Editing Thor Heyerdahl

{{short description|Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer (1914–2002)}}
{{About||the Norwegian frigate|HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl|the cruiseferry formerly named MS Thor Heyerdahl|MS Vana Tallinn|the ship built in 1930|Thor Heyerdahl (ship)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
| image             = ThorHeyerdahl.jpg
| caption           = Heyerdahl {{circa}} 1980
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1914|10|6|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Larvik]], Norway
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2002|4|18|1914|10|6|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[Colla Micheri]], Italy
| field             = {{plainlist|
* [[Ethnography]]
* [[Adventure]]}}
| work_institutions = 
| alma_mater        = [[University of Oslo]]
| doctoral_advisor  = {{plainlist|
* [[Kristine Bonnevie]]
* Hjalmar Broch}}
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = 
| author_abbrev_bot = 
| author_abbrev_zoo = 
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| prizes            = [[Mungo Park Medal]] <small>(1950)</small>
| religion          = 
| spouse            = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Liv Coucheron-Torp |1936|1947|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen |1949|1969|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Jacqueline Beer]]|1991}}}}
| children          = 5
| footnotes         = 
| signature         = 
}}
'''Thor Heyerdahl''' [[KStJ]] ({{IPA|no|tuːr ˈhæ̀ɪəɖɑːɫ}}; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian [[adventure]]r and [[Ethnography|ethnographer]] with a background in [[biology]] with specialization in [[zoology]], [[botany]] and [[geography]].

Heyerdahl is notable for his [[Kon-Tiki expedition|''Kon-Tiki'' expedition]] in 1947, in which he drifted 8,000&nbsp;km (5,000&nbsp;mi) across the [[Pacific Ocean]] in a primitive hand-built raft from [[South America]] to the [[Tuamotus|Tuamotu Islands]]. The expedition was supposed to demonstrate that the legendary sun-worshiping red-haired, bearded, and white-skinned "Tiki people" from [[South America]] drifted and colonized [[Polynesia]] first, before actual [[Polynesian peoples]]. His [[hyperdiffusionist]] ideas on ancient cultures had been widely rejected by the scientific community, even before the expedition.<ref name="Holton"/><ref name="Melander"/><ref name="Herman"/><ref name="Engevold"/>

Heyerdahl made other voyages to demonstrate the possibility of contact between widely separated ancient peoples, notably the ''Ra II'' expedition of 1970, when he sailed from the [[West Africa|west coast of Africa]] to [[Barbados]] in a [[papyrus]] reed boat. He was appointed a [[government scholar]] in 1984.

He died on 18 April 2002 in [[Colla Micheri]], Italy, while visiting close family members. The Norwegian government gave him a state funeral in Oslo Cathedral on 26 April 2002.<ref name="Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects">J. Bjornar Storfjell, "[http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_storfjell.html Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects]," in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002), p. 25.</ref>

In May 2011, the Thor Heyerdahl Archives were added to [[UNESCO]]'s [[Memory of the World Programme#Memory of the World Register|Memory of the World Register]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31401&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714094241/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31401&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2012 |title=New collections come to enrich the Memory of the World |publisher=Portal.unesco.org |access-date=1 September 2011 }}</ref> At the time, this list included 238 collections from all over the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/nomination_forms/norway_thor_heyerdahl_archives.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/nomination_forms/norway_thor_heyerdahl_archives.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Memory of the World Register Application form from Kon-Tiki Museum for Thor Heyerdahl Archives |access-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> The Heyerdahl Archives span the years 1937 to 2002 and include his photographic collection, diaries, private letters, expedition plans, articles, newspaper clippings, and original book and article manuscripts. The Heyerdahl Archives are administered by the [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] and the [[National Library of Norway]] in Oslo.

==Youth and personal life==
Heyerdahl was born in [[Larvik (town)|Larvik]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Thor Heyerdahl |url=https://www.kon-tiki.no/en/about-thor-heyerdahl |website=Kon-Tiki museet |publisher=Kon-Tiki Museum |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=no-NO}}</ref> Norway, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl (1869–1957) and his wife, Alison Lyng (1873–1965). As a young child, Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology, inspired by his mother, who had a strong interest in [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[evolution]]. He created a small [[museum]] in his childhood home, with a common adder (''[[Vipera berus]]'') as the main attraction.

He studied [[zoology]] and [[geography]] at the faculty of biological science at the [[University of Oslo]].<ref>Thor Heyerdahl, In the Footsteps of Adam: A Memoir, London: Abacus Books, 2001, p. 78.</ref> At the same time, he privately studied [[Polynesia]]n culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by [[Bjarne Kroepelien]], a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. (This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kroepelien's heirs and was attached to the [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] research department.)

After seven terms and consultations with experts in [[Berlin]], a project was developed and sponsored by Heyerdahl's zoology professors, [[Kristine Bonnevie]] and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there.

On the day before they sailed together to the [[Marquesas Islands]] in 1936, Heyerdahl married Liv Coucheron-Torp (1916–1969), whom he had met at the University of Oslo, and who had studied [[economics]] there. He was 22 years old and she was 20 years old. Eventually, the couple had two sons: Thor&nbsp;Jr. (1938–2024)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ranheim |first1=Mari |title=GD: Thor Heyerdahl junior er død |url=https://www.nrk.no/innlandet/thor-heyerdahl-junior-er-dod-1.17027205 |access-date=5 September 2024 |work=NRK |date=2 September 2024}}</ref> and Bjørn (1940–2021).<ref>{{cite news |title=Bjørn "Bamse" Heyerdahl er død |url=https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/bjorn-_bamse_-heyerdahl-er-dod-1.15469200 |access-date=5 September 2024 |work=NRK |date=24 April 2021}}</ref> The marriage ended in divorce shortly before the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, which Liv had helped to organize.<ref name=KTM>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/04/27/daughter-recalls-mother-inspiring-role-story/P2nwXHrazU88l4NN54bF7K/story.html|title='Kon-Tiki' and me |website=The Boston Globe.com|access-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611113144/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/04/27/daughter-recalls-mother-inspiring-role-story/P2nwXHrazU88l4NN54bF7K/story.html|archive-date=11 June 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the [[German occupation of Norway|occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]], he served with the [[Free Norwegian Forces]] from 1944, in the far north province of [[Finnmark]].<ref name=obit1>[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/apr/19/travelnews.internationaleducationnews.highereducation Obituary], Jo Anne Van Tilburg, 19 April 2002, The Guardian</ref><ref name=obit2>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1938294.stm "Explorer Thor Heyerdahl dies"], 18 April 2002, BBC</ref>

