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john carter - Have there been other humans on Barsoom/Mars?


At the beginning of John Carter: A Princess of Mars, Carter takes refuge in a cave which turns out to be sacred (presumably to the Apaches which he is trying to escape from). His consciousness is mystically transported to Barsoom/Mars.



One of the races he encounters is known as 'The Red Men of Barsoom'.



They are described as being so similar to humans that with nothing but some paint, Carter is able to disguise himself as one.



I've only read the first three books of the series, so this may be explained further in the series.



Is there any more specific evidence either way regarding whether or not there have been other humans on Barsoom or whether or not the Red Men are descendents of Native Americans?

It is important to note/remember that the time Carter spends on Barsoom is much longer than the time which passes on Earth, so it is entirely possible that many more generations have come and gone on Barsoom than on Earth.




Answer



Flat out, there is no evidence of other Earth humans having lived on Mars before John Carter arrived there for the first time. (At least in Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, that is.)



However, there are instances of humans later arriving on Mars in the same way. Specifically, Ulysses Paxton finds himself looking down on his war-torn and half destroyed body and wills himself to Mars, where he finds himself on what is definitely the same planet as John Carter's Barsoom. Other than to say that this is in the 6th book, The Mastermind of Mars, I won't go into any more details so I don't ruin it for you. (Paxton going to Mars happens, of course, in the first few pages of the story.)


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