The Paleolithic ancestors of the native Americans are the true original inhabitants of America, but many others deserve credit as well for the discovery of the land. Among these are Leif Erickson and the Vikings of Norway, and Christopher Columbus of Spain. Without these early visitors to the land, America would not be the thriving nation it is today.Fifteen to forty thousand years ago the first settlers of America came to the land by way of the Bering Straight. Some believe the Pacific Ocean was much lower than it is now and these early migrants could have walked across a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska. Others believe they used small Kayaks or walked across an ice cap. These first settlers were the Paleolithic ancestors of the Native Americans. These Asians were nomadic hunters and found the land while following herds of animals eastward. After the first band of settlers many more came who soon spread across what is now the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Present day archaeologists have unearthed many Paleolithic artifacts such as campsites, primitive tools and weapons of the early settlers. With the ability to carbon 14 test these artifacts, scientists were able to confirm that they were here as early as 4000 BC.Somewhere around 1000 AD, Leif Erickson discovered North America for the Vikings of Greenland. According to Icelandic sagas, Leif boarded his ship with thirty-five other men and sailed south of Greenland. Their first stop was somewhere near the present day Baffin Islands. He also visited a place, which he called Vineland, meaning wine land, where they found many grapes and made wine to take back to their homeland in Greenland. Leif and his crew spent the winter in Vineland and built a large house and a shed to protect their ship. No one knows the exact location of Vineland, but estimate it is somewhere in northern Newfoundland. Archaeologists found the ruins of an old Viking settlement in north Newf...