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. In his autobiography, he concluded that he should take the entire blame for their separation.<ref>Thor Heyerdahl, ''In the Footsteps of Adam''. Christophersen translation ({{ISBN|0-349-11273-8}}), London: Abacus, 2001, p. 254.</ref>

In 1991, Heyerdahl married [[Jacqueline Beer]] (born 1932) as his third wife. They lived in [[Tenerife]], [[Canary Islands]], and were very actively involved with archaeological projects, especially in [[Túcume]], Peru, and [[Azov]] until his death in 2002. He had still been hoping to undertake an archaeological project in [[Samoa]] before he died.<ref>J. Bjornar Storfjell, "Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects". in ''Azerbaijan International'', Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002), p. 25.</ref>

==Fatu Hiva==
{{Main|Fatu Hiva (book)}}
In 1936, on the day after his marriage to Liv Coucheron Torp, the young couple set out for the South Pacific Island of [[Fatu Hiva]]. They nominally had an academic mission, to research the spread of animal species between islands, but in reality they intended to "run away to the South Seas" and never return home.<ref name= FHWP>Copied content from [[Fatu Hiva (book)]];see that page history for attribution</ref>

Aided by expedition funding from their parents, they nonetheless arrived on the island lacking "provisions, weapons or a radio". Residents in Tahiti, where they stopped en route, did convince them to take a machete and a cooking pot.<ref name=KTM/>

They arrived at Fatu Hiva in 1937, in the valley of [[Omo'a|Omo‘a]], and decided to cross over the island's mountainous interior to settle in one of the small, nearly abandoned, valleys on the eastern side of the island. There, they made their [[thatch]]-covered stilted home in the valley of [[Uia]].<ref name= FHWP/>

Living in such primitive conditions was a daunting task, but they managed to live off the land, and work on their academic goals, by collecting and studying zoological and botanical specimens. They discovered unusual artifacts, listened to the natives' oral history traditions, and took note of the prevailing winds and ocean currents.<ref name=KTM/>

It was in this setting, surrounded by the ruins of the formerly glorious [[Marquesan culture|Marquesan civilization]], that Heyerdahl first developed his theories regarding the possibility of [[pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]] between the pre-European [[Polynesians]], and the peoples and cultures of [[South America]].<ref name= FHWP/>

Despite the seemingly idyllic situation, the exposure to various tropical diseases and other difficulties caused them to return to civilisation a year later. They worked together to write an account of their adventure.<ref name=KTM/>

The events surrounding his stay on the [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]], most of the time on [[Fatu Hiva]], were told first in his book ''På Jakt etter Paradiset'' (''Hunt for Paradise'') (1938), which was published in Norway but, following the outbreak of [[World War II]], was never translated and remained largely forgotten. Many years later, having achieved notability with other adventures and books on other subjects, Heyerdahl published a new account of this voyage under the title ''[[Fatu Hiva (book)|Fatu Hiva]]'' (London: [[Allen & Unwin]], 1974). The story of his time on Fatu Hiva and his side trip to Hivaoa and Mohotani is also related in ''Green Was the Earth on the Seventh Day '' ([[Random House]], 1996).

==''Kon-Tiki'' expedition==
{{Main|Kon-Tiki expedition}}
{{See also|Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories}}
[[File:Kon-Tiki, Kon-Tiki Museum, 2019 (01).jpg|thumb|The ''Kon-Tiki'' in the [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] in Oslo, Norway]]
In 1947 Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers sailed from [[Peru]] to the [[Tuamotu Islands]], [[French Polynesia]] in a [[raft]] that they had constructed from [[balsa]] wood and other native materials, christened the ''[[Kon-Tiki]]''. The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was inspired by old reports and drawings made by the Spanish [[Conquistadors]] of [[Inca Empire|Inca]] rafts, and by native legends and archaeological evidence suggesting contact between [[South America]] and [[Polynesia]]. The ''Kon-Tiki'' smashed into the [[reef]] at [[Raroia]] in the Tuamotus on 7 August 1947 after a 101-day, 4,300-nautical-mile (5,000-mile or 8,000&nbsp;km)<ref>"[http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai144_folder/144_articles/144_index.html Quick Facts: Comparing the Two Rafts: Kon-Tiki and Tangaroa,"] in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 14:4 (Winter 2006), p. 35.</ref> journey across the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Heyerdahl had nearly drowned at least twice in childhood and did not take easily to water; he said later that there were times in each of his raft voyages when he feared for his life.<ref>Personal correspondence via fax on 2 February 1995 to Editor Betty Blair, Azerbaijan International magazine for article "Kon-Tiki Man", [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/31_folder/31_articles/31_thorheyerdahl.html Azerbaijan International, Vol. 3:1 (Spring 1995), pp. 62–63].</ref>

