Geographical Distribution and Ancient Mariners

Russell T. Arndts and Jeremy Lanctot

The world-wide geographical distribution of plants and animals has long been given as a proof of evolution. For example, the fact that seven of the world's marsupial species were found only in Australia is claimed to be proof of evolution. In the centuries between 1492 when Columbus discovered America and the days of Charles Darwin, the ships of Europe sailed the world's oceans. The mariners recorded the places where various species of plants and animals were found.

In his book, Science and Earth History, Arthur N. Strahler explains how geographic distribution influences the study of origins. He reasons that in millions of years some species may have arrived on an island or distant continent and due to isolation it evolved into the modern species found by scientists. He argues that the creation version of origins is unable to account for the distribution of animals because there hasn't been enough time for the animals to have migrated to all corners of the globe from Mount Ararat. It appears that the evolutionary argument doesn't prove evolution; it is simply claimed that the distribution of animals is best explained by the scenario that the animals evolved on the land mass on which they were found.

Picture of a Ship in a Raging Sea

The logic of these arguments will be challenged in a separate paper. One major flaw in the geographic distribution argument for evolution will be addressed here. European scholars had assumed that intercontinental shipping started with Columbus and that the distribution of plants and animals was the result of natural causes; man, it was assumed hadn't been a factor in the world-wide distribution of plants and animals.

Of course, these evolutionary arguments would be invalidated if there had been intercontinental shipping capable of transporting plants and animals to all of the world's continents and islands. Thus it could be argued that the distribution found by the Europeans 1492 could have been the result of more ancient cultures which had transported living things around the world in ships. The purpose of this paper is to review briefly the evidence that intercontinental shipping has taken place for thousands of years and to argue that the geographical distribution of given plants and animals may have resulted from such maritime activity.

Capacity and Range of Ancient Ships

It is now known that Arab ships of the first millennium A.D. were up to ten times larger than those Columbus used to “discover” the New World.1 The Arabs stitched their ships together with cord as opposed to nails. This feature added to the life of these ships since no iron nails had to be replaced.2

Chinese ships of classical times were as large and larger than famous ships of the Renaissance. Before the time of Christ, the Chinese were building ornate junks capable of crossing oceans. The 400 to 600 foot length of the wooden, Chinese ships of approximately 1000 A.D. were a match in size to some modern day ocean-liners. These ships could carry a thousand men and were floating villages containing marketplaces, weaving looms, even vegetable gardens. The voyages are known to have lasted for up to several years.3 Both the Arabs and Chinese were known to make voyages for military and trade purposes.

The Phoenicians were well known traders of ancient times. Their 100 foot ships could withstand ocean-going perils. The design of these ships employed a square sail and oars. They reached the height of their achievement from 500 B.C. to 150 B.C., later to be supplanted by the Roman navy.

The Romans had a large merchant navy by the first century A.D. Many of their ships were capable of carrying over 1,000 tons of cargo. Roman ships employed the Phoenician square sail, and the ships' hull was lined with a sheet of lead for protection against the elements. In comparison, Roman ships were notably superior to ships of Columbus' day.5 The account of St. Paul's voyage to Rome documents a classic example of Roman shipping with its reference to a vessel that carried well over 200 men as well as cargo (Acts 27). Even with the resources behind Roman sailing vessels, the Romans were not the best maritime powers in their day.

The Celts were contemporaries of the Romans who shared the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic. The Celts differed from the Phoenicians in that they did not employ the use of oars but relied solely on the wind for propulsion. Using tall masts and sails made of beaten hides, the Celts were skilled seamen unmatched by any others of their day.6 A recent discovery of a sunken Celtic ship, dating around 125 A.D., revealed solid oak timbers two feet thick.7 This attests to the soundness of their sailing vessels.

