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| American Southwest petroglyphs is ancient Chinese script, says researcher. |
RESEARCHER JOHN RUSKAMP has found evidence that Chinese explorers may have visited North America 3,300 years ago, centuries before Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island thinking he had discovered a route to China. If his evidence survives scientific scrutiny, our country's historic turn towards Europe may do an about face.
He presents as evidence a series of petroglyphs that he says is actually ancient Chinese writings in the American southwest. He claims they indicate Asians were present in the Americas around 1,300 BC - nearly 2,800 years before Italian explorer Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He presents as evidence a series of petroglyphs that he says is actually ancient Chinese writings in the American southwest. He claims they indicate Asians were present in the Americas around 1,300 BC - nearly 2,800 years before Italian explorer Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He said: "These ancient Chinese writings in North America cannot be fake, for the markings are very old as are the style of the scripts. 'As such the findings of this scientific study confirm that ancient Chinese people were exploring and positively interacting with the Native peoples over 2,500 years ago.
"The pattern of the finds suggests more of an expedition than settlement."
The 82 petroglyphs he discovered in scattered sites in New Mexico, California, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona and Nevada appear to be an ancient script that was used by the Chinese after the end of the Shang Dynasty.
Ruskamp published an academic paper on the subject on his website in April and that is being peer reviewed.
One of his supporters is MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient Dr. David Keightley, an expert on Neolithic Chinese civilization at the University of California, Berkley. He has been helping to decipher the scripts found carved into the rocks.
One of the series of ancient rock writings in Arizona indicates that the expedition may have been exploring America for ten years. It translates: "Set apart (for) 10 years together; declaring (to) return, (the) journey completed, (to the) house of the Sun; (the) journey completed together."
There is a school of thought that maintains that Asian mariners arrived in the Americas before Columbus based on DNA similarities of Asian and native peoples and the pottery style of the indigenous people in Central and South America that resemble Asian pottery.
However, barring archaeological evidence of a settlement or pottery shards, historians are reluctant to change their Eurocentric views of who "discovered" a land already populated by the original peoples who most likely, everyone agrees, journeyed to the Americas during one of the Ice Ages when there was a land bridge between Asia and Alaska.
It also shows that contrary to popular belief, Europeans were not the only one with brave people willing to go into the unknown and that Asians were also also explorers, curious and daring.
If the petroglyphs are accepted as authentic, Ruskamp's findings could force another round of fierce debates among historians, archaeologists and other scientists over who really "discovered" America.
The 82 petroglyphs he discovered in scattered sites in New Mexico, California, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona and Nevada appear to be an ancient script that was used by the Chinese after the end of the Shang Dynasty.
Ruskamp published an academic paper on the subject on his website in April and that is being peer reviewed.
One of his supporters is MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient Dr. David Keightley, an expert on Neolithic Chinese civilization at the University of California, Berkley. He has been helping to decipher the scripts found carved into the rocks.
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| Translation: “Set apart (for) 10 years together.”(Courtesy of John Ruskamp) |
Dr. Michael Medrano, chief of the Division of Resource Management for the Petroglyph National Monument, has also studied the petroglyphs found by Mr Ruskamp. He told the Epoch Times: "These images do not readily appear to be associated with local tribal entities ... they appear to have antiquity to them."
There is a school of thought that maintains that Asian mariners arrived in the Americas before Columbus based on DNA similarities of Asian and native peoples and the pottery style of the indigenous people in Central and South America that resemble Asian pottery.
However, barring archaeological evidence of a settlement or pottery shards, historians are reluctant to change their Eurocentric views of who "discovered" a land already populated by the original peoples who most likely, everyone agrees, journeyed to the Americas during one of the Ice Ages when there was a land bridge between Asia and Alaska.
RELATED: Maps show we're a nation of immigrantsBut consider what an ancient Chinese expedition might have looked like over 3000 years ago. (About the time that King Tutankhamen ruled ancient Egypt.) The explorers far from their home would not have heavy equipment or pots with them. Besides the clothing they wore, they would carry wooden implements and weapons. All of it perishable or subject to deterioration over time. They would travel as light as possible therefore not leaving the "hard evidence" that would confirm their presence.
It also shows that contrary to popular belief, Europeans were not the only one with brave people willing to go into the unknown and that Asians were also also explorers, curious and daring.
If the petroglyphs are accepted as authentic, Ruskamp's findings could force another round of fierce debates among historians, archaeologists and other scientists over who really "discovered" America.
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