Was the new world discovered before columbus?
Of course by the indians :P
But seriously. this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1421_Hypothesis book argues a highly controversial case that china had sailed to the americas several decades before Columbus did.
also there is another author interviewed here who talks about similar things:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...E848C4E5C46C67
Relating from personal experience. A few years ago i was at a pow wow in BC I was talking to some phillipino tourists and they mentioned som of the north american traditional dances were uncannily similar to theirs.
