Ancient Ocean Crossings: Reconsidering the Case for Contacts with the Pre-Columbian Americas; World Trade and Biological Exchanges Before 1492, Revised and Expanded Edition; Pre-Columbian Sailors Changed World History

Stephen C. Jett. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2017. xvii and 508 pp., maps, diagrams, drawings, notes, references, index. $49.95 cloth (ISBN 978-0-8173-1939-7).

John L. Sorenson and Carl L. Johannessen. New York, NY: iUniverse, 2013. vi and 437 pp., tables, illustrations, photos, appendices (3), bibliography, index of species, about the authors. $39.95 cloth (ISBN 978-0-5955-1392-5); $29.95 paper (ISBN 978-0-5955-2441-9).

Carl L. Johannessen. Denver, CO: Ace, 2015. xi and v and 299 pp., tables, figures, appendix, bibliography, about the author. $16.65 (ISBN 978-1522-732662).

It was a very long time in coming, but well worth the wait. Geographers, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and others long intrigued by the possibility of pre-Columbian New World contact (PCNWC) have long been frustrated. The idea that non-Western Europeans reached the Americas prior to Columbus bordered on heresy in the Eurocentric mind. Little hard evidence existed for such contacts, at least as assessed by those holding traditional views. Many readers might recall the stunned disbelief held by traditionalists when Newfoundland's L'Anse aux Meadows site was identified as Viking and dated to ca. 1,000 AD.

Philosophically, the ongoing debate over the possibility of Old World–New World PCNWC faced numerous problems. Many questions pertained to the seaworthiness of early watercraft and the mind-set and technological ability of early navigators. Of great importance, however, was the ethnocentric reluctance of many if not most U.S. scholars to even question whether New World cultures were the result of independent development, or influenced by transoceanic diffusion. Evidence supporting such crossings has existed for more than a century; most scholars, however, simply were reluctant to accept the possibility. There were, of course, always a few “voices in the dark” going against the scholarly grain and insisting that evidence existed for Old World–New World cultural contacts, quite probably going in both directions.

Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition was perhaps the earliest hint, at least to the lay public, that early navigators possessed both the watercraft and skills to undertake lengthy oceanic voyages. At the other extreme, numerous oceanic crossings in very small craft and with few people showed that vessel or crew size was largely unimportant. “Proof” in support of such crossings, however, has largely been piecemeal and details are scattered through a large, highly diverse, and often suspect body of literature. (One of the great strengths of the three books herein reviewed is their extensive bibliographies.) Among the early comprehensive attempts to draw essential PCNWC information together was a symposium held by the Society for American Archaeology, at Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1968. Twenty-four of the symposium contributions appeared in a publication edited by Carroll L. Riley, J. Charles Kelley, Campbell W. Pennington, and Robert L. Rands (1971), Man Across the Sea: Problems of Pre-Columbian Contacts.

Fortunately, Jett, Sorenson, and Johannessen have taken giant strides to clarify the question of early contacts. Jett meticulously documents the psychological, technological, environmental, and motivational factors that provide the means and evidence in support of early navigations across vast spans of open water. Sorenson and Johannessen present detailed biological evidence in support of extensive pre-Columbian oceanic crossings and exchanges going in both directions. Finally, Johannessen's book is more or less a detailed summary of all aspects of the early oceanic exchange question. Based on the three books, it is now possible to move beyond the “Did it happen?” (or “It didn't happen!”) issue to geographically and historically more relevant concerns of where, when, why, and of what cultural and biological consequences were such contacts.