Heyerdahl's book about ''[[The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas]]'' has been translated into 70 languages.<ref>Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki has been translated into 71 languages, according to the Director of Kon-Tiki Museum, September 2013. Azerbaijani language being the 70th.</ref> The documentary film of the expedition entitled ''[[Kon-Tiki (1950 film)|Kon-Tiki]]'' won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] in 1951. A dramatised version was released in 2012, also called ''[[Kon-Tiki (2012 film)|Kon-Tiki]]'', and was nominated for both the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Oscar]] at the [[85th Academy Awards]]<ref name="85thNominees">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20959604 |title=Oscars: Hollywood announces 85th Academy Award nominations |access-date=10 January 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=10 January 2013}}</ref> and a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[70th Golden Globe Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2012/12/golden-globe-awards-nominations-2013-388146/|title=lasse_hallstrom.jpg|first=Nikki|last=Finke|work=Deadline|date=13 December 2012}}</ref> It was the first time that a Norwegian film was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ryland|first=Julie|title=Norwegian film "Kon Tiki" nominated for Oscar|url=http://www.norwaypost.no/index.php/news/latest-news/27960-qkon-tikiq-wins-nomination-for-oscar-|work=The Norway Post|access-date=11 January 2013|date=11 January 2013}}</ref>

===Expedition to Easter Island===
[[File:Thor Heyerdahl - L0061 934Fo30141701190050.jpg|thumb|Thor Heyerdahl, in 1955]]
In 1955–1956, Heyerdahl organised the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to [[Easter Island]]. The expedition's scientific staff included Arne Skjølsvold, Carlyle Smith, [[Edwin Ferdon]], Gonzalo Figueroa<ref>{{cite news|first=Malcolm |last=Coad |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/04/archaeology |title=Gonzalo Figueroa |newspaper=Guardian |date=4 September 2008|access-date=1 September 2011 |location=London}}</ref> and [[William Mulloy]]. Heyerdahl and the professional archaeologists who travelled with him spent several months on Easter Island investigating several important archaeological sites. Highlights of the project include experiments in the carving, transport and erection of the notable [[moai]], as well as excavations at such prominent sites as [[Orongo]] and [[Poike]]. The expedition published two large volumes of scientific reports (''Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific'') and Heyerdahl later added a third (''The Art of Easter Island''). Heyerdahl's popular book on the subject, ''[[Aku-Aku]]'' was another international best-seller.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kon-tiki.no/|title=The Kon-Tiki Museum|website=The Kon-Tiki Museum}}</ref>

In ''Easter Island: The Mystery Solved'' (Random House, 1989), Heyerdahl offered a more detailed theory of [[History of Easter Island|the island's history]]. Working with [[Rapanui]] archaeologist [[Sonia Haoa Cardinali]]<ref name="MV">
[https://moevarua.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Revista-moeVarua-Abril-2019.pdf ''Moe Varua Rapa Nui'', Vol. 12, No. 132, April 2019 p. 17-21] 
</ref> and using other Rapanui evidence, he claimed the island was originally colonised by [[Hanau eepe]] ("Long Ears"), from South America, and that Polynesian [[Hanau momoko]] ("Short Ears") arrived only in the mid-16th century; they may have come independently or perhaps were imported as workers. According to Heyerdahl, something happened between Admiral Roggeveen's discovery of the island in 1722 and James Cook's visit in 1774; while Roggeveen encountered white, Indian, and Polynesian people living in relative harmony and prosperity, Cook encountered a much smaller population consisting mainly of Polynesians and living in privation. Heyerdahl notes the oral tradition of an uprising of "Short Ears" against the ruling "Long Ears." The "Long Ears" dug a defensive moat on the eastern end of the island and filled it with kindling. During the uprising, Heyerdahl claimed, the "Long Ears" ignited their moat and retreated behind it, but the "Short Ears" found a way around it, came up from behind, and pushed all but two of the "Long Ears" into the fire. This moat was found by the Norwegian expedition and it was partly cut down into the rock. Layers of fire were revealed but no fragments of bodies.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

===Theory on Polynesian origins===
{{See also|Austronesian peoples}}
The basis of the ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was Heyerdahl's belief that the original inhabitants of [[Easter Island]] (and the rest of [[Polynesia]]) were the "Tiki people", a race of "white bearded men" who supposedly originally sailed from [[Peru]]. He described these "Tiki people" as being a sun-worshipping fair-skinned people with blue eyes, fair or red hair, tall statures, and beards. He further said that these people were originally from the [[Middle East]], and had crossed the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] earlier to found the great [[Mesoamerican civilizations]]. By 500 CE, a branch of these people were supposedly forced out into [[Tiahuanaco]] where they became the ruling class of the [[Inca Empire]] and set out to voyage into the Pacific Ocean under the leadership of "[[Viracocha|Con Ticci Viracocha]]".<ref name="Holton"/><ref name="Melander">{{cite journal |last1=Melander |first1=Victor |title=David's Weapon of Mass Destruction: The Reception of Thor Heyerdahl's 'Kon-Tiki Theory' |journal=Bulletin of the History of Archaeology |date=2019 |volume=29 |issue=1 |page=6 |doi=10.5334/bha-612 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|left|upright=1.5|thumb|Main migration routes of the [[Austronesian Expansion]] ({{circa|3000 to 1500 BCE}}) based on archaeological, linguistic, and genetic studies, as opposed to Heyerdahl's eastern origin hypothesis]]

