 Even in Columbus' time there was much speculation that other Europeans had made the trip in ancient or contemporary times; Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés records accounts of these in his "General y natural historia de las Indias" of 1526, which includes biographical information on Columbus.Aboriginal first contact period is not well defined.The earliest accounts of contact occurred in the late 10th century, between the Beothuk and Norsemen.