Re: Amerindian navigators and Eurocentrism in scholarship

[matts2@ix.netcom.com (Matt Silberstein)]

In sci.anthropology yuku@globalserve.net (Yuri Kuchinsky 17784) wrote:

>
>Greetings, all,
>
>I just wonder.
>
>Why is it so difficult for a number of scholars in these
>newsgroups to accept that the Native South Americans were skilful
>navigators in precolumbian times? Why so much evidence presented
>to this effect so far has fallen on such deaf ears?
>
It is not the abilities that have been questioned, it is the
accomplishments. The only evidence that I have seen is sightings of
rafts near the coast. That does not provide any evidence for
navigation abilities nor navigation accomplishments.

[snip]
>
>But the "professional critics" in these ngs? They have been
>literally bombarded with solid research and information posted by
>a number of contributors, yours truly included. 

What information, other than the above coastal sightings, has been
presented that speaks directly to this issue?

>And after all this
>they still refuse to accept the obvious? Why? What prevents them
>from accepting what was posted, or, if they are still sceptical,
>from actually lifting a couple of volumes referenced from the
>library shelf and reading all this for themselves? I just wonder
>about this... Could it be that old academic Eurocentrism making
>its appearance here once again? 

Could it be that, as they say, they don't want to make claims that are
not supported by evidence?

>Could it be that they simply
>cannot accept that the Natives could be so advanced and
>sophisticated in this area? 

Could it be that there is no racism at all involved?

[snip]

>Anyway, let's come back to the native S. Americans and the Pacific
>islands. Inca Tupac Yapanqui, the all-powerful ruler of the Incas,
>went on a prolonged expedition across the sea. (Of course he
>almost certainly must have known exactly where he was going, since
>other good evidence indicates that contacts between S. America and
>the Pacific islands were not uncommon long before him.) 

This somehow sounds circular. His voyage is evidence of the navigation
skills. Why? Because we have other evidence of these skills.

>He brought
>some Polynesians with him on his return. He told his peoples about
>the two Pacific islands he visited, _Ava Chumbi_, and _Nina
>Chumbi_. All this happened only three generations before the
>Spanish arrived to Peru, so it's not like it was some sort of
>ancient history at that point, or anything... 

So when do you claim the contact started, how was the contact
maintained, and when did it stop?

[snip]



Matt Silberstein
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