Contact with Pre-Columbian Americas

Before Christopher Columbus discovered the new world in 1492 the Vikings landed in North America in 1000 A.D. and many others are believed but not proven to have landed before then such as the Polynesian, East Asians, Africans and the Knights Templar. Who do you think beat Columbus to the Americas?

Leif Erikson

The only one I accept at the moment is the idea of Viking settlement. Everything else lacks evidence or is too far-fetched.
In order from most to least likely, imo: Polynesians, Ming China, anyone from Africa, Knights Templar.

The Vikings.

Well if we are talking of the first Europeans that landed in The Americas I would say that were the vikings or Scandinavians with that famous explorer Leif Erikson.

Why I say "IF"? well, because some people argue that the ancient Chinese people may have had contact with Native Americans and if you ask me, I don't think that was impossible for the people of that time, I mean Polynesians had travel through the pacific before with worst "naval technology" and some scholars think that it is possible that those people could have landed in the shores of south america being the first settlers, yeah they came before the migration waves from the Bering strait. That's why I think that the Chinese were first but just like Leif they didn't stay too much.
But obviously this is just an opinion and the possibility of the Chinese in The Americas it's just an hypothesis... but wow! the Chinese had good naval technology for that time and the Polynesians were a kind of sailors by nature so I wouldn't be surprise if one of these cultures have had interacted with the ancient Americans.



PD: And if we talk about who discovered The Americas I would definitely say Amerigo Vespucci

Native Americans. Duh. XD