Is Thor Heyerdahl theory correct?
Fifty years ago, Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki expedition appeared to prove that ancient humans could have sailed west from South American to colonise the Pacific islands. But DNA evidence now shows that his theory was wrong.
What was Thor Heyerdahl theory?
The theory, published in full in Heyerdahl’s 1952 book American Indians in the Pacific: The theory behind the Kon-Tiki expedition (henceforth American Indians), claimed that the first settlers of the Pacific island world, in stark contrast to established scientific tradition, had not been of Asiatic origin, but in fact …
What happened to Thor Heyerdahl family?
In 1949, Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (1924–2006). They had three daughters: Annette, Marian and Helene Elisabeth. They were divorced in 1969. Heyerdahl blamed their separation on his being away from home and differences in their ideas for bringing up children.
Who is Heyerdahl and what did he do?
Thor Heyerdahl, (born October 6, 1914, Larvik, Norway—died April 18, 2002, Colla Micheri, Italy), Norwegian ethnologist and adventurer who organized and led the famous Kon-Tiki (1947) and Ra (1969–70) transoceanic scientific expeditions.
What was Thor Heyerdahl’s main argument?
Heyerdahl argued that the Pacific island world had first been settled by a people referred to as the ‘white bearded men’: a highly civilised Caucasian race group defined by their long-headed crania, fair skin, blue eyes, fair or red hair, tall stature, and beards, as well as their navigation skills, stone carving …
Is Kon-Tiki real?
“Kon-Tiki” is based on a true story that follows the incredible story of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, who crossed the Pacific ocean in a balsa wood raft in 1947, together with five men, to prove that South Americans – specifically, Peruvians – back in pre-Colombian times could have crossed the sea and settled on …
Who is Thor Heyerdahl and what was his theory with respect to Polynesian migration?
In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a raft made of balsa wood logs from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands on the eastern edge of Polynesia to prove that these craft, once used by South American Indians, could have carried migrants to Polynesia.
Is Kon-Tiki a true story?
Who discovered Polynesia?
The first Polynesian islands visited by European explorers were the Marquesas Islands, first discovered by Europeans when the Spanish navigator, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, found the islands in 1595.