Product Description

Secret Maps of the Ancient World is a spell-binding book which presents a compelling case for ancient Chinese voyagers coming to the Americas. Reading the book, I felt like I had fallen into the archives for the movie, National Treasure -- only this time, it's real!!Diana Waring, author of world history curriculum and international speaker “The Harris collection of maps will in the long run, cause an even more fundamental and agonizing reappraisal of American history than my book has.” Gavin Menzies, NY Times bestselling author of 1421 and now 1434 “This scholarly and yet easy to read book is a major contribution to the early history of the Americas and the relations to China and other parts of Asia. There is much evidence that Chinese were in America before Columbus. Based on the rare Asian maps collection of her late father, Dr. Hendon M. Harris, the author has painstakingly researched, including using the resources of the Library of Congress, to present her findings that Chinese had indeed traveled by sea to the Americas since 2000 B.C.” Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee, Retired Chief of Asian Div., Library of CongressDean Emeritus, Ohio University Libraries “Charlotte Harris Rees, true to her distinguished pioneer father Hendon, resumes affronting usually-bypassed primary evidence free of the 19th-century dogmas with refreshing skeptical common sense.”Dr. Cyclone Covey, professor emeritus History,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67669 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

Secret maps help provide a clearer picture of the ancient world
Reading Secret Maps of the Ancient world was like finding the correct pieces as you work on a puzzle of an ancient world map-the more pieces you find the easier it is to see the whole picture develop. Charlotte Rees in this well documented work reveals how much was known about the geography of the world by the ancient Chinese- what they wrote about it and how they recorded it on maps. These maps show that the Chinese knew the location of America, which they called Fu Sang, as early as 2000BC. She tells about Chinese and other Asians who visited the Americas centuries before Columbus. Evidence for these claims are provided with many references given for the reader to explore further.

This includes a comparison of items from various fields of study, "art, body art, clothing, construction, customs and beliefs, gardening, mathematics and science, musical instruments, technology and worship." Although it is impossible to prove who came first to the Americas Rees writes that DNA studies provides data that shows close phylogenetic relationships with native Americans and Chinese ethnic groups. It is also evident that the Chinese had the ships, navigational skills, including the invention of the compass, to carry out these voyages at such an early date.

Rees provides the reader with a timeline of Chinese maritime activities that covers the period from 2000 BC to 1644 AD, including an overview of Chinese maritime history. This is supplemented with a number of ancient Chinese maps illustrating their knowledge of the geography of the world. Chinese scientist had postulated that the word was a globe as early as the first century BC. Additionally, she reports that the currents in the Pacific are like a great ocean conveyor belt. A ship, even against the wind, can be carried "by the natural ocean currents from Asia to America"

I showed excerpts of this book to two high school students and the response from both of them was- why don't they teach us this in history at school- why is only the story of Columbus still taught to us- why don't we know about Asians in America before Europeans. I think Rees offers an answer to these questions on page 141 of her book. In a word it is "prejudice" and the desire to preserve a history of America that gives Europeans all the credit for its development. In the past historians have always under reported the role of people of color in the history of the Americas- The net effect of this has been to give children of European descent a false sense of superiority and conversely give children of color a sense of inferiority. Perhaps in the new Obama era historians may begin to be more forthcoming in presenting a balanced view of American history. Making available the work of Rees and other authors on this topic would be a good first step. Rees work is sure to inspire and excite students to do further research on this topic leading to the day when the puzzle of what is known about ancient peoples and their knowledge of the world is solved.