Did Seafaring Chinese Visit the Americas?
- Megaterio Llamas
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Did Seafaring Chinese Visit the Americas?
'The similarity of Chinese-Olmec mythology and symbolism has been the subject of scholarly debate for over one hundred years. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Olmec culture appears around 1500 BC during the beginning of the Shang Dynasty, and the first written history of China begins. It was the start of the Bronze Age resulting in ornate bronze works of art, bronze chariots and weaponry. The first Chinese script appears at this time along with extensive irrigation systems and other public works projects, all indicators of a sophisticated and advanced culture.
It was also a time in Chinese culture when Jade was more valuable than gold, and likewise with the Olmec elite who had Jade deposits located in now Honduras and Guatemala. It may not be coincidental the Olmec, during their Middle Formative period (900-300 BC), mastered the difficulties of shaping and drilling Jade (a stone so hard that it cannot be worked with steel tools), with abrasive materials into small ornamental and votive pieces. The similarities of Chinese-Olmec art is quite telling and for those interested, an excellent comparison is presented in Art and Ritual in Early Chinese and Mesoamerican Cultures , Santiago Gonzalez Villajos, 2009.
The likely introduction of Chinese concepts of rulership and a stratified society, along with their religion and symbolism no doubt altered the Olmec and later Mesoamerican groups. It was an event that would be repeated in the 16 th century when Spanish Friars waded ashore carrying the cross of Christianity."
https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifact...ord-020406
el rey del mambo