Ananova:

An ancient map may prove it was a Chinese eunuch who discovered America and not Christopher Columbus.

Columbus reputedly discovered the New World in 1492 but Admiral Zheng He may have got there 70 years earlier.

A copy of his map of the world, dated 1418, is about to be unveiled to the public in Beijing and at Greenwich's National Maritime Museum.

If it proves genuine, the map will rewrite history. It clearly shows the outlines of the Americas, Africa and Europe.

Economist. Gunnar Thompson, specialist on old maps and early explorers, said: "It will revolutionise our thinking about 15th century world history."

It includes a description of the people of the west coast of America: "The skin of the race in this area is black-red, and feathers are wrapped around their heads and waists."

However, the map also includes some mistakes: the British Isles do not appear at all and California is an island.

Zheng He has long been considered one of the pioneers of marine exploration in China, but he was virtually unheard of in the West until 2002.

That year retired British submarine commander Gavin Menzies published a book claiming he circumnavigated the world in a two-year odyssey which began in 1421, discovering America on the way.

It was when the map's owner, eminent Chinese lawyer Liu Gang, read the book that he realised what he might have on his hands. He had bought the map for about £280 from a Shanghai dealer in 2001.