Background

Lost far back in time are the names of the earliest explorers who roamed in search of game and edible plants across land they had not yet learned to cultivate. Many generations later, man drifted across great landmasses, populating Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas—some settling in agreeable climates, others becoming nomads forever on the move. No written records remain of these earliest journeys. Man made limited exploration of his world—sometimes from curiosity, but mainly from a constant need to search for food. The earliest explorers in the modern sense of the word, those who left us a written record of their travels, were limited to the peoples and lands of the small "world" around the Mediterranean. These exploits, often fueled by a civilization's desire for military conquest, are...