North American Myths:

Lost Race Myth

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com

While the American continent was being settled by Europeans, the new settlers began to notice large earthworks, clearly man made, all over the North American continent. Because the new Euroamericans could not, or did not want to, believe that the mounds had been built by the Native American peoples they were displacing as fast as they could, some scholars believed in a "lost race of moundbuilders", supposedly an extinct race of superior beings who built the pyramids.

By the late 1870s, scholarly research (led by Cyrus Thomas and Henry Schoolcraft) discovered there was no physical difference between the people buried in the mounds and modern Native Americans. Still, the "lost race" myth continues to get play in some circles.

Also Known As: Moundbuilder Myth, lost tribe of Israel ............ There were no ancient Vikings in Wisconsin?

Prank at Spencer Lake Mounds One extremely persistent rumor in alternative archaeological circles is that there is evidence--suppressed evidence--that the Native American mounds of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa were built by Vikings. To support this premise, oddly shaped glacial erratics are thought to be "Viking mooring stones," various "rune stones" of very dubious origin are cited, and, as in the case of this story, there are rumors of horse skeletons which were found in mounds--and the evidence suppressed. One of the funniest stories associated with these Viking legends has to do with the Spencer Lake Mound in extreme northwest Wisconsin. There was, undeniably, a horse skull found in Spencer Lake Mound. How it got there is a tale worth telling. more ... http://archaeology.about.com/od/frauds/a/spencer_lake.htm

Related Hoaxes and Myths

Lost Race Myth (aka Moundbuilders)Kensington Rune Stone

more here ...

http://grannyrantson.blogspot.com/2008/07/origins.html

http://people.delphiforums.com/MCCONAUGHY/meadowcroft/Clovis%20First.htm

The Clovis Culture did not develop in the Old World, since its development and spread cannot be traced directly from the Old to New World. Clovis is an indigenous New World development. As such, at least one other culture must have come from the Old World to the New and have been present prior to Clovis so Clovis could develop out of that culture. Clovis definitely was not first. This fact has resulted in the development of various Pre-Clovis hypotheses concerning the peopling of the New World. It also has resulted in archaeologists looking for demonstrable Pre-Clovis sites. Meadowcroft Rockshelter was not originally excavated with the intention of finding a Pre-Clovis site, but it ended up being the first real claimant for that title. As such, it also became a lighting rod for criticism because it challenged the Clovis-first hypothesis. Most of these challenges revolve around the radiocarbon dating of the early levels from Meadowcroft which will be discussed in detail below.

The Pre-Clovis hypotheses suggest that the progenitor of the Clovis culture would have to have certain technological features that could evolve into Clovis (Standford and Bradley 2002:257-260). For example, it can hypothesize that Pre-Clovis peoples made lanceolate points since it is unlikely that the lanceolate Clovis fluted point style developed out of tanged, notched or shouldered point types. The development of fluting technology would change the lanceolate point of Pre-Clovis into a Clovis point. Use of a blade technology in the Pre-Clovis group would also be likely since Clovis made and used prismatic blades for a variety of tools, including end scrapers made on blades.