Visitors to Ancient America

Researchers in American anthropology and archaeology from the late seventeenth century to the present—including Cotton Mather, John Wesley Powell, Thor Heyerdahl, and Betty Meggers, among others—all had discoveries that lead to the following conclusion: America was visited by Europeans well before the time of Christopher Columbus. Divided into two main parts, this work is a comprehensive study of the evidence suggesting that ancient European and Asian mariners visited the United States more than 1000 years ago. The first section is an historical overview of the external evidence that would support the theory of ancient incursions to America. A review of ancient ships and the currents in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is offered. The experiences of several seagoing peoples (such as Polynesians and Vikings) are explored. Both legendary voyages and modern adventures of mariners are discussed. Ancient transoceanic stories are also examined. From mammoth stone chambers of New York and New England to inscribed stones found in ancient graves from Minnesota to West Virginia, the second half of the work focuses on the American evidence for ancient visitations to the U.S., primarily in the northeast section of the country. Several alleged ancient sites are also explored in this richly illustrated work.

William F. McNeil is a longtime baseball historian and the author of numerous books on the game. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), he is the recipient of five Robert Peterson awards for increasing the public’s awareness of the Negro Leagues. He lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

William F. McNeil

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 318
Bibliographic Info: 68 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1917-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8130-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Introduction      1

PART I : The Intercontinental Connections
1. The Sun Sets on American Archaeology      7
2. Making the Impossible Possible      15
3. Vikings: The People and the Legend      41
4. Vikings: The American Evidence      64
5. The Ancient Writers      89
6. Legendary Travelers of the Ocean      99
7. The Ancient Mariners      115

Interlude      139

PART II : Exploring Ancient America
8. America’s Stonehenge at Mystery Hill      145
9. The Great Stone Chamber Mystery      159
10. Ancient Stone Monuments of America      188
11. Inscriptions: Ancient Messages or Modern Frauds?      202
12. Ancient Artifacts in North America      236
13. Mound Builders and the American Indian: Where Do They Fit In?      246
14. The Secret of Ancient America      271

Chapter Notes      285
Bibliography      289
Index      297