general chart of the integrated world". In the lower left-hand corner is a note that says the chart was drawn by Mo Yi Tong, imitating a world chart made in 1418 which showed the barbarians paying tribute to the Ming emperor, Zhu Di.
According to Gunnar Thompson, a student of ancient maps and early explorers, the map "will revolutionize our thinking about 15th-century world history."
Ruskamp's discovery of the Chinese symbols in Arizona and New Mexico has drawn the attention of other scientists.
Updated on March 14, 2022
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
Evidence Of Neolithic Bird Hunting In Upper Mesopotamia
Archaeology | Sep 27, 2023
-
Ancient Petroglyph Code Cracked By Archaeological Explorers
News | Apr 10, 2020
-
London Was Always A Multicultural City, DNA Research Confirms
Archaeology | Nov 26, 2015
-
350-Year-Old Remains Unearthed In A Stone Age Site In Portugal
Archaeology | Feb 22, 2022
-
Enigma Of Ancient Bell-Shaped Metal Vase Found In Solid Sedimentary Rock
Artifacts | Jun 6, 2019
-
Wolstenholme Towne: Lost Virginia Settlement – Destroyed, Abandoned And Forgotten
Featured Stories | Jun 26, 2018
-
Unique Viking Age Hearths Discovered In Tallinn, Estonia
Archaeology | May 11, 2022
-
Hathor – One Of Ancient Egypt’s Greatest Female Deities
Egyptian Mythology | Jun 16, 2021
-
‘Exceptional’ Ancient Roman Bath Complex Discovered In Mérida, Spain
Archaeology | Aug 21, 2023
-
Exceptional Collection Of Well-Preserved Stucco Masks Of The Mayan Kingdom Reveal Their Secrets
Archaeology | Dec 5, 2022
-
Binary Code Was Used In Ancient India And Polynesia Long Before Leibnitz Invented It
Ancient Technology | Sep 28, 2017
-
Mystery Of The Österödskvinnan (Österöd Woman) Who Lived In Sweden 10,000 Years Ago
Featured Stories | Nov 6, 2023
-
Why Was Grette The Strong, Icelandic Poet And Warrior Afraid Of Darkness?
Featured Stories | Sep 30, 2023
-
Palnatoke – Founder Of The Jomsvikings Brotherhood, Legendary Danish Hero And Enemy Of King Harald Bluetooth
Historical Figures | Nov 2, 2016
-
Disir: Elusive Female Guardian Spirits Of Fate And Harbingers Of Death And War
Featured Stories | Aug 28, 2023
-
Spectacular Victory Tower Dedicated To Hindu God Vishnu And Pioneered By King Rana Kumbha
Featured Stories | Apr 25, 2021
-
Early Humans Were Walking 7 Million Years Ago – Hominin Fossils Reveal
Archaeology | Sep 1, 2022
-
Ancient Treasures Of The Kushite Necropolis At Sedeinga, Northern Sudan
Civilizations | Sep 20, 2015
-
Medieval Well-Preserved Sword Discovered In A Peat Bog In Poland
Archaeology | Jun 21, 2017
-
Ancient Wooden Sculpture Unearthed In Peru’s Chan Chan
Archaeology | Jul 12, 2022