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To: Gary H who wrote (78957)	10/30/2001 10:29:27 PM
From: Richnorth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116752

OT Chinese the first to discover Americas, claims historian Researchers point to similarities between early Chinese and Mayans, and Chinese characters in a 3,000-year-old Mexican inscription straitstimes.asia1.com.sg BEIJING - Chinese explorers founded or at least enriched the cultures of the ancient Americas, a group of historians here said. The Chinese characters found in a 3,000-year-old Mexican inscription showed direct ties between ancient China and the Americas because 'back then people couldn't just send a fax with the characters, they had to go themselves', historian Song Baozhong said. The researchers were intrigued by a possible trans-Pacific connection with the Mayans, whose civilisation rose in 2000 BC, flourished and then faded in what is now Mexico. Based both on historical records and archaeological evidence, the historians said that compelling similarities between early Chinese and American Indian cultures showed up during their investigations. Some of these artefacts are touring China as part of an exhibition on the Mayans, including six jade tablets with writing that Mr Song construes as being Chinese. 'Science is still awaiting the final, irrefutable evidence,' said the co-author of Chinese Ancestors Opened Up America. 'But as for myself, after 20 years of research, I've come to the conclusion that it was Chinese who discovered the Americas, and that subsequently there were frequent contacts.' As early as 1761, French Sinologist Joseph de Guignes claimed Chinese sailors had been travelling up and down the American west coast in the fifth century AD. China's rich historical literature has also helped spawn the belief in ancient Sino-American links. Much earlier, in the year 219 BC, a fleet carrying thousands of men and women set out from China towards the eastern seas, in search of an elixir that would bring immortality to the emperor. The expedition never returned, leading some to speculate that it probably wound up in Central America. To some researchers, reports like these explain the near-identical nature of many cultural features on both sides of the Pacific. But some from the Academy of Social Sciences are unconvinced. One scholar admitted there were parallels such as the way both early Chinese and Mayans used chipped stone tools for hunting. 'But I don't think that explains anything, since chipped stone tools are a fairly obvious solution for a pre-metal culture,' he said. --AFP