The role of discoverer of the Americas is variously attributed to the following people, depending on context and definition: World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ...

• Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the first people to live in America (see Paleo-Indians, Clovis Culture, Models of migration to the New World, Solutrean hypothesis, Pre-Siberian American Aborigines);
• Vikings such as Gunnbjörn Ulfsson who first sighted islands off Greenland, probably in the early 900s, Bjarni Herjólfsson, who sighted mainland North-America (Labrador, Canada) around 986, and Leif Eriksson, the first European (Norway) said to have landed in North-America (Newfoundland, Canada). (see Norse colonization of the Americas, Vinland);
• Various unproven voyagers like Saint Brendan, Zheng He, Prince Madoc, Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and many others (see Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact);
• Christopher Columbus, leader of the first verified Old World expedition since the Vikings;
• other European explorers during the "Age of Discovery" (see European colonization of the Americas).

An independent origin and development of writing is counted among the many achievements and innovations of pre-Columbian American cultures. ... Paleo-Indians is an English term used to refer to the ancient peoples of America who were present at the end of the last Ice Age. ... The Clovis culture (also Llano culture) is a prehistoric Native American culture that first appears in the archaeological record of North America around 11,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. ... There are several popular models of migration to the New World proposed by the anthropological community. ... The Solutrean hypothesis contends that stone tool technology of the Solutrean culture in prehistoric Europe may have later influenced the development of the Clovis tool-making culture in the Americas. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Gunnbjörn Ulfsson (Norwegian, flourished circa 10th century), name also given as Gunnbjörn Ulf-Krakuson, was the first European to sight North America. ... Bjarni Herjólfsson (fl. ... A statue of Leif Eriksson near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vinland (Old Icelandic: Plain land ) was the name given to an area of North America by the norseman Leif Eiríksson, about the year (AD) 1000. ... This article is about Saint Brendan of Clonfert. ... A modern illustration of Zheng He, by an unidentified artist. ... Madoc (Madog or Madawg) ap Owain Gwynedd was a Welsh prince who, according to legend, discovered America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbuss voyage in 1492. ... Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Baron of Roslin, and Lord of Shetland (c. ... Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact refers to interactions between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and peoples of other continents—Europe, Africa, Asia, or Oceania—before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. ... For the computer wargame, Age of Discovery, see Global Diplomacy. ... Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ...

See also

• History of the Americas