Navigation

The ability to build ships that are seaworthy is only one step in being able to cross oceans. Adequate navigation capability is necessary for successful long-term voyages. From antiquity, the most common form of navigation was based observing the sky.8 Even today, the Polynesian and Micronesian cultures have mariners who are capable of sailing thousands of miles using no instruments other than a keen instinct of stars, weather, currents, and other even less tangible aids.9

Many Arab seamen of antiquity used celestial observation via a tool known as the Al-Kemal. This was a very simple device which a ten year old child could construct, yet was capable of helping sailors cross vast distances accurately. It consists of a small rectangular wooden block, notched on the top, with a length of string attached to its middle. The bottom edge of the block is aligned with the horizon while the user positions it closer or farther from his eyes until the North Star falls in the notch at the block's top. The length of string from the block to his nose is the variable needed to calculate the ships position.10 The Al-Kemal was a simple tool but was extremely important to ancient shipping.

The Vikings employed a navigation device known as the lodestone, a crystal which changes color from yellow to blue when it molecules are oriented perpendicular to sunlight. This crystal, known today as cordierite, is capable of this phenomenon even when it is cloudy. This device allowed Vikings to set their course to within 2 degrees.11

Invented by the Greeks sometime before the birth of Christ, and later used by the Arabs, the astrolabe was a navigational “computer” comprised of metal gears and wheels which predicted the motions of the heavens. An actual device was found in a shipwreck off the coast of Greece. This device allowed navigators to predict where a constellation could be found in the sky and thus aided them in guiding their ships.12

The Chinese were as advanced as the Mediterranean cultures with respect to navigation. The Chinese and the Arabs were almost exclusively traders across the Indian Ocean. Knowledge of latitude and longitude was common to the mariners of these cultures.13

Map Making

Map making gives mariners the ability to make long voyages. These maps are often forgotten because they get lost or destroyed. The Piri Reis maps of the early 1500's are a compilation of much older maps. The original maps came from the library of Alexandria, which was destroyed by Arab conquerors in the seventh century A.D.; hence, no surviving artifacts remain today. Charles H. Hapgood has studied these maps once owned by Admiral Piri of Istanbul. His conclusions are astounding because to construct these maps trigonometry and cartographic methods would be needed which was not known to cultures of Europe until the mid-eighteenth century.14

For example, one map shows the shape of the coastline and terrain of Antarctica. This baffles scientists, since Antarctica is ice-locked and its terrain underneath this ice wasn't known until radar sounding unveiled these features in the 1950's. Hapgood believes that this map must date to a time when Antarctica was ice free, and he estimates the original maps to be about ten thousand years old. Hapgood's findings and conclusions have gained support from many notables, including the Cartographic Section of the Strategic Air Command.15 This certainly indicates that these map makers did have first-hand knowledge of, at least, Antarctica.

Columbus was not the First

The work of Harvard Professor Barry Fell documents the effect of ancient mariners on archaeological artifacts and linguistic patterns in the Americas. Of interest are his findings and analysis of Phoenician, Libyan, Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, and Celtic artifacts in hundreds of locations in North and South America. His conclusion is that America has been repeatedly visited by international sailors for millennia.

An example of a pre-Columbian settlement is the Mystery Hill in New Hampshire, where rock structures and carvings have led many scientists to believe in a transatlantic influence in before Columbus. Fell believes these sites to be temples built primarily by Phoenician and Celtic mariners.16

Fell has also examined the Pima and Zuni Indian languages. The Pimas, located in the Southwestern United States, have a language structure which is almost identical to ancient Semitic languages of Iberian Punic origin. After comparing the languages and cultures of the two widely separated peoples, he goes as far as to propose that the Zuni Indians are direct descendants of ancient Libyan sailors. This is supported by the fact that the Zuni language is dissimilar to other Indian languages of the region.17

In addition, both tribes have creation stories which parallel the Old Testament account and a story of the Flood.18 This, coupled with the finding in 1949 of a version of the Ten Commandments carved in rock on Hidden Mountain, New Mexico, in a Moabic style of Hebrew script, confirms the belief that Columbus was not the first to visit America.19

