America is a beautiful, strange and rich continent. Before Columbus arrived, all kinds of Indians were active in this magical land: on the vast Argentine pampas grassland, there were knights galloping, waving whips, throwing off ropes and chasing cattle and horses; In the dense forests of Brazil and Peru, there are naked warriors hunting leopards; In the North Pole.
At sunset, there are Eskimo fishermen driving "Reed Horse" boats on the Red Sea. These hardworking and brave Indians used their wisdom to create a highly developed ancient civilization on the American continent. 1492 After Columbus arrived, the Indians did not yield or change their religious beliefs because of the oppression of the colonists and the temptation of the Bible. Today, Indians in various countries are still fighting bravely against racial oppression and discrimination. It should be said that Indians are the real masters of the American continent. But where did the Indians, the masters of the American continent, come from? Are they native to America? Or did you immigrate from other continents? On this issue, the international academic community has experienced a long-term debate.
1884, a famous Argentine paleontologist and anthropologist florentino? 6? 1 Ameghino points out that pampas is the center of mammalian evolution and the cradle of human beings, where apes appeared earlier than in the old world. Specifically, in the Tertiary period of geological age, there was a plain animal in Argentina, which later developed into a quadruped ape that could walk upright, then evolved into a tripod ape, a bipedal ape, and finally formed an ape. It is precisely because of the migration of these apes that humans have been produced everywhere on the earth. According to this view, the United States is not only the hometown of Indians, but also the cradle of all mankind.
Ameghino's viewpoint has aroused extensive interest in Latin American academic circles at home and abroad. Expert research verified his "theoretical" basis and quickly denied his theory. Some anthropoid remains on which Ameghino built his theory can't stand the tests of paleontology, archaeology and geology. On the one hand, he mistook some animal bones for ape bones. At the same time, a skull he found in Buenos Aires was recovered, which proved that it was not an ape skull, but belonged to Mongolian race. On the other hand, he greatly advanced the geological age of these bones. Since Ameghino's "nativism" has been denied, where did the ancestors of Native Americans come from? When did they immigrate to America? How did they get to America? What race do they belong to?
After the "nativism" was rejected, scholars generally agreed with the "exoticism". But there are great differences on the issue of "source". There are several different views:
The first is the theory of the origin of Oceania. There are endless islands in the South Pacific. Some people think that the Indian's hometown is in Oceania, and some South American Indians are from Melanesia, Polynesia and Malaysia. But some people say that Malays in Oceania are descendants of ancient Peruvian immigrants. What is exciting is that the theory of the origin of Oceania has indeed found many linguistic and folklore evidences in South America. But these evidences can only show that they had contact in a relatively recent time, and can't explain the origin of Indians.
The second is the theory of the origin of the fallen continent. According to this theory, there was once a continent called "Daxizhou" on the Atlantic Ocean parallel to the Strait of Gibraltar, which was once the most civilized place in the world. Later, the mainland suddenly sank, and the survivors fled to America, thinking that Caribbean Indians were their descendants.
The third is the origin theory of northwest Europe. It is believed that the ancestors of American Indians entered America from the European continent northward through Iceland and Greenland. As for who entered America, some were Irish, some were Germanic, some were Gaelic in northern and western Scotland, some were Danish Frison, and some were Celtic.
The fourth is "Israel's Jewish theory". According to this theory, American Indians are related to the tribes of Israel after being defeated by Assyrians in 722 BC. Scholars who hold this view believe that Israeli tribes fled after the defeat. Some people stayed in India and China, while others arrived in the northeast corner of Asia via Tatar and crossed the Bering Strait into America. Scholars who hold this view claim that Indians have discovered many physical characteristics, psychological qualities and customs similar to those of Jews.
With the in-depth study of American Indian civilization in international academic circles, the above views are increasingly questioned. Since the 1960s, scholars all over the world have begun to study this issue again. After continuous investigation and a large number of archaeological excavations in recent years, the academic community has gradually reached a more consistent view, and the "Asian origin theory" has begun to be recognized by most scholars.
According to the Asian origin theory, the ancestors of American Indians were Asians, and Mongolians entered the American continent from Alaska through the "Continental Bridge" in the Bering Strait 40,000 years ago and 18000 years ago. Geologists believe that during the Ice Age (7-65438+200,000 BC), Northeast Asia was connected with the northwest of America by a land bridge. Therefore, people have made the following assumptions and guesses: in the process of chasing wild animals or migrating, the primitive hunting peoples in ancient Northeast Asia unconsciously traveled back and forth between the two sides of the Bering Strait, and later migrated south from North America and gradually spread all over the American continent.
With the development of paleoanthropology and archaeology in China, China scholars further put forward a very striking theory of the origin of North China people on the basis of the Asian origin theory. It is believed that ancient Indians originated in the north of China, and China culture had a great influence on Indian culture. Scholars who advocate the origin theory of North China people have found some very strong evidence.
First of all, there are striking cultural similarities between ancient China and Indians. For example, in the ancient Olmec culture in Mexico, scholars found that their tunnel model was very similar to that of the Yin people; The gluttonous fragrance patterns on some Indian pottery are similar to those of Zhongding in Shang and Zhou Dynasties in China. Among the Indians in Oaxaca, the pronunciations of personal pronouns "I", "You" and "He" are similar to those in ancient China. Mayan language called "person" as "town" or "silver", which is similar to Chinese pronunciation; Some Indians in Mexico also call "flower" Mao, which sounds exactly the same as Chinese. Secondly, some archaeological excavations also confirmed that Indians had contact with ancient China. For example, in recent years, American archaeologists claimed that stone anchors belonging to ancient China people 3,000 years ago were found on the seabed of the west coast of the United States. In addition, from 1972 to 1974, 200 wedge-shaped stone carvings were excavated in the stratum near Hutouliang Village, Yangyuan County, Hebei Province, China. According to textual research, these wedge-shaped stone carvings are the same as those unearthed from the Indian site in Ackemark, North America.
