Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories speculate about possible visits to or interactions with the Americas, the indigenous peoples of the Americas, or both, by people from Africa, Asia, Europe, or Oceania at a time prior to Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Caribbean in 1492 (i.e., during any part of the pre-Columbian era). Such contact is accepted as having occurred in prehistory during the human migrations that led to the original settlement of the Americas, perhaps by sea, but has been hotly debated in the historic period.