Heyerdahl said that when the Europeans first came to the Pacific islands, they were astonished that they found some of the natives to have relatively light skins and beards. There were whole families that had pale skin, hair varying in colour from reddish to blonde. In contrast, most of the Polynesians had golden-brown skin, raven-black hair, and rather flat noses. Heyerdahl claimed that when [[Jacob Roggeveen]] discovered [[Easter Island]] in 1722, he supposedly noticed that many of the natives were white-skinned. Heyerdahl claimed that these people could count their ancestors who were "white-skinned" right back to the time of Tiki and [[Hotu Matua]], when they first came sailing across the sea "from a mountainous land in the east which was scorched by the sun". The ethnographic evidence for these claims is outlined in Heyerdahl's book ''[[Aku-Aku|Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island]]''.<ref name="rongorongo"/> He argued that the monumental statues known as [[moai]] resembled sculptures more typical of pre-Columbian Peru than any Polynesian designs. He believed that the Easter Island myth of a power struggle between two peoples called the [[Hanau epe]] and [[Hanau momoko]] was a memory of conflicts between the original inhabitants of the island and a later wave of "Native Americans" from the Northwest coast, eventually leading to the annihilation of the Hanau epe and the destruction of the island's culture and once-prosperous economy.<ref>Heyderdahl, Thor. ''Easter Island – The Mystery Solved''. Random House New York 1989.</ref><ref name = "Rose">Robert C. Suggs, "Kon-Tiki", in Rosemary G. Gillespie, D. A. Clague (eds), ''Encyclopedia of Islands'', University of California Press, 2009, pp. 515–516.</ref> Heyerdahl described these later "Native American" migrants as "Maori-Polynesians" who were supposedly Asians who crossed over the [[Bering land bridge]] into [[Pacific Northwest|Northwest America]] before sailing westward towards Polynesia (the westward direction is because he refused to accept that Polynesians were capable of sailing against winds and currents). He associated them with the [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] and [[Haida people]]s and characterized them as "inferior" to the Tiki people.<ref name="Melander"/>

Despite these claims, DNA sequence analysis of Easter Island's current inhabitants indicates that the 36 people living on Rapa Nui who survived the devastating internecine wars, slave raids, and epidemics of the 19th century and had any offspring<ref name="rongorongo">{{cite web|url=http://www.rongorongo.org/cooke/712.html|title=Rapa Nui – Untergang einer einmaligen Kultur|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref> were Polynesian. Furthermore, examination of skeletons offers evidence of only Polynesian origins for Rapa Nui living on the island after 1680.<ref>Van Tilburg, Jo Anne. 1994. ''Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and Culture''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 104464 skeletons  – definitely Polynesian</ref>

[[File:Hokule'a.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Hōkūleʻa]]'', a performance-accurate replica of a [[Polynesian people|Polynesian]] double-hulled ''wa'a kaulua'' voyaging canoe, sailed from [[Hawaiʻi]] to [[Tahiti]] against prevailing winds in 1976, partly to disprove Heyerdahl's drift hypothesis on his much more primitive and unsteerable ''[[Kon-Tiki]]'' balsa raft<ref name="Herman"/>]]
Heyerdahl's hypothesis of Polynesian origins from the Americas is considered [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]], [[Scientific racism|racially controversial]], and has not gained acceptance among scientists (even prior to the voyage).<ref name="Holton">{{cite journal |last1=Holton |first1=Graham E. L. |title=Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki Theory and the Denial of the Indigenous Past |journal=Anthropological Forum |date=July 2004 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=163–181 |doi=10.1080/0066467042000238976 |s2cid=144533445 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0066467042000238976?mobileUi=0&journalCode=canf20}}</ref><ref name="Melander"/><ref name="Herman">{{cite news |last1=Herman |first1=Doug |title=How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-voyage-kon-tiki-misled-world-about-navigating-pacific-180952478/ |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Engevold">{{cite news |last1=Engevold |first1=Per Ivar Hjeldsbakken |title=White gods, white researchers, white lies |url=https://www.kon-tiki.no/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/White-gods-edits-ryan-stokke-solsvik-20042020.pdf |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=Humanist Forlag |date=2019}}</ref> It is overwhelmingly rejected by scientists today. Archaeological, linguistic, cultural, and genetic evidence all support a western origin (from [[Island Southeast Asia]]) for Polynesians via the [[Austronesian expansion]].<ref name="Arthur">{{cite news |last1=Arthur |first1=Charles |title=Science: DNA shows how Thor Heyerdahl got it wrong |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science-dna-shows-how-thor-heyerdahl-got-it-wrong-1137388.html |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=Independent |date=8 January 1998}}</ref><ref name="Conniff">{{cite news |last1=Conniff |first1=Richard |title=Kon Artist? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/kon-artist-4164325/?all |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=July 2002}}</ref><ref name="Wilford">{{cite news |last1=Wilford |first1=John Noble |title=Thor Heyerdahl Dies at 87; His Voyage on Kon-Tiki Argued for Ancient Mariners |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/19/world/thor-heyerdahl-dies-at-87-his-voyage-on-kon-tiki-argued-for-ancient-mariners.html |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=19 April 2002}}</ref> "Drift voyaging" from South America was also deemed "extremely unlikely" in 1973 by computer modeling.<ref name="Herman"/>

The 1976 voyage of the ''[[Hōkūleʻa]]'', a performance-accurate replica of a [[Polynesian people|Polynesian]] double-hulled ''wa'a kaulua'' voyaging canoe, from [[Hawaiʻi]] to [[Tahiti]] was partly a demonstration to prove that Heyerdahl was wrong. The ''Hōkūleʻa'' sailed against prevailing winds and exclusively used [[wayfinding]] and [[celestial navigation|celestial]] [[Polynesian navigation]] techniques (unlike the modern equipment and charts of the ''Kon-Tiki'').<ref name="Herman"/><ref name="Blakely">{{cite news |last1=Blakely |first1=Stephen |title=Hokule'a: More Than Just An Ocean Voyaging Canoe. |url=https://www.soundingsonline.com/boats/hokulea-is-more-than-just-an-ocean-voyaging-canoe |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=Soundings: Real Boats, Real Boaters |date=13 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="Thomas">{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Stephen |title=Wind, Wave, and Stars: A Sea of Natural Signs |date=1983 |publisher=The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific Study Guide |pages=8–13 |url=https://www.der.org/resources/guides/navigators-study-guide.pdf}}</ref> ''Hōkūleʻa'' also remains fully operational, and has since completed ten other voyages, including a three-year [[circumnavigation]] of the planet from 2014 to 2017, with other sister ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/25546368/hokulea-and-her-sister-vessel-hikianalia-sets-sail|title=Hokule'a and her sister vessel Hikianalia set sail|last=Davis|first=Chelsea|date=20 May 2014 |publisher=Hawaii News Now|access-date=2014-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/35686686/thousands-to-gather-for-historic-hokulea-homecoming |title=Tradition, elation marks Hokulea's triumphant homecoming|publisher=Hawaii News Now|access-date=2017-06-18}}</ref>