Stephen C. Jett, who followed in the footsteps of his mentor, George Carter, began studying early transoceanic crossings and resulting cultural diffusion a half-century ago. His study (Jett 1968), “Malaysia and Tropical America: Some Racial, Cultural, and Ethnobotanical comparisons,” appeared in International Congress of Americanists in 1968. During the ensuing decades, Jett has published more than thirty works devoted to early navigation, possible transoceanic contacts, and the distribution of various culture traits common to both the Old and New Worlds. This rich and varied background is much in evidence as Jett meticulously presents his evidence in support of early oceanic crossings. His well-supported hypotheses draw support from such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, climatology, ethnobotany, geography, genetics, history of navigation and seafaring, linguistics, medicine, and oceanography. An ability to weave an intellectual tapestry with threads from so many sciences tends to make geographic research unique. One of the major problems with so much scholarship pertaining to PCNWC is the very narrow focus of so many researchers whose assessment is largely limited to their own discipline. Of his focus, Jett calls his research “culture-historical geography,” which he defines as “the study of the spatial aspects of the origins, spreads, distributions, and artefactual and landscape manifestations of cultural phenomena as they have developed and changed through time” (p. xiv).

The book's fundamental premise is clearly expressed in the subtitle: Reconsidering the Case for Contacts with the Pre-Columbian Americas. Clearly, Jett takes a stand counter to the long-held position that such contacts were improbable, if not impossible. The book, then, is a reconsideration of traditional views. In recent personal correspondence (2 March 2018), he stated, “I think we have about reached a tipping point on this topic. The facts are there; and, I think, the silliness of many of the counterarguments are now being exposed for their shallowness.” It is the gathering and presentation of these “facts” that make the book such a valuable contribution to the PCNWC literature.

Jett presents his case in five parts that include thirty-two chapters. Part I has a dozen chapters devoted to various “Intellectual Obstacles to the Notion of Early Transoceanic Contacts.” Point by point, he examines and refutes these misconceptions. For example, when considering the possibility of early transoceanic crossings, it is common to think in terms of huge expanses of open water. Chapter 1 reminds the reader that in crossing the North Atlantic, the greatest distance between land masses is 120 miles and only about 70 miles of the voyage are out of sight of land. In the Pacific, Asia and North America are separated by only 56 miles across the Bering Strait. Additional chapters address major reservations held by many skeptics: environmental conditions including a consideration of prevailing winds and currents; how early navigators could provide themselves with food and water at sea; and whether voyages were accidental or deliberate (clearly, both occurred). Part I concludes with six chapters devoted to various questions pertaining to what some believe to be the apparent lack of significant culture traits and historical records to support transoceanic contacts. Each doubt is summarily dismissed by Jett, who clearly explains and convincingly documents support for his arguments.

Part II addresses in eleven chapters the physical and technological ability to cross oceans long ago. Nine chapters are devoted to a detailed history of watercraft and navigation. Topics include various types of watercraft through both time and space. Most readers will be surprised to learn that evidence exists for craft capable of going to sea a million years ago. Jett believes that Southeast Asia was the hearth of early development of watercraft, sails and rigs, navigation skills, and actual oceanic travel. In support of this hypothesis, he documents the antiquity of human presence in a number of locations east of Wallace's Line. Examples include Luzon, Philippines and New Guinea dating to 67,000 and around 53,000 years ago, respectively. More recently, evidence suggests that Australia was first reached more than 50,000 years ago. Geographically, Jett provides detailed information on the types of craft possessed in various marine locations worldwide, as well as their use. Of particular interest to this reviewer was Chapter 23, a detailed discussion of the various means used by early navigators to determine direction, location, proximity of land, and other conditions when at sea.

Part III is brief, containing only two chapters: “Repellants” and “Attractants.” In essence, the two sections provide a summary of the push–pull factors that drew early people into uncharted waters. Basically, they include many of the same reasons that influence migration today: a variety of physical environmental conditions, curiosity, social alienation and oppression, and economic and political factors, among others. The brief section is particularly insightful because it lays to rest a major bit of common wisdom pertaining to early voyages: that many if not most were accidental. Jett is convinced that many if not most of them were deliberate.

