1

Did the indigenous tribes of North America know anything at all about civilization outside the continent before the fifteenth century? If so, how much did they know, and what international relations had they?

I am not asking if they made accurate guesses based on calculation, but if they actually travelled outside the Americas to discover other civilizations.

Michael Orwell
  • 249
  • 1
  • 7
  • @Semaphore But that question is somewhat different than what I intend to ask. I really want to know whether they had solid, empirical knowledge of the rest of the world, not if they had made accurate speculations. – Michael Orwell Jan 06 '16 at 13:59
  • What's the difference between "know" and "had solid, empirical knowledge"? – Semaphore Jan 06 '16 at 14:00
  • @Semaphore We know that there's a black hole in the centre of the galaxy but we have solid, empirical proof that the earth is a geoid ellipse. – Michael Orwell Jan 06 '16 at 14:04
  • 1
    That doesn't explain the difference to me, it just sounds like a difference without a distinction. I guess I shouldn't have commented. – Semaphore Jan 06 '16 at 14:06
  • @Semaphore What I intend to say is, it is wholly possible to make several fully educated guesses about things not seen or explored, but it is another thing entirely to gain empirical knowledge of them through physical observation. – Michael Orwell Jan 06 '16 at 14:10
  • 1
    Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Michael Orwell Jan 06 '16 at 14:12
  • 1
    Sorry to all - according to recent genetics data, Polynesians descend from Bismark island Micronesians that descent from mainland Asia. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110203124726.htm – Gangnus Jan 06 '16 at 21:09
  • @Gangnus - exactly. Not that one piece of evidence should be considered conclusive, but in this case linguistic studies for the last few decades have pointed to the same place (Formosa to be specific, but obviously humans got there somehow, and Asia is the only credibly nearby source). So the genetics is just corroboration. – T.E.D. Jan 07 '16 at 01:16
  • @T.E.D. According to my reference, the Formosa hypothesis is obsolete, too. Genetic tests prove that. so, they are NOT corrabortion, but disprovement of your variant. – Gangnus Jan 07 '16 at 07:44
  • @Gangnus - I see. Very interesting. Although there are other explanations (for instance, mtDNA and y-chromosome studies often show very different origins for male and female lineages). In my mind the important thing here is that both approaches are independently suggesting that Polynesians came from the east, not from the west. – T.E.D. Jan 07 '16 at 14:25
  • @T.E.D. I have already brought my excuses and deleted the post. – Gangnus Jan 07 '16 at 17:55

0 Answers0