Heyerdahl's hypothesis was part of early [[Eurocentric]] [[hyperdiffusionism]] and the [[Western world|westerner]] disbelief that ([[non-white]])  "stone-age" peoples with "no math" could colonize islands separated by vast distances of ocean water, even against prevailing winds and currents. He rejected the highly skilled voyaging and navigating traditions of the [[Austronesian peoples]] and instead argued that Polynesia was settled from boats following the wind and currents for navigation from South America. As such, the ''Kon-Tiki'' was deliberately a primitive raft and unsteerable, in contrast to the sophisticated [[outrigger canoe]]s and [[catamaran]]s of the Austronesian people.<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |title=Heyerdahl and Sharp|work=Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey |url=https://www.pbs.org/wayfinders/polynesian5.html |publisher=PBS |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Herman"/>

Anthropologist [[Robert Carl Suggs]] included a chapter titled "The Kon-Tiki Myth" in his 1960 book on Polynesia, concluding that "The ''Kon-Tiki'' theory is about as plausible as the tales of [[Atlantis]], [[Mu (lost continent)|Mu]], and 'Children of the Sun.' Like most such theories, it makes exciting light reading, but as an example of scientific method it fares quite poorly."<ref>Robert C. Suggs, ''The Island Civilizations of Polynesia'', New York: New American Library, p. 224.</ref> Anthropologist and [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] Explorer-in-Residence [[Wade Davis (anthropologist)|Wade Davis]] also criticized Heyerdahl's theory in his 2009 book ''The Wayfinders'', which explores the history of Polynesia. Davis says that Heyerdahl "ignored the overwhelming body of linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical evidence, augmented today by genetic and archaeological data, indicating that he was patently wrong."<ref>[[Wade Davis (anthropologist)|Wade Davis]], ''The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World'', Crawley: University of Western Australia Publishing, p. 46.</ref> [[Paul Theroux]], in his book ''The Happy Isles of Oceania'', also criticizes Heyerdahl for trying to link the culture of Polynesian islands with the Peruvian culture. 

However, recent scientific investigation that compares the DNA of some of the Polynesian islands with natives from Peru suggests that there is some merit to Heyerdahl's ideas and that while Polynesia was colonized from Asia, some contact with South America also existed; several papers have in the last few years confirmed with genetic data some form of contacts with [[Easter Island]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal | last1 = Thorsby | first1 = E. | last2 = Flåm | first2 = S. T. | last3 = Woldseth | first3 = B. | last4 = Dupuy | first4 = B. M. | last5 = Sanchez-Mazas | first5 = A. | last6 = Fernandez-Vina | first6 = M. A. | doi = 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2009.01233.x | title = Further evidence of an Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool on Easter Island | journal = Tissue Antigens | volume = 73 | issue = 6 | pages = 582–585 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19493235}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20546-early-americans-helped-colonise-easter-island.html |title=Early Americans helped colonise Easter Island |first=Michael |last=Marshall |date=6 June 2011 |work=[[New Scientist]] |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.057 | title = Genome-wide Ancestry Patterns in Rapanui Suggest Pre-European Admixture with Native Americans | journal = Current Biology| year = 2014 | doi-access = free | last1 = Moreno-Mayar | first1 = J. Víctor | last2 = Rasmussen | first2 = Simon | last3 = Seguin-Orlando | first3 = Andaine | last4 = Rasmussen | first4 = Morten | last5 = Liang | first5 = Mason | last6 = Flåm | first6 = Siri Tennebø | last7 = Lie | first7 = Benedicte Alexandra | last8 = Gilfillan | first8 = Gregor Duncan | last9 = Nielsen | first9 = Rasmus | last10 = Thorsby | first10 = Erik | last11 = Willerslev | first11 = Eske | last12 = Malaspinas | first12 = Anna-Sapfo | volume = 24 | issue = 21 | pages = 2518–2525 | pmid = 25447991 | bibcode = 2014CBio...24.2518M }}</ref>
More recently, some researchers published research confirming a wider impact on genetic and cultural elements in Polynesia due to South American contacts.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02055-4|title=Ancient voyage carried Native Americans' DNA to remote Pacific islands|date=8 July 2020|doi=10.1038/d41586-020-02055-4|last1=Callaway|first1=Ewen|journal=Nature|pmid=32641794|s2cid=220439360}}</ref>

==Boats ''Ra'' and ''Ra II''==
[[File:19-08-28-Ra2-im-Kon-Tiki-Museum-Oslo-RalfR.jpg|thumb|The ''Ra II'' in the Kon-Tiki Museum]]
In 1969 and 1970, Heyerdahl built two boats from [[papyrus]] and attempted to cross the [[Atlantic Ocean]] from [[Morocco]] in Africa. Based on drawings and models from ancient [[Egypt]], the first boat, named ''Ra'' (after [[Ra|the Egyptian Sun god]]), was constructed by boat builders from [[Lake Chad]] using papyrus reed obtained from [[Lake Tana]] in [[Ethiopia]] and launched into the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Morocco. The Ra crew included Thor Heyerdahl (Norway), [[Norman Baker (explorer)|Norman Baker]] (US), [[Carlo Mauri]] (Italy), [[Yuri Senkevich]] (USSR), [[Santiago Genovés]] (Mexico), Georges Sourial (Egypt), and Abdullah Djibrine (Chad). Only Heyerdahl and Baker had sailing and navigation experience. Genovés would go on to head the [[Acali|Acali Experiment]].