Thirdly, from the historical records, we can also find that some Indians are related to ancient China. 176 1 year, Frenchman de gougne clearly pointed out that China people had been to America in the 5th century. Liang Shu was written by Yao Silian, a historian of the Tang Dynasty, in 636 AD. It tells that in the 5th century, five monks left Samarkand (now Uzbekistan) and traveled eastward to a place called Fusang Country. In the 3rd century, Ma Duanlin, a writer in Song and Yuan Dynasties, wrote A General Examination of Documents, saying that in 449 AD, a man named Shaman Shenhui came to Fusang in China.
However, there are still many scholars who disagree with the view that ancient Indians originated from China. For example, some domestic scholars have raised many questions about this. China scholars began to participate in the discussion of this issue in the 1930s, and brought up the old story again in the 1960s, and set off a small climax again in the early 1980s. There are some people here and some opponents. The focus of the debate between the two sides mainly focuses on the following three aspects:
First, whether there is a Fusang country in history. The affirmators are not only based on the records in Liang Shu, but also can be traced back to Qu Yuan's Songs of the South in the Warring States Period. 6? 1 Poems in Jiuge-"Drinking horses in Xiantang is a blessing" and "Huainanzi? 6? 1 Astronomical training and Shan Hai Jing? 6? According to the related accounts in overseas East longitude 1, Fusang country does exist, and it refers to Mexico and other places in America. The most powerful evidence is the record in Liang Shu that "Fusang is more than 20,000 miles to the east of Dahan and the land is to the east of China, so it is named because there are many hibiscus trees". Opponents believe that the country of Fusang is a fictional illusion, and this historical data of Liang Shu is not fabricated by foreign monks, but also the author's mistake, which cannot be based on it. In addition, some scholars do not deny the existence of Fusang, but think that it is not the United States, but Japan. However, China and Japan had contacts in the Tang Dynasty, and the Fuso country referred to in Liang Shu cannot refer to Japan. As for the later use of Fusang to refer to Japan, it was agreed by later generations. Fusang does not refer to Japan, but it cannot be inferred that it is Mexico. According to Qu Yuan's poems, Fusang should be a regional concept with no specific reference. Salt pool, sun bath place also; Fusang, the land of sunrise. Drinking horses in the fairy pool and stopping horses to help mulberry is precisely the exposure of Qu Yuan's romantic nature and ambition to win for Chu.
In addition, some scholars confirmed that ancient China people had contacts with America according to the early historical data of China. First, it was written by Guo Xian, a native of the Eastern Han Dynasty (one said that it was falsely entrusted by the Six Dynasties), Hanwu Cave Man, and Tang Shu? 6? 1 The Records of Literature and Art reads: "In the fifth year of Han and Yuan Dynasties, Le Bi paid tribute to fine birds, and 100 of them were put in square-foot jade cages, which were as big as flies and shaped like parrots. "Some people think that the word" Lebi "in this historical material is wrong, and it should be bile, which is similar to the word Peru; As for the fine bird, it refers to the hummingbird unique to Latin America. Secondly, Du Yang Miscellaneous Compilation written by Su E, a contemporary of Guo Xian, contains: In the first year of Sang Yongtai, the state-owned Milo in the East China Sea, the cloud "its branches are curved and born on the ground, and the big ones stretch for dozens of miles, while the small ones also shade hundreds of acres." "Although it is not the force of ten husbands, it will continue. "Some people think that the' Milo' mentioned in this historical material is almost homophonic with Peru, referring to modern Peru; As for the "mulberry" mentioned in the article, it also refers to the local agave fiber. The words "Lebi country" and "Milo country" mentioned in these two historical materials are similar to the word "Peru", while the descriptions of "fine bird" and "mulberry" are quite similar to hummingbirds and long tongue orchids. If the information about the relationship between China and ancient America in China's literature can be proved by other materials, it will be very important to uncover the mystery of ancient China people going to the United States. However, some people think that these linguistic and archaeological evidences are not credible. Second, did ancient China people have the ability to cross the Pacific Ocean? Whether ancient China people have been to America or not, how to navigate is a basic condition. Affirmers believe that not only in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, but even as far away as the Shang Dynasty, the Yin people and the Yue people had the ability to cross the Pacific Ocean eastward. At that time, China's ship had sails and a rudder, which could carry hundreds of people. The Yin people moved eastward because Zhou Gongdan breached the People's Party (now Shandong), and the Yin army had to flee overseas. The reason why the Yue people crossed eastward was the tense relationship between the Central Plains Dynasty and Baiyue tribe. The routes crossing eastward are the North Pacific Waterway and the Central Pacific Waterway, both of which exist in the downstream. Opponents believe that China's navigation ability could not have reached as far as America at that time, because until the 8th century, Jian Zhen's eastward voyage to Japan was frustrated five times, and he had a narrow escape, not to mention as far as Shang Dynasty America. Recently, however, someone from abroad successfully drifted across the Pacific Ocean alone, which provided evidence for the possibility of ancient China people crossing the Americas eastward.