Explorers of the Americas Before Columbus

Many explorers reached the New World long before Columbus. You will meet some of these people in this journey through time. Long ago, daring explorers navigated uncharted waters & ventured onto unmapped lands. Scientists have learned about these ancient peoples by studying the remains of their cultures; for example, the Vikings in Greenland & Newfoundland & the great civilizations in Mexico & Central & South America. Although Columbus mistakenly believed he had reached India, his journeys played a major role in the subsequent colonization of a part of the world until then unknown to those who did not already live there.