Fell also notes a connection between Polynesian/Micronesian and ancient Libyan languages. This may explain the Greek words in the languages of some people in the South Pacific. This conclusion is reasonable because many ancient voyages were multi-national.20

Legends and religions are important parts of cultures which can show transoceanic influence. It is from a mixture of legend and religion that we get stories concerning Atlantis, creation accounts, and others. When these cultures are compared between continents, there is a tendency to speculate that transoceanic contacts had taken place. For example, the Zuni and Pima Indians and their creation accounts show a strong link between the Southwestern United States and Semitic cultures of the Mediterranean many millennia in the past. It is felt that this influence represents long and repeated contacts.

African and Asian Visitors

Transoceanic connections have also been established in the realms of art and science. Archaeological finds have shown a strong connection between the European and African continents across the Atlantic and the Asian continent across the Pacific. For instance, Easter Island-like rock carvings have been found in Mexico which show a striking resemblance to African blacks. In addition, skeletons of blacks have been discovered dating to about 2,000 years before Columbus.21

Not only did this area show African influence, but artifacts of Chinese origin have been found. Also of interest is the finding of Japanese pottery in Ecuador dating to about 3,000 B.C.22 It seems that the Olmec Indians of Central America had trading contacts across both oceans.

Roman Shipping

Roman coins are commonly found both on and off the coasts of the Americas, on the mainland of the United States as well as off the coast of Brazil. Rock carvings are the most prominent find in the Americas. A Libyan inscription in Cuenca, Ecuador, vividly depicts an elephant, and, interestingly a pipe-bowl carved to form an African elephant has been unearthed near Davenport, Iowa. This find has also been attributed to Libyan colonists.23 Artifacts such as these do not make the “news” because it has been assumed that Columbus was the first to reach the American continent. Yet there are many archaeological finds which indicate that ancient mariners visited the New World.

If many cultures visited the American continent over the last few thousand years, there should be no doubt that a belief in world-wide intercontinental shipping to all parts of the world is both possible and reasonable. The possibility that animals were carried seems to be reasonably as well.

Motivation for the Worldwide Transportation of Plants and Animals

The influence of ancient mariners is not limited to cultural influence. The purpose of this paper is to present a hypothesis that the distribution of humans, plants and animals found after 1492 may have been the result of ancient shipping. This connection between ancient shipping and geographical distribution is worth consideration. The motivations for ancient sailors to distribute living organisms around the world needs to be discussed.

Bertrand Russell seemed to feel that mariners would not have transported animals from continent to continent. He felt that moving plants and animals around would have been a waste of time and resources of ancient mariners. In his book, Religion and Science, Russell recounts Joseph Acosta's statement of 1690 as follows:

“Who can imagine in so long a voyage men would take paines to carrie Foxes to Peru, especially the kind they call 'Acias,' which is the filthiest I have seene? Woulde likewise say that they have carried Tygers and Lyons? Truly it were a thing worthy the laughing at to thinke so.”24

Contrary to the opinion of Bertrand Russell there may have been a number of possible reasons why plants and animals may have been transported from continent to continent. Trade is one of the most likely motivations, because money has always been one of man's strongest motivators. Of the articles traded, animal furs, skins, and tusks were the most common. Live animals were also a common trade item, as well. King Solomon is known to have imported animals of different types (1 Kings 10:22). The Bible refers to seagoing merchants trading just about anything, including live animals (Rev. 18:12,13).

Power, War and Food

Power and war are another motivation for transferring animals. Hannibal, a North African general of the third century B.C., attempted to conquer Rome with an army using African elephants. These elephants were shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Spain.25 The Spanish conquistadors brought horses to the Americas for use in military campaigns. As a result, wild horses still exist in the Americas today.26

Another motivation for the transportation is the need for food. The Vikings were known to have transferred domestic farm animals to Greenland and North America around 1000 A.D.27. The Polynesians, when migrating across the Pacific islands, took along their domestic animals sometimes leaving some on islands to be picked up later when needed. This is still a common practice today for many South Pacific peoples.28

Religion, Gifts and Hunting

Religion is still another motivation. The worship of animals deities is common in many ancient and even modern cultures. This included not only animal artifacts, but often the live animals themselves. A connection has been established between Egyptian and Aztec worship of crocodiles.29 Religion motivated the introduction of colorful bird feathers used in religious ceremonies in Africa and South, and Central America. Traders supplied such feathers as well as the birds which produce them to Central American tribes. The origin of this practice has been traced to Africa.

