Would not surprise me if Phoenicians went to America. I believe Indians have legends about those encounters. This pre-dates Columbus.
And then there’s the enigma of prehistoric mining. There are approximately 5,000 prehistoric pit mines11 of unknown age and origin found in northern Michigan that extend for about 100 miles along the south shore of Lake Superior. Also known as the Arcadian Copper Mines, this is one of the only places on Earth where copper can be found in large quantities in its raw form, as chunks and nuggets. A massive amount, anywhere from 100 million to 500 million pounds, of pure copper appears to have been extracted from these sites. There are still several copper mines functioning in the area and every one of them is located on a site that had been mined in the prehistoric past. However, there has been almost no evidence of any human habitation or settlements, nor any animal bones or human burials anywhere in the area. And yet, the technical engineering that was employed in the construction of some of the mines indicates a highly specialized and organized civilization. In addition, there have been some unusual idol-like artifacts that have been found in the region; some of these can still be found at a private museum in Marble, North Carolina.
Native Americans had no interest in the mines, besides, few aborigine tribes had much use for copper. There are several so-called "Indian" burial mounds, notably in Fall River, MA and Walkerton, IN, that when excavated in the 19th century yielded skeletal remains (up to 9 feet tall) which wore copper artifacts, including copper and/or bronze armor. Dr. Eiler, an archaeologist from Carleton College in Minnesota, has hypothesized that Near-Eastern explorers might have been in the area to mine metals. While commenting on the Indian theory as to the origins of the copper workings Charles Fort wrote: "I think that we’ve had visitors [and] that they have come here for copper, for instance."
http://www.lostartsmedia.com/mysteryofamerica.html
A long time ago I went to North Salem to view the megalithic ruins. What these stones are is a mystery, but they might have been Phoenician about 1000 BC.