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Pablo Percentil's avatar

If the coca plant and tobacco were present in Eurasia in the pre-Columbian era, it is likely that they would have continued existing there until modern times. That very same thing happened with pre-Columbian sweet potatoes in South East Asia.

Unless plant DNA is recovered from the inner organs of mummies, It seems more likely that the Egyptians used wild Old-World plants containing the same alkaloids. Nicotine is pretty common and present in eggplants and wild nightshades.

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Paolo Giusti's avatar

GM: Lucio Russo, italian polymath capable of reading greek AND Fermat theorized that Punics and Greeks abitually crossed the Atlantic (e.g. in America dimenticata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucio_Russo#L'America_dimenticataISBN 978-88-6184-320-2 he shows Ptolemy identifies the Fortune Island as Canary but gives the coordinates of Leeward). I thnik its main point, that Ellenistic culture creates the First Scientific Revolution and Rome destroyed it (Il tracollo culturale.https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucio_Russo#Il_tracollo_culturale._La_conquista_romana_del_Mediterraneo_(146-145_a.C.) ISBN 9788829012220) should be better studied in our circles - but sadly translating its book in english is not mainstream nor remunerative.

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Alex's avatar

There are muti lines of evidence of a phoenicians presence in The Azores:

Strange rock carvings, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthaginian_coins_of_Corvo?wprov=sfla1

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Paolo Giusti's avatar

Yes: sadly, we miss proof on the New World e.g. Punic coins in the Lesser Antilles.

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ArtemisForestFairy's avatar

this is just the sort of thing i love, so glad i found your blog.

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Stone Age Herbalist's avatar

Welcome aboard friend!

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Kurt's avatar

Great stuff. Please send more!

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Zara's avatar

Cool

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Kazys Varnelis's avatar

Very interesting. You mention the 100 plants that appear to have pre-Columbian transfer. Is there a citation I could read?

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