Did Phoenicians Discover the New World?

[The Good]

Some interesting theory....just look at that Phoenician coin!

http://phoenicia.org/america.html

If Mark McMenamin is correct, neither Columbus nor the Vikings were the first non-natives to set foot on the Americas. McMenamin, the Mount Holyoke geologist who last year led an expedition that discovered the oldest animal fossil found to date, may have made another discovery--one that sheds radical new light on present conceptions of the Classical world and on the discovery of the New World.
Working with computer-enhanced images of gold coins minted in the Punic/Phoenician city in North Africa of Carthage between 350 and 320 BC, (please see sketch of coin right and where the world map is supposed to have been inscribed) McMenamin has interpreted a series of designs appearing on these coins, the meaning of which has long puzzled scholars. McMenamin believes the designs represent a map of the ancient world, including the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and the land mass representing the Americas.
If this is true, these coins not only represent the oldest maps found to date, but would also indicate that Carthaginian explorers had sailed to the New World.
In fact, it was his interest in the Carthaginians as explorers that led McMenamin to study the coins. The Carthaginians were closely linked to the Phoenicians of the Middle East in terms of origin, culture, language, and naval enterprise. Both peoples are widely credited with significant sailing exploits through the Mediterranean, to the British Isles, and along the coast of Africa.

This detail of a gold coin shows what McMenamin believes is a map of the Mediterranean area, surrounded by Europe, Britain, Africa, and (at left) the Americas. The image appears on coins minted in Carthage between 350 and 320 BC. The enhanced and colorized version is based on the illustrations courtesy of Mark McMenamin.

In one of the coins studied by McMenamin, a horse stands atop a number of symbols at the bottom of the coin. For many years, scholars interpreted these symbols as letters in Phoenician script. When that theory was discounted in the 1960s, it left scholars baffled. Working over the past few months, McMenamin was able to interpret the design as a representation of the Mediterranean, surrounded by the land masses of Europe and Africa, with, to the upper left, the British Isles. To the far left of the representation of the Mediterranean is what the geologist believes is a depiction of the Americas.
A number of classical texts bolster this theory. For example, in the first century bc, Diodorus of Sicily wrote "...in the deep off Africa is an island of considerable size...fruitful, much of it mountainous.... Through it flow navigable rivers....The Phoenicians had discovered it by accident after having planted many colonies throughout Africa."
"I was just the lucky person who had the geologic and geographic expertise to view these coins in a new light," McMenamin notes. "I have been interested in the Carthaginians as the greatest explorers in the history of the world."
McMenamin's interest in Carthage led him to master the Phoenician language. He has published two pamphlets on his work regarding the Carthaginian coins. One is written in ancient Phoenician, representing probably the first new work in that language in 1500 years.
He has submitted a paper on his theory to The Numismatist, a leading journal in the study of coins, which has accepted McMenamin's paper on the theory for publication. At the same time, the scholar is trying to gain access to a number of coins --or casts of their impressions-- currently held in European collections. These impressions will further aid him, he hopes, in proving the world map theory's validity. "If I had the time and the money," McMenamin observes, only half-kidding, "I'd be in North Africa with my metal detector trying to find Carthaginian coins to further confirm my hypothesis."
Additional study may well reveal that it was Punic explorers not Europeans who "discovered" the New World. At the very least, McMenamin hopes his theory will focus new scholarly attention on ancient Carthaginian culture.
Source:

1. Geologist Mark McMenamin, Mount Holyoke College

[hellheaven1987]

Unfortunately we would never know the truth, since Carthagian culture did not survive or leave much evidences after Roman destroyed the city.

[The Good]

True...but it's definately possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they actual did sail there, even if it was once, twice, or a few times.

[hellheaven1987]

How??:hmmm:

[Kennylz]

They might have, but that coin is a piss poor attempt at proving it. It could be anything.

[bushbush]

this is worse than the 1421 theory lol..at least they have some better maps..

[jankren]

I think the Mongoloid people were the first ones to discover the New World and settled there.

[The Sixth Wizard]

That "America" could be anything, a mythical island like Atlantis, a person, a different icon. It doesn't even look like America. Not to mention that the "Asia" looks nothing like Asia either. One needs more evidence than that blob, and even on face value I doubt that picture is representing America.

[Erwin Rommel]

OMG!! i can see miami and mexico from that coin!

[removeduser_487563287433]

I personally do doubt it, but I suppose you have to keep an open mind. It is very unlikely, however, that the Phoenicians would have known about it and this knowledge did not pass to any neighbouring culture.

[SigniferOne]

Well look, Hanno made an attempt to go to Western Africa, and when Romans got around to settling those parts they found no trace of Carthaginian culture there. If Carthage failed to populate even Hanno's stretch of discovery, which by the way is way too exagerrated compared to Greek Pythias who went as far as Britain, but if they failed to colonize even that, it's patently preposterous they would somehow end up even further.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Colonisation and discovery are completely different, though. The Phoenicians were in contact and trade with the British Isles, much more than the Greeks, and made no attempt to colonise there.

