Middle AgesExploration
Norse reach North America
c. 1000MajorContested
Leif Erikson's Norse settle briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland.
Contested history
Consensus: Norse Vikings reached Newfoundland around 1000; tree rings date wood cut at L'Anse aux Meadows to 1021.
Norse settlement in NewfoundlandEstablished
Confirmed by excavation.
Polynesians reached South AmericaEstablished
Sweet potatoes and DNA from Pacific islanders show contact around 1200.
A Chinese fleet discovered America in 1421Unsupported
Gavin Menzies' claim is rejected by historians.
Other pre-Columbian contacts (Welsh, Irish, Phoenicians)Unsupported
No reliable archaeological evidence.
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Documentnature.com
Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021 (Nature, 2021) ↗Editor's pick
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The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America ↗Editor's pick