Ponce de León's association with the Fountain of Youth was invented about 10 years after his death by Spanish chronicler Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo (who claimed Ponce sought it to cure sexual impotence). No credible native oral tradition supports this. The Ho Chunk people were centered in present-day Wisconsin—geographically distant from Ponce's Florida voyages. The term 'La Florida' did refer to a broader Spanish claim over North America. Spanish conquistadors did destroy indigenous codices, and colonial-era accounts sometimes framed Mesoamerican religious practices as demonic mimicry.
Spanish conquistadors found Christian-like religious practices among Mesoamerican peoples and attributed them to demonic deception
Key facts
- Spanish conquistadors found Christian-like religious practices among Mesoamerican peoples and attributed them to demonic deception
- Spanish destroyed thousands of indigenous codices and written records
- A Mexican codex (The Hidden Codex) was laboratory tested and dated to approximately 300 years old
- The Hidden Codex uses pigments invented in 1716, indicating post-conquest creation
- The codex records astronomical calendar events including bloodletting and human sacrifice
- Carbon-14 dating of the codex base yielded readings around 1700 AD, with one outlier reading around 1000 BC
- The codex may be a copy of an older original, as was common practice when books wore out
Sources
The Myth of Ponce de León and the Fountain of Youth - History.comhistory.com
In 1535 Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés accused Ponce de León of seeking the fountain in order to cure his sexual impotence. “He was being ...
Legends Revealed: Ponce de Leon & The Fountain of Youthgargoyle.flagler.edu
The truth behind Ponce de Leon's association with the Fountain of Youth stems from about 10 years after his death by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo ...
Ponce de Leon and Florida's Fountain of Youthmyfloridahistory.org
BY LESA.LORUSSO ON JULY 13, 2012 The Legend of the Fountain of Youth, or Florida's First Tall Tale, By Lesa N. Lorusso.
The Untold Story of Ponce de León: Florida, the Fountain of Youth ...theelserhotel.com
Despite what many schoolbooks and tourist pamphlets suggest, there is no evidence that Ponce de León actually searched for the Fountain of Youth. The myth ...
Fountain of Youth - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Ponce de León was supposedly searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to Florida in 1513. Legend has it that Native Americans told Ponce de León ...
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