After a number of weeks, ''Ra'' took on water. The crew discovered that a key element of the Egyptian boatbuilding method had been neglected, a tether that acted like a spring to keep the stern high in the water while allowing for flexibility.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heyerdahl |first=Thor |title=The Ra Expeditions |url=https://archive.org/details/raexpeditions00heyerich |url-access=registration |date=1972 |page=[https://archive.org/details/raexpeditions00heyerich/page/197 197] }}</ref> Water and storms eventually caused it to sag and break apart after sailing more than 6,400&nbsp;km (4,000 miles). The crew was forced to abandon Ra, some hundred miles (160&nbsp;km) before the Caribbean islands, and was saved by a yacht.

The following year, 1970, a similar vessel, ''Ra II'', was built from Ethiopian papyrus by [[Bolivia]]n citizens Demetrio, Juan and José Limachi of [[Lake Titicaca]], and likewise set sail across the Atlantic from Morocco, this time with great success. The crew was mostly the same; though Djibrine had been replaced by Kei Ohara from Japan and Madani Ait Ouhanni from Morocco. The boat became lost and was the subject of a United Nations search and rescue mission. The search included international assistance including people as far afield as [[Loo-Chi Hu]] of New Zealand. The boat reached [[Barbados]], thus demonstrating that mariners could have dealt with trans-Atlantic voyages by sailing with the [[Canary Current]].<ref>Ryne, Linn. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081221173610/http://www.norway.org/history/expolorers/heyerdahl/heyerdahl.htm]. Retrieved 13 January 2008.</ref> The ''Ra II'' is now in the [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] in [[Oslo]], Norway.

The book ''The Ra Expeditions'' and the film documentary ''[[Ra (1972 film)|Ra]]'' (1972) were made about the voyages. Apart from the primary aspects of the expedition, Heyerdahl deliberately selected a crew representing a great diversity in [[Race (classification of humans)|race]], [[nationality]], [[religion]] and political viewpoint in order to demonstrate that, at least on their own little floating island, people could co-operate and live peacefully. Additionally, the expedition took samples of [[marine pollution]] and presented its report to the [[United Nations]].<ref name="HeyerdahlAward">{{cite web | url=http://www.rederi.no/nrweb/cms.nsf/pages/heyerdahl-award.html | title = Heyerdahl award | publisher = [[Norwegian Shipowners' Association|Norges Rederiforbund]] | access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>

==''Tigris''==
[[File:Tigris Model Pyramids of Guimar.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Model of the ''Tigris'' at the [[Pyramids of Güímar]], [[Tenerife]].]]
Heyerdahl built yet another [[reed boat]] in 1977, ''Tigris'', which was intended to demonstrate that trade and migration could have linked [[Mesopotamia]] with the [[Indus Valley civilization]] in what is now Pakistan and western India. Tigris was built in [[Al-Qurnah|Al Qurnah]] Iraq and sailed with its international crew through the Persian Gulf to Pakistan and made its way into the Red Sea.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pathé|first=British|title=Bahrain: Noted Explorer Thor Heyerdahl Prepares To Continue His Reed-Boat Voyage To India.|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA4EN09P9P62YNTHMVV64KAXCUK-BAHRAIN-NOTED-EXPLORER-THOR-HEYERDAHL-PREPARES-TO-CONTINUE-HIS/query/Reed|access-date=30 April 2021|website=www.britishpathe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

After about five months at sea and still remaining seaworthy, the ''Tigris'' was deliberately burnt in [[Djibouti]] on 3 April 1978 as a protest against the wars raging on every side in the [[Red Sea]] and [[Horn of Africa]]. In his Open Letter to the UN Secretary-General [[Kurt Waldheim]], Heyerdahl explained his reasons:<ref>Heyerdahl, Betty Blair, Bjornar Storfjell, [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai111_folder/111_articles/111_heyerdahl_tigris.html "25 Years Ago, Heyerdahl Burns Tigris Reed Ship to Protest War,"] in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:1 (Spring 2003), pp. 20–21.</ref>

<blockquote>Today we burn our proud ship&nbsp;... to protest against inhuman elements in the world of 1978&nbsp;... Now we are forced to stop at the entrance to the Red Sea. Surrounded by military airplanes and warships from the world's most civilized and developed nations, we have been denied permission by friendly governments, for reasons of security, to land anywhere, but in the tiny, and still neutral, Republic of Djibouti. Elsewhere around us, brothers and neighbors are engaged in homicide with means made available to them by those who lead humanity on our joint road into the third millennium.

To the innocent masses in all industrialized countries, we direct our appeal. We must wake up to the insane reality of our time&nbsp;... We are all irresponsible, unless we demand from the responsible decision makers that modern armaments must no longer be made available to people whose former battle axes and swords our ancestors condemned.

Our planet is bigger than the reed bundles that have carried us across the seas, and yet small enough to run the same risks unless those of us still alive open our eyes and minds to the desperate need of intelligent collaboration to save ourselves and our common civilization from what we are about to convert into a sinking ship.</blockquote>

In the years that followed, Heyerdahl was often outspoken on issues of international peace and the environment.