To this point, Jett has refuted the traditional “it can't be done because …” arguments; clearly showed that early watercraft, navigational skills, and human attitudes related to seafaring were not a deterrent to venturing into unknown seas; and considered a host of push–pull factors that influenced exploration and migration. In Part IV, “Opportunity for Exchange,” Jett presents varied evidence in support of the early transoceanic transfer of numerous items. They include flora and fauna; diseases; human features including blood types, genes, DNA, and physical appearance; and various legends. The fundamental premise in suggesting such exchanges is that many items such as these can be traced to an area of origin and they could not have been transferred by natural means. The bottle gourd, coconut, cotton, tobacco, and coca are among the plants that Jett uses to illustrate the foregoing. For example, coca is native to humid, tropical South America, yet traces of cocaine found in Egyptian mummies suggest that it was used in that country as early as ca. 950 BC.

In a brief conclusion, Jett suggests that particularly since the 1980s, PCNWC study has undergone a revolution. He cites six areas of research in which considerable recent progress has occurred. Four are given major treatment in this book: watercraft and navigation, pathogens, domesticates, and human genetics (others are linguistics/epigraphy and calendrical/cosmological studies). In Ancient Ocean Crossings, Jett has drawn together and convincingly presented and assessed a huge body of evidence that amply supports the case for early transoceanic exchanges.

In the second edition of World Trade and Biological Exchanges Before 1492, Revised and Expanded Edition, Sorenson and Johannessen present a comprehensive and convincing summary of nearly 200 floral and faunal species, some definitely found, and others possibly identified, in both the Old World and New. The work reflects decades of research by both authors in studying such exchanges, Sorenson as an anthropologist and Johannessen as a biogeographer.

The 437-page book is perhaps best described as being a detailed encyclopedic compilation of biological species for which at least some evidence exists of exchange. (Readers familiar with the 593-page first edition might wonder how the much shorter current book could be an “Expanded Edition.” The answer is a much smaller font size in the 2013 volume.) In the brief introduction, the authors suggest that the only reasonable explanation for these findings is that many transoceanic voyages across both major oceans and in both directions were made as early as the seventh millennium BCE, if not earlier, and 1492 CE. Whereas the antiquity of suggested contacts might come as a shock to some readers, the book meticulously presents, documents, and explains convincing evidence in support of the claim. Table 1 lists ninety-nine plants for which considerable evidence exists for transoceanic transfer. Each listing includes the species, common name, origin, where moved to, and date at which moved. Supporting text begins with detailed discussions of seven cultigens for which the authors believe absolutely conclusive evidence of exchange exists: amaranth, the peanut, cotton, the sweet potato, tobacco, coca, and maize. Forty-six additional plants are discussed, although in less detail. Table 2 lists twenty plants for which evidence is significant but not decisive, and Table 3 gives another twenty-one flora for which some evidence justifies further study.

Microfauna are considered in the next section of the book. Nineteen species for which decisive evidence of transfer exists appear in Table 4. Each is identified and discussed in detail in the text, including two species of Old World hookworms that appeared in South America as early as the sixth millennium BCE. Another nineteen species of microfauna for which evidence is less than decisive are listed in Table 5. Table 6 identifies seven animal species for which decisive evidence of exchange exists, with a discussion of each, including the dog, chicken, and turkey. Finally, Table 7 includes ten species for which additional study is needed.

Sorenson and Johannessen indicate that their list is in no way exhaustive and they encourage additional research. The authors suggest that “rather than having discovered a new set of answers to old questions, we prefer to consider this paper a potential source of provocative new questions.” (p. 77). Of particular importance is the need to consider literature in languages not well represented in existing research. They believe that the bulk of evidence supports a voyaging explanation, simply because very few of the species discussed could have survived transfer by way of Beringia, or moved via some natural agent. Of their conclusions, they believe the data presented warrant thoughtful consideration, rather than perfunctory dismissal. Of great interest (and surprise) to this reviewer is the fact that so many of the plants and animals (roughly 50 percent) were present in India, with many others—as expected—in China or Southeast Asia.

Of particular importance are the eight items discussed in “Summary Points” (pp. 78–79). Among the points made, the authors reiterate their contention that the exchanges were by numerous ocean voyages, were carried out over many millennia, and exchanges occurred in both directions. They note that it is most commonly assumed that parallel cultural evolutionary processes occurred independently in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In light of the evidence presented, however, they challenge this assertion and suggest “it is now apparent that there was to a considerable degree a single ecumene spread over not just Eurasia but much of the world in pre-Columbian times” (p. 78). The summary concludes with a call for an open-minded reassessment of culture history.

