Goodbye, Columbus Day

[Dr. Who]

The question isnt distance, the question is could africans have the know how to build ships that could traverse that distance.

This is all about liberals trying to rewrite ALL of history to their liking.

There is evidence of great seafaring cultures in Africa. Just because over time ancient civilizations have collapsed, doesn't mean that they never existed. They discover more and more evidence as time goes on of cultures and civilizations that we never knew existed. Archeology, anthropology and other related science is not all that old. We have only begun to scratch the surface of what the sands of time have hidden.

[Dr. Who]

Vikings were not an advanced society, but their were advanced sailors and navigators.

Which doesn't mean that others were not also advanced sailors and navigators. The human race evolved surrounded by water.

[Peter1469]

Which doesn't mean that others were not also advanced sailors and navigators. The human race evolved surrounded by water.

True

[Chris]

There is evidence of great seafaring cultures in Africa. Just because over time ancient civilizations have collapsed, doesn't mean that they never existed. They discover more and more evidence as time goes on of cultures and civilizations that we never knew existed. Archeology, anthropology and other related science is not all that old. We have only begun to scratch the surface of what the sands of time have hidden.

But those unknowns didn't contribute to ours the was the Spanish explorers did.

[Dr. Who]

But those unknowns didn't contribute to ours the was the Spanish explorers did.

The Spanish contributed to your current real estate. We are all indebted to the knowledge built up over millennia from thousands of different cultures all over the planet - even those which we don't yet know existed.

[Chris]

The Spanish contributed to your current real estate. We are all indebted to the knowledge built up over millennia from thousands of different cultures all over the planet - even those which we don't yet know existed.

How is that possible for those we don't even know existed? What evidence do you have?

[Mister D]

Which doesn't mean that others were not also advanced sailors and navigators. The human race evolved surrounded by water.

That's all well and good but in that case their travels would be just as irrelevant as those of the Vikings. The Columbian voyages stand out because of their ultimate historical effects.

[Mister D]

At the root of this entire discussion is a misconception about the meaning of discovery.

[Dr. Who]

How is that possible for those we don't even know existed? What evidence do you have?

We didn't start with the Greeks and Egyptians, Sumerians or Mesopotamians. We simply don't know how many civilizations predate the history that we know. We are lucky when we find bits and pieces of civilizations that predate those that are more than 2 to 4 thousand years old. We know that human beings have been around far longer than that. What we have found is often buried many feet below the surface, with cities built in layers upon other cities. Where no city was built on top, often discoveries are made just by chance. That which was destroyed by massive floods and earthquakes, tsunamis and other catastrophic events or just hidden by millennia of wind, rain and layers of soil, we don't know, but it is certain that we don't know our entire history. We've been around at least 200,000 years, so we have only just scratched the surface of our history.

[Chris]

We didn't start with the Greeks and Egyptians, Sumerians or Mesopotamians. We simply don't know how many civilizations predate the history that we know. We are lucky when we find bits and pieces of civilizations that predate those that are more than 2 to 4 thousand years old. We know that human beings have been around far longer than that. What we have found is often buried many feet below the surface, with cities built in layers upon other cities. Where no city was built on top, often discoveries are made just by chance. That which was destroyed by massive floods and earthquakes, tsunamis and other catastrophic events or just hidden by millennia of wind, rain and layers of soil, we don't know, but it is certain that we don't know our entire history. We've been around at least 200,000 years, so we have only just scratched the surface of our history.

You're plainly not answering my question. Yes, we know a lot about primitive man and early civilization. But I'm asking you about what we do not know and how that had any effect on us, and what evidence you have for that.