We learned in the school history class that America is discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. But in recent years some people suggested there might be another story.
Here is one story I found very interesting:
North America was first discovered by Asian explorers. Here are some “evidence”
Evidence 1: A brass Medallion was found in early 1994 near Asheville, North Carolina with the following words “authorized and awarded by emperor Xuan De of Great Ming”
Emperor Xuan De was the ruler of Ming dynasty China from 1425 to 1435.
Here is the detail: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/my-best-finds/373268-diggers-diary-mysterious-ming-medallion.html
Evidence 2: The European maps at the time contains very limited detail of the geography of the inland and pacific coastal area of North America while some Chinese maps have much more details and seems more correct:
Here is the link of a 1602 Chinese map, it is a collection of the library of congress.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3200.ex000006Zb/
If a person compare it with some 1650 European maps like this one
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3291s.mf000074/
One would realize that even 100 years after Christopher Columbus, the European map makers still consider California as a big island separated from the American mainland.
Evidence 3: In some American Indian culture, there may be something connected to explorers from Asia.
Here is the historical flag of the Cherokee people, this flag has the Big Dipper asterism.
And the Big Dipper asterism can also be seen in ancient Chinese flags. A 1400s Chinese naval guidebook shows the use of asterism for navigation.
Of course, there are different stories, some say America was first discovered by the Viking people long before Christopher Columbus.
Are they true?