The ''Tigris'' had an 11-man crew: Thor Heyerdahl (Norway), [[Norman Baker (explorer)|Norman Baker]] (US), [[Carlo Mauri]] (Italy), [[Yuri Senkevich]] (USSR), Germán Carrasco (Mexico), Hans Petter Bohn (Norway), [[Rashad Salim|Rashad Nazar Salim]] (Iraq), Norris Brock (US), Toru Suzuki (Japan), Detlef Soitzek (Germany), and Asbjørn Damhus (Denmark).

=="The Search for Odin" in Azerbaijan and Russia==

===Background===

Heyerdahl made four visits to [[Azerbaijan]] in 1981,<ref>Forecoming 2014: Thor Heyerdahl and Azerbaijan, to be published jointly by University of Oslo and Azerbaijan University of Languages, Editor Vibeke Roeggen et al.</ref> 1994, 1999 and 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/31_folder/31_articles/31_thorheyerdahl.html |title=Thor Heyerdahl in Azerbaijan |publisher=Azer.com |access-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> Heyerdahl had long been fascinated with the rock carvings that date back to about {{BCE|8th–7th millennia|link=y}} at [[Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape|Gobustan]] (about 30 miles/48&nbsp;km west of [[Baku]]). He was convinced that their artistic style closely resembled the carvings found in his native Norway. The ship designs, in particular, were regarded by Heyerdahl as similar and drawn with a simple sickle-shaped line, representing the base of the boat, with vertical lines on deck, illustrating crew or, perhaps, raised oars.

Based on this and other published documentation, Heyerdahl proposed that Azerbaijan was the site of an ancient advanced civilization. He believed that natives migrated north through waterways to present-day [[Scandinavia]] using ingeniously constructed vessels made of skins that could be folded like cloth. When voyagers travelled upstream, they conveniently folded their skin boats and transported them on pack animals.

===Snorri Sturluson===

On Heyerdahl's visit to Baku in 1999, he lectured at the [[Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences|Academy of Sciences]] about the history of ancient Nordic Kings. He spoke of a notation made by [[Snorri Sturluson]], a 13th-century historian-mythographer in ''[[Ynglinga Saga]]'', which relates that "[[Odin]] (a Scandinavian god who was one of the kings) came to the North with his people from a country called [[Æsir|Aser]]."<ref>Stenersens, J. (trans.) (1987). ''Snorri, The Sagas of the Viking Kings of Norway''. Oslo: Forlag, 1987.</ref> (see also [[House of Yngling]]s and [[Mythological kings of Sweden]]). Heyerdahl accepted Snorri's story as literal truth, and believed that a chieftain led his people in a migration from the east, westward and northward through [[Saxony]], to [[Fyn]] in [[Denmark]], and eventually settling in [[Sweden]]. Heyerdahl claimed that the geographic location of the mythic Aser or Æsir matched the region of contemporary Azerbaijan&nbsp;– "east of the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea". "We are no longer talking about mythology," Heyerdahl said, "but of the realities of [[geography]] and [[history]]. [[Azerbaijanis]] should be proud of their ancient culture. It is just as rich and ancient as that of [[China]] and [[Mesopotamia]]."

[[File:Thor Heyerdahl 2000.jpg|thumb|Thor Heyerdahl in 2000]]
In September 2000 Heyerdahl returned to Baku for the fourth time and visited the archaeological dig in the area of the [[Church of Kish]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/84_folder/84_articles/84_kish.html|title=8.4 The Kish Church - Digging Up History - An Interview with J. Bjornar Storfjell|website=azer.com}}</ref>

===Revision of hypothesis===

One of the last projects of his life, ''[[Jakten på Odin]]'', 'The Search for Odin', was a sudden revision of his Odin hypothesis, in furtherance of which he initiated 2001–2002 excavations in [[Azov]], [[Russia]], near the [[Sea of Azov]] at the northeast of the [[Black Sea]].<ref name="Storfjell">Storfjell, "[http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_storfjell.html Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects]," in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002).</ref> He searched for the remains of a civilization to match the account of Odin in Snorri Sturlusson, significantly further north of his original target of Azerbaijan on the [[Caspian Sea]] only two years earlier. This project generated harsh criticism and accusations of pseudoscience from historians, archaeologists and linguists in Norway, who accused Heyerdahl of selective use of sources, and a basic lack of scientific methodology in his work.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Thor Heyerdahl og Per Lillieström. Jakten på Odin. På sporet av vår fortid.Oslo: J.M. Stenersens forlag, 2001. 320 s |trans-title=Thor Heyerdahl and Per Lillieström. The hunt for Odin. On the trail of our past. Oslo: J.M. Stenersen's publishing house, 2001. 320 p. |url=http://www.novus.no/tidsskrifter/heyerdahl.PDF |date=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725013912/http://www.novus.no/tidsskrifter/heyerdahl.PDF |archive-date=25 July 2011 |journal=Maal og Minne 1 (2002) |department=Reviews |pages=98–109 |language=no |access-date=8 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stahlsberg |first=Anne |date=13 March 2006 |title=Ytringsfrihet og påstått vitenskap – et dilemma? (Freedom of expression and alleged science – a dilemma?) |url=http://skepsis.no/?p=517 |access-date=20 June 2012}} (pdf at [http://skepsis.no/?p=517&article2pdf=1])</ref>

His central claims were based on similarities of names in Norse mythology and geographic names in the Black Sea region, e.g. ''Azov'' and ''Æsir'', [[Udi people|Udi]] and Odin, [[Tyr]] and [[Turkey]]. Philologists and historians reject these parallels as mere coincidences, and also anachronisms, for instance the city of Azov did not have that name until over 1,000 years after Heyerdahl claims the Æsir dwelt there. The controversy surrounding the Search for Odin project was in many ways typical of the relationship between Heyerdahl and the academic community. His theories rarely won any scientific acceptance, whereas Heyerdahl himself rejected all scientific criticism and concentrated on publishing his theories in popular books aimed at the general public.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}}

{{As of|2025}}, Heyerdahl's Odin hypothesis has yet to be validated by any historian, archaeologist or linguist.

