Quote:
Originally Posted by Solon
I actually don't think it's all that innovative to write on metal. Ancient Greek Orphics (500 years before Trajan) used to write mystic/magic/religious scripts on tiny gold sheets and place them in with the deceased, so that they would know the correct words and incantations to say as they made their way through the treacherous dangers of the afterlife to a blessed paradise.
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/Cities...olosAM035.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=N2U...62No#PPA101,M1
(Scroll down to page 101.)
I think you make a good point about Asia and India . . . in my opinion, further research is going to demonstrate Asia's influence on the pre-Columbian history of the Americas. Menzies' book ( 1421: The Year China Discovered America) is a little sensationalist but hey, it had to sell copies. I think archaeology will continue to strengthen cultural connections between eastern South America and Asia. That's where people should be looking for BoM parallels, if they're so inclined - not in the Roman Empire. |
Menzie's book was good though. How he explained variances in mapping and various archaeological discoveries was also interesting. His book was to set out an argument and for lay readership, it wasn't meant for the academic audiences.