Chinese Votive Sword Found in Georgia suggests Pre-Columbian Chinese travel to North America

In July 2014, an avocational surface collector chanced across a partially exposed Chinese votive sword behind roots in an eroded bank of a small stream in Georgia. The 30 cm artifact is possibly a one-of-a kind find in North America and is another example in the growing list of seemingly out-of-place Chinese artifacts suggesting Chinese travel to North America in Pre-Columbian times.

The exquisite sword has preliminarily been identified as being fashioned in Lizardite and has surface features indicating it is very old. It is hoped that future testing will confirm the type of stone, and determine the source, since Lizardite deposits exist in both eastern and western hemispheres.

Answers to the when, who, and how questions remain uncertain. An attempt to determine when the soil at the extraction site was last exposed to sunlight with thermoluminescence testing procedures, was thwarted because it was determined the soil had been disturbed. There remains a small section of an unknown stranded material still attached to the sword which may be suitable for radiocarbon dating, and also select areas of surface accretions that may produce helpful information.