The book's remaining 350 pages include three appendices: Appendix 1, a detailed documentation of plant species, microfauna, and other fauna (listed in alphabetical order); Appendix 2, “Species Ordered by Uses,” and Appendix 3, “Species of American Plants in South Asia, by Type of Evidence.” Of particular interest are the sixteen photographs presented in support of trait exchange. Several, for example, clearly show that New World maize was present in several Old World locations centuries before Columbus's time. The sixty-four-page bibliography will be of great value to anyone seeking additional information on biological exchanges.

Carl Johannessen's Pre-Columbian Sailors Changed World History presents a fascinating and extremely well-documented overview of all major aspects of the PCNWC controversy. As the title suggests, the author believes that “if the early dispersal of crops and cultures occurred before the voyages of Columbus then we have to rethink all of ancient history and the development of civilization around the world” (p. 57). In support of his hypothesis, Johannessen presents a detailed, thoughtfully considered, and eloquently presented summary of his nearly half-century of study pertaining to transoceanic cultural and biological exchanges. As such, it represents a landmark contribution to the growing body of literature spotlighting pre-Columbian transoceanic interactions.

The main body of the book is divided into five sections (the Table of Contents indicates 6, but there is no Section 4). The two chapters in Section 1 present a detailed history of sailing. Section 2 includes seven chapters devoted to floral evidence for transoceanic diffusion before 1492 CE. Faunal evidence for such contacts is presented in Section 3. In the context of floral and faunal exchanges, Johannessen presents very convincing evidence that few if any of the plants, animals, or diseases could have traveled via Beringia or, for that matter, far northern or southern waters. He emphasizes that the transoceanic contacts were by tropical or subtropical peoples crossing tropical or subtropical seas.

The six chapters in Section 5 present detailed cultural evidence for transoceanic diffusion. This section provides a splendid summary of contemporary knowledge of such exchanges. Among the subjects included are artistic representations of crops and animals, weaving, bark cloth, the blowgun, and board and other games. Additional topics include the 260-day solar year, images of elephants and other animals found within the Mayan culture, and various architectural elements including the building and dispersal of pyramids. Finally, Section 6 presents a summary of findings, with chapters titled “Putting it all Together—The Philosophy of Diffusion,” “Changing the Paradigm of Eurocentrism and More,” “Eradicating Racism and Improving the Well Being of the World's Peoples,” and concluding with the chapter “Moving Forward—Where Do We Go from Here?” Chapter titles are listed simply to indicate the degree to which Johannessen not only presents hard evidence for transoceanic exchanges, but their cultural significance as well. Additionally, he charts a pathway to future research, suggesting that “it is time to significantly reevaluate the long-held hypothesis of cultural historians and other scholars who believe that there was no significant dispersal of cultural traits across the oceans before the Spanish and Portuguese sailors began transporting them after 1492 C.E.” (p. 231). Optimistically, Johannessen is firm in the conviction that paradigm change “will occur and the truth will win out” (p. 251).

It is difficult to find fault with any of the three books. The reviewer believes that the works by Sorenson and Johannessen could have benefited from maps showing the origin and diffusion of various traits (e.g., the surprising number of New World plants found in India). Additionally, the Johannessen book has a significant number of “mechanical” errors, such as omission and punctuation. Although they are a nuisance, in no way do they detract from the book's content.

In conclusion, perhaps the best way to visualize the importance of the Jett and Sorenson and Johannessen volumes is to think of them as bookends on a shelf of PCNWC literature. Jett presents a detailed and extremely well-documented case for early navigation, the means of transoceanic exchange. Sorenson and Johannessen provide very convincing evidence of the fact that such exchanges did occur, citing about 200 specific examples of flora and fauna found in both the Old and New Worlds. The Johannessen book summarizes and adds to the information covered by all literature on the shelf.