Gift-giving is also a reason for transporting animals. If people go to great pains to get an exotic pet today, why not 5,000 years ago? As a gift to the Emperor, the Swahilis shipped an elephant to China in the thirteenth century A.D. This is not quite so surprising when one learns that the Swahilis had a merchant navy of hundreds of ships. These ships, capable of carrying hundreds of passengers each, plied the eastern coasts of Africa.30

The Chinese in the fifteenth century A.D. captured a giraffe and returned it by ship for their emperor's gardens.31 It was possible for ships of that day to successfully transport the world's largest land animals over large distances. There seems to be no barrier to the possible transportation of animals around the world. It would even be easier to transport small animals. The Romans transported and used many ferocious animals for events in their coliseum.

Animals may have been used for hunting. Hunting animals such as dogs may have been used for hunting wild meat or to capture animals for the return trip. Both instances would allow frequent transfer of animals between continents.

Conclusion

It has been the purpose of this paper to argue that intercontinental shipping may have been the reason any of the world's plants and animals were found in their diverse locations by European scientists as they observed the world after the voyages of Columbus. Man has had seaworthy ships for thousands of years. He has possessed the navigational tools and knowledge to make intercontinental shipping widely practiced.

In addition, there is much evidence that many ancient cultures sent mariners to the New World thousands of years ago. There seems to be no part of the world that sailors couldn't have visited in ancient times. Possible motivations for the transportation of living organisms were multiple.

Ancient shipping could have brought plants and animals to the far corners of the world. There seems to be no reason for the belief that the geographic distribution of plants and animals is the result of evolution, nor is there any difficulty in imagining that through the aid of man and his ships, the world could easily have been populated in the few thousand years since the Flood.

Endnotes

  1. Ivan Van Sertima, They Came Before Columbus (New York: Random House, 1976), 234.
  2. Tim Severin, “In the Wake of Sind,” National Geographic 162-1 (July 1982), 4-5.
  3. Stan Steiner, “China's Ancient Mariners,” Natural History 86-10 (December 1977), 58-61.
  4. Michael Boland, They All Discovered America (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1961), 21-22.
  5. Boland, 55.
  6. Barry Fell, America B.C. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989), 115-117.
  7. Fell, 123.
  8. Cyrus Gorman, Before Columbus (New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1971), 178.
  9. Steiner, 55.
  10. Frank Slaughter, The Mapmaker (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1957),3,5-6,305.
  11. Peter kolosimo, Not of this World (New York: Bantam Books Inc., 1971), 178.
  12. Robert Patten, “Ooparts,” Omni 4-12 (September 1982), 58.
  13. Gorman, 173.
  14. Gorman, 70-79.
  15. Patten, 54-55.
  16. Fell, 90-92.
  17. Fell, 177.
  18. Fell, 169-191.
  19. Fell, 310.
  20. Fell, 176. Fell's book, referenced here, contains a wealth of information which cannot possibly be covered in the context of this paper. It is highly recommended reading.
  21. Boyce Rensberger, “Black Kings of Ancient America,” Science Digest 89-8 (September 1981), 60-62,77,122.
  22. Steiner, 56.
  23. Fell, 184, 188.
  24. Bertrand Russell, Religion and Science (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), 65-66.
  25. “Hannibal,” The World Book Encyclopedia 9 (Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corp., 1966), 54.
  26. “Horse,” 323.
  27. Jorgen Meldgaard, “The Lost Vikings of Greenland,” Natural History 82-5 (May 1973), 37, 41-42.
  28. P.S. Bellwood, “The Peopling of the Pacific,” Scientific American 243-5 (November 1980), 174, 178-179.
  29. Gorman, 135.
  30. Sertima, 60-61.
  31. Steiner, 62.

