Columbus Was Last: From Two-Hundred Thousand B.C. to Nineteen Forty Two

The best book so far to answer the question Who discovered America?, this synthesis of the archaeological evidence documents extensive, repeated transoceanic contacts long before Columbus's celebrated voyage. Radiocarbon dating of skeletons and artifacts from mounds in Maine and eastern Canada, Huyghe contends, strongly suggest a Scandinavian presence 4000 years ago. A megalithic, Stonehengelike structure, carved with Celtic inscriptions declaring that it was once an astronomical observatory, stands in New Hampshire. Across America, tablets, stone monuments and coins bearing Phoenician, Basque, Libyan, Celtic and Roman inscriptions attest to ancient contacts. Artifacts and cultural parallels reviewed by Huyghe, a contributor to Science Digest and Omni, indicate numerous pre-Columbian voyages from China, India, Cambodia and Polynesia to the New World. Colossal Olmee stone heads in Mexico have unmistakeable African features, and analysis of human remains supports a strong Negroid presence in ancient Mexico. This important, spellbinding report replaces sugar-coated myths about Columbus's invasion of America with indispensable history. (Oct.)