Maritime Essay
A Clouded Past
History is as foggy and undiscovered as the future, indeed the textbooks our parents read
in school are radically different from those that we learn from today. And our children will no
doubt learn a history that we can only imagine in our present. As our technology develops, we
find new ways to discover the past and, in many cases, that discovery disproves theories we
previously held about ancient times. One such example can be found in a new theory that
suggests that the Americas were actually settled by coastal Eastern Asian Peoples who traveled
on small boats and used kelp forests for sustenance on their long journey. The “Kelp Highway”
theory suggests that the first people to settle the Americas traveled along the northeastern coast
of Asia and eventually the west coast of what is now the United States. Additionally, a “New
Polynesian Triangle” theory provides evidence that Polynesian peoples actually reached the
coasts of South America and even up to the North American coast. Research for both of these
theories is still in progress and cannot be proven in this day and age. However, the Kelp
Highway theory and the New Polynesian Triangle theory, though quite new, do offer ample
evidence for how the Americas were settled. These theories have both fascinated and frustrated
explorers and archeologists in recent times, for they challenge many long held beliefs. The
evidence supporting them is, however, quite convincing and, as time goes on, will no doubt
become more accepted into historical teachings. If these theories are one day proven to be true it
will most likely only affect our textbooks, but that isn 't to say that it would not matter. History
is the search for factual truth, for precious knowledge of what went on in times past, and in this
sense every mistake that is corrected in our social science books is very important.
There is evidence found that
History is as foggy and undiscovered as the future, indeed the textbooks our parents read
in school are radically different from those that we learn from today. And our children will no
doubt learn a history that we can only imagine in our present. As our technology develops, we
find new ways to discover the past and, in many cases, that discovery disproves theories we
previously held about ancient times. One such example can be found in a new theory that
suggests that the Americas were actually settled by coastal Eastern Asian Peoples who traveled
on small boats and used kelp forests for sustenance on their long journey. The “Kelp Highway”
theory suggests that the first people to settle the Americas traveled along the northeastern coast
of Asia and eventually the west coast of what is now the United States. Additionally, a “New
Polynesian Triangle” theory provides evidence that Polynesian peoples actually reached the
coasts of South America and even up to the North American coast. Research for both of these
theories is still in progress and cannot be proven in this day and age. However, the Kelp
Highway theory and the New Polynesian Triangle theory, though quite new, do offer ample
evidence for how the Americas were settled. These theories have both fascinated and frustrated
explorers and archeologists in recent times, for they challenge many long held beliefs. The
evidence supporting them is, however, quite convincing and, as time goes on, will no doubt
become more accepted into historical teachings. If these theories are one day proven to be true it
will most likely only affect our textbooks, but that isn 't to say that it would not matter. History
is the search for factual truth, for precious knowledge of what went on in times past, and in this
sense every mistake that is corrected in our social science books is very important.
There is evidence found that
Bibliography: Barcham, Manuhuia, Regina Scheyvens, and John Overton. "New Polynesian Triangle: Rethinking Polynesian Migration and Development in the Pacific." Asia Pacific Viewpoint 50.3 (2009): 322-37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. Erlanderson, Jon M. "The Deep History of Pacific Seafaring." Mains 'l Haul (2007): 8-12. Erlandson, Jon, Michael Graham, Bruce Bourque, Debra Corbett, James Estes, and Robert Steneck. "The Kelp Highway Hypothesis: Marine Ecology, the Coastal Migration Theory, and the Peopling of the Americas." The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 2.2 (2007): 161-74. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. Gibson, Arthur C. "BATATAS, NOT POTATOES." BATATAS, NOT POTATOES. Botgard.ucla.edu, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.