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Since the 1933 discovery of a flint spearhead unearthed at Clovis, New Mexico, scientists, academics and just about everyone else became entrenched in the idea that North Americans arrived on this continent exclusively via the Bering Straight land bridge. The mammoth skeleton that lay beside the Clovis point was carbon-dated to 11,500 years ago and there seemed to be no other find that pointed to older human habitation in North America. This theory became so accepted that archaeologists stopped looking for older artifacts.

But, all along, our native friends have told a different story. They speak of many waves of migration between the peoples of Europe and those of North America, and it was not just a one way street. People may have gone both ways.

Many different people throughout the world have, in the past couple decades, arrived at conclusions that point to ancient contact from both sides of the Atlantic.

·     Native tradition states that there were 3 waves of early migration across the Atlantic – the last in the 14^th century - and that the populations of Europe and North America are mixed. Also, the migrations went in both directions. DNA evidence could be a way of solving this hypothesis.

·     A new report of a skeleton found in Norway showing a distinctly Incan feature is causing quite a bit of debate. Click here.

·     Pre-Clovis explorers crossed the Atlantic about 17.000 years ago, settling in what is now South Carolina.

·     Cliff paintings and stone carvings in Scandinavia and also in North America seem to point to a connection.
 

·     The Kennewick Man was living in what is now Washington State about 5000-9000 years ago.
 

·     Hebrew explorers may have crossed about 1000 B.C.
 

·     Leif Ericcson and company crossed about 1001 A.D.
 

·     Prince Henry St. Clair may have crossed from Scotland in 1398.
 

·     The Cabot family crossed in 1497 and possibly had a first voyage just before Columbus.

The Atlantic Conference will be a gathering of experts who will share information between a variety of disciplines regarding early trans-Atlantic contact. It will be a “cross pollination” of sorts. For instance, we suspect than a Maritime Historian might get new ideas about research if he or she gets access to the research of those archeologists who found that 1,000 year old skeleton in Norway. Some Linguists might advance their work by learning more from native tribal leaders, etc.

The Atlantic Conference will be a meeting that welcomes a skeptical approach and demands proofs. To that end, those who agree to speak will also agree to post their presentations in full on our password protected website for review 3 months in advance by the other speakers. If the presenters decide, we will also open this part of the site up to others whom the speakers want to allow in for peer review.

Usually, proofs follow questions and hypotheses. While we want the facts, we also acknowledge that all the facts are not yet known. The discovery of L'anse aux Meadows and the treatment of Helge Ingstad are a good example of why The Atlantic Conference will also invite those who are exploring non-traditional areas of early trans-Atlantic contact. Their presentations will undergo a rigorous scrutiny and will be held to the same standards as every other speaker.

The Conference itself is not the end. After the meeting in August, we plan to open up the blog by invitation to others who our speakers invite in who might contribute in an ongoing way to this cross pollination between disciplines. Also, we plan to actively go out in search of on-going funding for the speakers to bring new knowledge to the study of early trans-Atlantic contact.
 

The incredibly accurate Piri-Reis map of 1513, a map made in the portolan method. The boys at MapHist will love this one!!
 

A Clovis Point, which is made using the same technique used by the Solutrean peoples of what is now Spain.

Detail of the 1561 Zeno Map.
Does it show Nova Scotia?

Did early Basque explorers reach the shores of North America by following the migration patterns of their favorite fish? The codfish has never been found in Basque or even Spanish waters.

Is the Bat Creek Stone of Tennessee proof of a Hebrew visit to North America?

Carvings in Rosslyn Chapel, which was built nearly 50 years before Columbus sailed. Do they depict maize, which was unknown in Europe at the time?

The Olmec statues of Vera Cruz and Tabasco bear facial features like full lips and broad noses. Do they point to early visitation from the Negritos and Melanesians of Southeast Asia, or the sub-Saharan peoples of Africa?


The Mi'kmaq peoples tell of an ancient visitor named Glooscap, who came from the East.

On Oak Island, Nova Scotia, a mysterious discovery known as the Money Pit contains strange markings on several stones. A former President of the U.S. even invested in a company attempting to 'get to the bottom of this.'  Also, it's called Oak Island because of the oak trees growing there. But acorns don't float. So how'd they get there?

The Kennewick man found near Kennewick, Washington. Does he have Caucasoid features?