Thor Heyerdahl
Created | Updated Jul 26, 2002
Thor Heyerdahl, the adventurer, explorer, ethnologist, and author, died Thursday 18th of April 2002, at about seven o'clock in the evening.
Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, Norway on October 6th, 1914. A long and full life ended on that Thursday night when he died in his home in the Italian riviera - 87 years old.
He begun his studies of zoology and geography at the university of Oslo, in 1936 leaving for Polynesia with his wife Liv. They made their
first stop at the group of islands called Marquesas and the island Fatuhiva, to study plant and animal life there.
Heyerdahl was actually more interested in the origin of the aboriginal population on these isolated Pacific islands, and in 1941 he published the now famous theory that Polynesia was populated by immigration from Peru and Colombia.
Interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, Heyerdahl returned to Norway to volunteer for the Free Norwegian Forces, eventually serving in a Norwegian parachute unit in Finnmark.
After the war, Heyerdahl continued his research, only to meet a wall of resistance to his theories amongst comtemporary scholars. To add weight to his arguments, Heyerdahl decided to build a replica of the aboriginal balsa raft to test his theories.
To prove that it had been possible to sail over the Pacific to Polynesia, Heyerdahl set out on the same journey. April 28th 1947 he sailed with the raft "Kon-Tiki" -- named after a South American
sun god -- and a crew of five, from Callao in Peru. They reached the Tuamotu islands in Polynesia on August 7th. The 8000 kilometer crossing took 101 days. Despite skepticism, the seaworthiness of the aboriginal raft had been proved. The experiment showed that the ancient Peruvians could have reached Polynesia in this manner.
The raft was built as a copy of an old Peruvian balsa raft, and is exhibited at the Kon-Tiki Museum at Bygdøy in Oslo,Norway. http://www.museumsnett.no/kon-tiki/Research/
The documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition was awarded an Oscar in 1951 - so far the only Oscar that has gone to Norway.
The journey from Peru to Polynesia was followed by expeditions to, among other places, the Galapagos Islands in 1953, and to Easter Island in 1955-56. On both these expeditions he found more evidence to support his theory about Polynesia and the contact with South America.
Heyerdahl's Ra expeditions in 1969 and 1970 showed the reed boats' ability for sea-journeys. With a crew of six he sailed in 1969 from Morocco to America in the reed boat "Ra", made of papyrus and modelled after ancient Egyptian models. The first trip failed, a second attempt
in 1970, the "Ra II" succeeded. "Ra II" sailed from Morocco to Barbados, (a distance of 5700 km) in just 57 days. In 1977 Heyerdahl
organized another expidition with a reed boat, the "Tigris", which
sailed from Iraq to Djibouti.
In the 80's and 90's Heyerdahl led archeological projects in t he Maldives, Easter Island and in Tucume in Peru.
His last project was called "Odin in Azov". Working from theories based on Snorri Sturlason's writings from the 13th century, he has been working with the possible connections between Nordic mythology and today's Aserbajdsjan.
The last years of his life, Thor Heyerdahl made his home in Tenerife,
the Canary Islands, and at Colla Micheri, near Alassio by the Italian
riviera.
Thor Heyerdahl had a strong dedication to international environmental
work, and received numerous diplomas as well as honorary doctorates from 11 universities, including his alma mater, the University of Oslo.
Also see http://www.greatdreams.com/thor.htm and http://www.museumsnett.no/kon-tiki/Expeditions/
for more information about Thor Heyerdahl and his work.
Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, Norway on October 6th, 1914. A long and full life ended on that Thursday night when he died in his home in the Italian riviera - 87 years old.
He begun his studies of zoology and geography at the university of Oslo, in 1936 leaving for Polynesia with his wife Liv. They made their
first stop at the group of islands called Marquesas and the island Fatuhiva, to study plant and animal life there.
Heyerdahl was actually more interested in the origin of the aboriginal population on these isolated Pacific islands, and in 1941 he published the now famous theory that Polynesia was populated by immigration from Peru and Colombia.
Interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, Heyerdahl returned to Norway to volunteer for the Free Norwegian Forces, eventually serving in a Norwegian parachute unit in Finnmark.
After the war, Heyerdahl continued his research, only to meet a wall of resistance to his theories amongst comtemporary scholars. To add weight to his arguments, Heyerdahl decided to build a replica of the aboriginal balsa raft to test his theories.
To prove that it had been possible to sail over the Pacific to Polynesia, Heyerdahl set out on the same journey. April 28th 1947 he sailed with the raft "Kon-Tiki" -- named after a South American
sun god -- and a crew of five, from Callao in Peru. They reached the Tuamotu islands in Polynesia on August 7th. The 8000 kilometer crossing took 101 days. Despite skepticism, the seaworthiness of the aboriginal raft had been proved. The experiment showed that the ancient Peruvians could have reached Polynesia in this manner.
The raft was built as a copy of an old Peruvian balsa raft, and is exhibited at the Kon-Tiki Museum at Bygdøy in Oslo,Norway. http://www.museumsnett.no/kon-tiki/Research/
The documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition was awarded an Oscar in 1951 - so far the only Oscar that has gone to Norway.
The journey from Peru to Polynesia was followed by expeditions to, among other places, the Galapagos Islands in 1953, and to Easter Island in 1955-56. On both these expeditions he found more evidence to support his theory about Polynesia and the contact with South America.
Heyerdahl's Ra expeditions in 1969 and 1970 showed the reed boats' ability for sea-journeys. With a crew of six he sailed in 1969 from Morocco to America in the reed boat "Ra", made of papyrus and modelled after ancient Egyptian models. The first trip failed, a second attempt
in 1970, the "Ra II" succeeded. "Ra II" sailed from Morocco to Barbados, (a distance of 5700 km) in just 57 days. In 1977 Heyerdahl
organized another expidition with a reed boat, the "Tigris", which
sailed from Iraq to Djibouti.
In the 80's and 90's Heyerdahl led archeological projects in t he Maldives, Easter Island and in Tucume in Peru.
His last project was called "Odin in Azov". Working from theories based on Snorri Sturlason's writings from the 13th century, he has been working with the possible connections between Nordic mythology and today's Aserbajdsjan.
The last years of his life, Thor Heyerdahl made his home in Tenerife,
the Canary Islands, and at Colla Micheri, near Alassio by the Italian
riviera.
Thor Heyerdahl had a strong dedication to international environmental
work, and received numerous diplomas as well as honorary doctorates from 11 universities, including his alma mater, the University of Oslo.
Also see http://www.greatdreams.com/thor.htm and http://www.museumsnett.no/kon-tiki/Expeditions/
for more information about Thor Heyerdahl and his work.
