Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

When Captain James Cook did his remarkable voyages criss-crossing the Pacific he picked up a native shaman. (Sorry I don't remember his name) who travelled with them for a while.
This shaman was able to draw a remarkably accurate map of all (?) the islands in the Pacific. Using this native drawn map Cook was able to find the Pacific Islands drawn on it.
Remember, that Cook was the first to use the newly discovered science of longitude. So, like few other seafarer-explores before him, he knew exactly where he was(!) Many of Cooks maps were so accurate they are still in use today.

So how did the native peoples of the Pacific acquire such detailed knowledge of the huge Pacific Ocean, that helped Cook so much?
No longitude, or even latitude, here?

Another interesting theory comes from a German archaeologist who found traces of nicotine and cocaine in the bodies of Ancient Egyptian mummies.
Some one pointed out that there was an African plant that contained Nicotine. But the cocaine has not been satisfactorily explained. Both Nicotine and Cocaine are native only to the Americas.
So was there an ancient trade route across the Pacific to S. America?
If so, why only trade in cocaine and tobacco ?
Why not chillies, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, capsicums?
It is interesting that the Habanero Chilli (from the Caribbean Islands)was given the name Capsicum Chinensus" as it was said to have been discovered by a botanist in China in the 15C. Strange as it is not the Chilli now used in hot Chinese Cooking. Was the botanist right?, lost?, or hallucinating?

Then there is the story of very old 30,000+ BP(?) Australian aboriginal artefacts found in S. America.

If the Americas had a population rivalling Europe and the old Mediterranean world, as we now suspect, perhaps there was some push for exploration?

What was the weather like in the "Pacific" 4,000 years ago?
Was it extra pacific (peaceful) encouraging exploration and inter-island trade?

The Marois must have been amazing navigators and Astronomers of the Southern (& Northern?) Sky. to find and settle NZ "The Land of the Long White Cloud"
(Many early European explorers travelled down the African coast until the stars changed- got scared and went home!)

All interesting speculation until we know more

If only the Catholic "Christian" Spanish had not burned the Amerindian scroll libraries, we might know a bit more.