Were there any permanent non-native European or Asian settlements in the Americas prior to Columbus’ discovery of the continent that not many people knew about?

The New World was colonized by Paleo-Indians by way of Beringia approximately 18,000 years ago. With the exception of one short term settlement by the Icelandic Norse in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, Native Americans (descendants of the pioneering Paleo-Indians) were the only residents of the two continents in the pre-Columbian period for which we have evidence.