People have been traveling the world for a long, long time, and everywhere we go, we take our pets, livestock, crops, and even decorative flowers with us. And of course, a huge problem with this is that those animals and plants soon make themselves at home in the wild, often becoming a threat to the native fauna and flora. So my question is, how do we know which creatures and plants are native and which ones were introduced long ago, in a past that we have forgotten?
As an example, I recall how scientists were astonished to find traces of cocaine and tobacco in Egyptian mummies. They had long believed - and taught - that no Egyptian ever visited the New World. For all we know, the Egyptians brought some tobacco home and grew it themselves. Maybe they settled in the New World, taking cats, dogs, camels, and who knows what else with them. Pineapples are associated with Hawaii, but they originated in Brazil and Paraguay. Anything could have originated anywhere, and this could be hidden from us like everything else.
As an example, I recall how scientists were astonished to find traces of cocaine and tobacco in Egyptian mummies. They had long believed - and taught - that no Egyptian ever visited the New World. For all we know, the Egyptians brought some tobacco home and grew it themselves. Maybe they settled in the New World, taking cats, dogs, camels, and who knows what else with them. Pineapples are associated with Hawaii, but they originated in Brazil and Paraguay. Anything could have originated anywhere, and this could be hidden from us like everything else.
