Overview
Mainstream history teaches that Christopher Columbus or Leif Erikson were the first non-indigenous people to reach the Americas. However, "alternative" historians argue that the Phoenicians—the master mariners of the ancient Mediterranean—crossed the Atlantic as early as 1000 BCE.
Alleged Evidence
- The Paraiba Inscription: An inscription found in Brazil in 1872 that supposedly uses ancient Phoenician script.
- Coin Finds: Reports of Carthaginian and Phoenician coins being found in North America.
- Cores on the Azores: Evidence of ancient settlements on islands halfway across the Atlantic.
The Cover-up Claim
Theorists argue that "The Smithsonian" and other academic institutions suppress these finds to maintain the established Eurocentric or isolationist narrative of world history.