Synopsis
This book delves into the continents’ most ancient mysteries, some stretching back 40,000 years, and shows that historical sleuthing takes many years of hard work.
Children's Literature
This fascinating and eye-opening look at the so-called discovery of North America is a must for both the home and the classroom. Wyatt gives many alternative views to the popular Columbus belief. She explores the Portugese claim that Corte-Real arrived in Newfoundland twenty years before Columbus. She considers archeological digs in Nova Scotia which indicate that the Chinese may have settled in the New World almost a hundred years before Columbus' arrival. She notes that there are even artifacts suggesting that the Welsh or Scots made it to Nova Scotia and the New England States 100-300 years before the famous 1492 date. We already know of a Viking settlement in Newfoundland dating from about the year 1000, so it's quite possible that others made it to America before Columbus. The author also explains how earlier peoples walked across the land bridge from Asia to the Americas, and how they might have sailed a coastal route from Asia to the Americas. Throughout the text, appealing pictures and sidebars explain concepts such as genetic tracking, skull morphology, archeological techniques, and map-making. A timeline, a glossary and an index make the book useful for research. Reviewer: Kathryn Erskine