[Racer X]

There's more evidence for them sailing to Australia, which is also, of course, quite unlikely.

[Erebus Pasha]

It's highly unlikely given the ships of the day weren't designed for the open ocean. Most ships of the time - Greek, Carthaginian and Roman - hugged the coastlines so it's highy unlikely that a ship could've have travelled to America unless it was carried there by a freak storm.

[conon394]

I’ve seen this kicking around web and I’m unimpressed – but I never have turned up the original published work so I don’t really know the details of my biggest complaint – using image enchantment on the supposed map. One you start ‘enhancing’ images it seems to me you run the real risk of getting what you want to find.

The map such as it is also decidedly not similar the typical Hellenistic conceptualization of the relative sizes of the land masses and islands of the Mediterranean. Why an enlarged Spain? If the Carthaginians were going to over emphasize some feature on the map why make it Carthage and N Africa; or there old mother country? If the Carthaginians were going to advertise one successful venture of discovery, why not their trips along the African coast as well?

Given the location question on Carthy coins one where you typically find a Punic script and given the nature of Carthaginian coins – struck by hand, and typically struck to fund military ventures, not as regular issues (thus produced in mass quickly); a bad strike seems far more likely to me than a secret map.

Some typical coins here:

http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/vwielink/W...Zeugitana.html

A detail with Punic script:

http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/vwielink/W..._SNR50-19.html

More interesting given the shape of ‘America’ in the enhanced image of McMenamin is this coin where the first letter of the inscription is a ‘cross’ much like ‘America’…

http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/vwielink/W...NR57-434b.html

hellheaven1987

Unfortunately we would never know the truth, since Carthagian culture did not survive or leave much evidences after Roman destroyed the city.

That is a fallacy. Lots of Punic Carthaginian cities did survive the fall of Carthage – Utica, Gades, New Carthage (in Spain). Punic culture surly survived, its religion did and I know of no evidence for Roman pogroms against any Punic city that was already a subject of the Republic when Carthage itself was destroyed.

It's highly unlikely given the ships of the day weren't designed for the open ocean. Most ships of the time - Greek, Carthaginian and Roman - hugged the coastlines so it's highy unlikely that a ship could've have travelled to America unless it was carried there by a freak storm.

Some or many at worst - not most; the ‘Hellenistic World’ was quite able to build deep water ships, and could make long open ocean voyages. The best example would be the Greek development of the open water, high monsoon season trade with India.

Ferrets54

The Phoenicians were in contact and trade with the British Isles, much more than the Greeks, and made no attempt to colonize there.

I’m not sure about that they both pursued the products of British trade (tin) as soon as they reached the western Med. but is their any real evidence of Punic shipping direct to the British Isles?

[DAVIDE]

i dunno if Carthaginians or phoenicians before them, arrived in america... probably not. anyway in 1800, in brasil... has been found a stelae written in phoenician language. the famous stelae of Paraiba:



Transcription: 1) nhn abn knan m zdn m e-qrt e-mlk shr ešlka 2) an ai z rhqt arz erm u nšt b hr l aliunm 3) u aliunt b šnt tšat u ašrt l hrm mlk naabr 4) u nelk m azun gbr b im sp u nnsa am anit ašrt 5) u neie b im ihr k štm šnm sbu l arz l hm u nbr 6) l mirbal u la neat hbrna u nbaelm šnmasr 7) mtm u šlšt nšm b ai hr tašan kimt ašrt abr.

Translation: 1) We (are) sons of Canaan, (came) from Sydon, the royal city. A storm throwed 2) our ship (נא) on this far away coast, a montainaous land, and we sacrifed on a hill to the gods 3) and to goddesses, in the 19th year of Hrm, our powerful King. 4)we've been embarked in Ezion Geber on Red Sea and we left the harbor with 10 ships(תינא). 5) We stayed on sea for 2 years, outflankin Africa (lett: the land of Cam), but we've been separated 6) by the storm (lett: לעב-ביךמ as “the dispute of Ba'al”) and we were no (more) with our companions. 7) So we decided to camp (nuaelm), twelve men and three women, on this montainous coast, safe and alive, but ten died.

[SigniferOne]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://books.google.com/books?id=dSw...l=en#PPA145,M1

It is therefore now believed that the Paraiba inscription was a fraud perpetrated by the Brazilian Freemasons, connected with either the Instituto Historico at Rio dei Janeiro, or the emperor Dom Pedro II.

[King Edward III]

I certainly would want to believe it.

[conon394]

As Signifier just noted the Paraiba inscription is a fake

A good discussion can be found in -

Canaanites in America: A New Scripture in Stone? Marshall McKusick
The Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 42, No. 3

The inscription uses incorrect grammar (biblical Hebrew in places) and incorrect letter forms among other problems.

[DAVIDE]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://books.google.com/books?id=dSw...l=en#PPA145,M1

well my opionion: in 1800 is certain that nobody in brasil, could speak even recognize phoenician alphabet. the guy who found it, was a brasilian slave-trader. the original stelae has been stoled by museum (if i well remember). Brasil is the country of famous thefts as the soccer world rimet cup, stoled and never ever refound it