There have been new findings in regards to a sheepskin map that is said to be centuries old. The map is being kept by the Library of Congress, and the meaning of the document is now being rethought.
The map has been said to show what is the west coast of the country of North America, Alaska, the strait of Bering, and the islands of Aleutian. According to carbon dating, this map could have been created in the 14th century, which means it could be a copy of the original map created. This new research suggests that this map was created around three hundred years before Christopher Columbus was even alive.
If this is correct, than Columbus was not the first to discover the New World. An Italian would have discovered the west coast, or learned about it from someone in the Arab or Chinese culture. One theory is that Marco Polo engaged with a trader from Syria. This took place in Eastern Asia.
The trader may have told Marco Polo about a land in the far east and Polo then went to look for this land. When Marco Polo arrived at this land he found natives who wore skins made of seal, ate fish for food, and lived underground.
Many historians believe that this describes the location of Alaska.