Is it true or false that ancient Indians charted the movements of the heavenly bodies and recognized that earth was a sphere that rotated on its axis and revolves around the sun?

Answer 1

I'm not aware that the American Indians believed that, but it isn't impossible; the older Greek and Egyptian civilizations knew those things, and it's entirely possible that the American Indians knew it too. It's unlikely that the Plains Indians had any substantial astronomical knowledge, but certainly the Inca and Mayan cultures did. Further studies of the Indian city at Kahokia may tell us more. (Astronomical knowledge among ancient peoples is far more common in sea-faring societies such as the Phoenicians and the Plains Indians were deficient in nautical experience.)

And the knowledge could have been carried over here. There are ancient legends of distant voyages, and Thor Heyerdahl's "Kon Tiki" and "Ra" expeditions proved that it was possible to do. The "Kon Tiki" voyage showed that a balsa wood raft could be sailed from South America to Easter Island or to the Polynesian islands, while the "Ra" expedition proved that a raft made of papyrus reeds could carry people from northern Africa to the Caribbean.