Abstract
We present here evidence of pre-Portuguese presence in the Azores Islands, Portugal, found near the site of Grota do Medo (Posto Santo), discovered by Rodrigues (2013) in Terceira Island, Azores. This evidence was dated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, and indicates the presence of human activity in Terceira Island before or during the XIth century. The evidence consisted in a man-made rock basin, which was found in a site that contains also striking similarities with many other aspects from ancient cultures, including other man-made rock basins, arrangements of large stones which resemble megalithic constructions, and inscriptions in stones which resemble ancient petroglyphs. Although the dating of this evidence is highly suggestive of the presence of human activity in the Azores Islands long before the arrival of the Portuguese navigators of the XVth century, there is no clear evidence which enables us to identify which specific culture may have existed in the Azores before the Portuguese arrival.
Highlights
The Azores are nine islands situated in the North Atlantic, divided in three different groups: the Eastern group, the Central Group
The evidence concerning the first Portuguese navigator to come to the Azores, for example, has been an object of much discussion
Portuguese historiography has been much concerned with finding the Portuguese navigator mentioned in the document above, but little effort has been made for understanding whether the islands had already been found when the Portuguese explored them in the XVth century
Summary
The Azores are nine islands situated in the North Atlantic, divided in three different groups: the Eastern group (constituted by the Island of São Miguel and the Island of Santa Maria), the Central Group Pre-Portuguese Presence in the Azores Islands, Early Atlantic Navigation, Archaeological Dating, Rock Art, Megalithic Constructions For Menzies (2002) the confirmation that the Corvo horsemen was a Chinese statue perhaps of the “Emperor on Horseback” Zhu Di, is that the Azores appears on the Chinese/Korean Kangnido chart, produced before the Portuguese discovered of the Islands.
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