Books

  1. Fell, Barry. America B.C. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1989.
  2. Quinn, David P. North American Discovery Circa 1000-1612. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1971.
  3. Chapman, Paul H. The Man Who Led Columbus to America. Atlanta, GA: Judson Press, 1973.
  4. Gorman, Cyrus H. Before Columbus. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971.
  5. Russell, Bertrand. Religion and Science. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1970.
  6. Van Sertima, Ivan. They Came Before Columbus. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1976.
  7. Pohl, Frederick J. Atlantic Crossings Before Columbus. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1961.
  8. Boland, Michael. They All Discovered America. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1961.
  9. Tomas, Andrew. We Are Not the First. New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc., 1971.
  10. Edwards, Frank. Strangest of All. New York, NY: Ace Books, Inc., 1962.
  11. Heyerdahl, Thor. The Ra Expeditions. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971.
  12. Von Daniken, Erich. The Chariots of the Gods. New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc., 1971.
  13. Edwards, Frank. Stranger Than Science. New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc., 1967.
  14. Kolosimo, Peter. Not of This World. New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc., 1971.
  15. Severin, Timothy. The Brendan Voyage. New York, NY: Avon Books, Inc., 1979.
  16. Slaughter, Frank G. The Mapmaker. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1957.
  17. Hapgood, Charles H. Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton, 1966.
  18. Weiner, Leo. Africa and the Discovery of America. Philadelphia, PA: Innes and Sons, 1920-22, Vols. 1-3.
  19. Strahler, Arthur H. Science and Earth History: The Evolution/Creation Controversy. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1987.
  20. The Holy Bible.
  21. Ashe, Geoffrey, et al. The Quest for America. New York:Praeger Publishers, 1971.

Magazines

  1. Rensberger, Boyce. “Black Kings of Ancient America.” Science Digest, Vol. 89-8 (September 1981): 60-62, 77, 122.
  2. Bellwood, P.S. “The Peopling of the Pacific.” Scientific American Vol. 243-5 (November 1980): 174-180, 183-185.
  3. Moseley, Michael F. “Secrets of Peru's Ancient Walls.” Natural History Vol. 84-1 (January 1975): 34-40.
  4. Nimmo, H. Arlo. “A Tribe of Ancient Mariners Comes Ashore.” Natural History, Vol. 82-8 (October 1973): 34-45.
  5. O-Neill, Catherine. “He says the Romans got here first.” USA Today, 19 June 1983: 5D.
  6. Jueneman, Frederic B. “in 1492...” Industrial Research & Development, July 1980: 17.
  7. Stuller, Jay. “Dragon Ships Before Columbus?” Reader's Digest, June 1983: 148-151.
  8. Chedd, Graham. “On the Trail of the Fir.” Science, Vol. 1-3 (March/April 1980): 44-51.
  9. Patten, Robert. “Ooparts.” Omni, Vol. 4-12 (September 1982): 53-55, 58, 104-105, 105.
  10. Steiner, Stan. “China's Ancient Mariners.” Natural History, Vol. 86-10 (December 1977): 48-63.
  11. Cortazzi, Hugh and Hunter, Jeffrey. “Mapmakers of Old Japan.” Natural History, Vol. 93-5 (May 1984): 64-67, 70-73.
  12. Gore, Rick. “The March Toward Extinction.” National Geographic, Vol. 175-6 (June 1989): 662-699.
  13. Severin, Tim. “In the Wake of Sindbad,” National Geographic, Vol. 162-1 (July 1982): 2-41.
  14. Meldgaard, Jorgen. “The Lost Vikings of Greenland,” Natural History, Vol. 82-5 (May 1973): 36-43.