On this date in 1914, Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnologist author of Kon-Tiki. The Kon-Tiki expedition established the possibility that Polynesians may have originated in South America. 10 facts about the Kon Tiki Expedition:
The expedition was a journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands. Kon Tiki left Peru on the afternoon of April 28, 1947. The voyage ended when the raft beached on an uninhabited islet off Raroia atoll in the Tuamotus on 7 August.
Thor Heyerdahl decided to make this trip because anthropologists had laughed at his theory that Pacific islanders had migrated from South America on rafts, carried by currents and tides. His theory came about when he noticed the Pacific Islands had vegetation native to South America, and the giant statues on Easter Island, to Thor’s eyes at least, were similar to those found at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. As one of my sources relates, the anthropologists said something along the lines of “Sure, see how far you get yourself sailing from Peru to the South Pacific on a balsa raft!” I could just imagine Heyerdahl responding, “Hold my beer!”
So he built a raft, using only the materials that would have been available in ancient times. That is, balsa wood, Hemp, Bamboo and banana leaves. There were no screws or Nails back then, so the raft was literally tied together. It was designed so that it was impossible to steer, as the ancient seamen wouldn’t have had such luxuries but would have drifted according to winds and currents typical for the time of year.
The raft was named Kon-Tiki after the Inca god Viracocha, creator deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name.
He also needed a crew. He wrote to his friends: “I guarantee nothing but a free trip to Peru and the South Sea islands and back, but you will find good use for your technical abilities on the voyage. Reply at once.” He found five men who were up for it, despite none of them having sailed before. All the crew were Norwegian save one who was Swedish.
They had a Parrot, too, named Lorita, but sadly the parrot drowned about half way through the mission.
They loaded Kon Tiki with supplies, balancing authenticity, using only what the ancient mariners would have had, and ensuring their survival. Hence some of the 1,040 litres (275 US gal) of drinking water they carried was in sealed bamboo rods and some in modern containers. They loaded 200 Coconuts, sweet potatoes, bottle gourds and other assorted fruit and roots, but also ration packs supplied by the US Army. They would supplement these supplies by fishing. They also had a hand cranked generator, a radio and a sextant.
Heyerdahl nearly drowned at least twice as a boy. He didn't take easily to water, and said there were times during the voyage when he feared for his life. One of these might have been when a huge Whale shark circled the raft, so large that the crew could see the head on one side of the ship and the tail from the other. When the crew tried to harpoon it, it broke the harpoon, but luckily it just swam away rather than seek revenge.
Perhaps Heyerdahl regretted his decision not to allow steering when, after 97 days at sea, the crew sighted the Puka Puka atoll, but couldn’t land there as the currents took them past it. They were at sea for another four days before the raft beached on an uninhabited island. They were marooned there until people on a nearby island found some of the wreckage of Kon Tiki washed up on their beach. They set out in Canoes to rescue the crew, took them back to their village and held dances and feasts in their honour, before the crew were taken to Tahiti by the French schooner Tamara, with the salvaged Kon-Tiki in tow.
So did all this effort result in the anthropologists changing their minds and accepting Heyerdahl’s theory? In a word, no. Today, there is evidence that Polynesians travelled to the Americas, not vice-versa as Heyerdahl had theorised.
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