== Pyramids of Güímar ==
In 1991 he studied the [[Pyramids of Güímar]] on [[Tenerife]] and declared that they were not random stone heaps but pyramids. Based on the discovery made by the astrophysicists Aparicio, Belmonte and Esteban, from the [[Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias]] that the "pyramids" were astronomically orientated and being convinced that they were of ancient origin, he claimed that the ancient people who built them were most likely sun worshippers. 
Heyerdahl hypothesized that the Canarian pyramids formed a temporal and geographic stopping point on voyages between ancient Egypt and the [[Maya civilization]], initiating a controversy in which historians, esoterics, archaeologists, astronomers, and those with a general interest in history took part.<ref>Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: ''Arqueología de las Islas Canarias", in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Bd. 10, 1997, S. 467.</ref><ref>Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López, ''Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad''. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, {{ISBN|978-84-7926-510-6}}, p. 35-52.</ref>

Between 1991 and 1998, [[Excavation (archaeology)|archaeological excavations]] of the site were conducted by archaeologists of the [[University of La Laguna]]. Preliminary findings were presented at a colloquium in 1996, providing evidence for the dating of the pyramids.<ref>Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez/Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos, ''El complejo de las morras de Chacona (Güímar, Tenerife): resultados del proyecto de investigación'', XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996), Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, vol. 1.</ref> According to the preceding geophysical [[ground-penetrating radar|Georadar-Survey]] eight locations adjacent to the pyramids, each with an area of 25&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>, were investigated in layers down to the solid lava-floor. In doing so it was possible to establish three specific sediment layers. Starting from the top these were:

# A layer of thickness averaging 20&nbsp;cm, consisting of humus-rich earth with many plant remains and roots; tracks from ploughing were clearly identifiable as were a broad spectrum of readily datable finds from the second half of the 20th&nbsp;century.
# A layer of thickness averaging 25&nbsp;cm, similar in composition to the first layer, however containing less humus and a larger amount of small stones; a large variety of finds which could be dated to the 19th and 20th&nbsp;century were found, of which an official seal from 1848 deserves particular mention.
# A layer of thickness between 25 and 150&nbsp;cm, composed out of small [[volcanic rocks]], most likely put in place in one movement, which levelled the uneven stone underneath; the stones contained only very few finds, mostly a small number of [[pottery]] shards, of which some was local and some imported, both kinds were roughly estimated as belonging to the 19th&nbsp;century. The pyramids stand stratigraphically directly on top of this bottom layer, therefore allowing for an earliest date of construction of the pyramids within the 19th century.<ref>Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos/Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez: ''El difusionismo atlántico y las pirámides de Chacona'', in: Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo y Domingo Sola Antequera: Arte y Sociedad del Egipto antiguo. Madrid 2000, S. 246-249.</ref>

Furthermore, under the border edge of one of the pyramids, a natural [[lava cave]] was discovered. It had been walled up and yielded artefacts from the time of the [[Guanches]]. Since the pyramids lie stratigraphically above the cave, the Guanche finds from between 600 and 1000&nbsp;AD can only support conclusions on the date of human use of the cave. The above survey indicates that the pyramids themselves cannot be older than the 19th century.<ref>Part of the preceding sections are based on the German wikipedia article ''[[:de::Pyramiden von Güímar|Pyramiden von Güímar]]''.</ref>

==Other projects==
Heyerdahl also investigated the mounds found on the [[Maldive Islands]] in the Indian Ocean. There, he found sun-orientated foundations and courtyards, as well as statues with elongated earlobes. Heyerdahl believed that these finds fit with his theory of a seafaring civilization which originated in what is now [[Sri Lanka]], colonized the [[Maldives]], and influenced or founded the cultures of ancient South America and Easter Island. His discoveries are detailed in his book ''The Maldive Mystery''.

Heyerdahl was also an active figure in [[Green politics]]. He was the recipient of numerous medals and awards. He also received 11 [[Honorary degree|honorary doctorates]] from universities in the [[Americas]] and [[Europe]].

In subsequent years, Heyerdahl was involved with many other expeditions and archaeological projects. He remained best known for his boatbuilding, and for his emphasis on cultural [[diffusion (anthropology)|diffusionism]].<ref name = JBS>J. Bjornar Storfjell, "[http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_storfjell.html Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714073457/http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_storfjell.html |date=2020-07-14 }}," in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002), p. 25.</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Thor Heyerdahl tomb.jpg|thumb|Thor Heyerdahl's tomb at [[Colla Micheri]]]]
Heyerdahl died on 18 April 2002 aged 87 from a [[brain tumor]] in [[Colla Micheri]], [[Liguria]], where he had gone to spend the Easter holidays with some of his closest family members.<ref name="III2003">{{cite book|author=Harris M. Lentz III|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2002: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HnGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA134|year=2003|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1464-2|pages=134–}}</ref> After receiving the diagnosis, he prepared for death, by [[Suicide methods#Starvation and dehydration|refusing to eat]] or take medication.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper= The Guardian|url = https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/apr/19/travelnews.internationaleducationnews.highereducation1|access-date =6 July 2009|title = Thor Heyerdahl dies at 87|location=London|first=Tim|last=Radford|date=19 April 2002}}</ref>

The Norwegian government honored him with a [[state funeral]] in the [[Oslo Cathedral]] on 26 April 2002. Until 2024, he was buried in the garden of the family home in Colla Micheri.<ref name="Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects"/> In 2024, his urn was moved to a new grave in the graveyard of [[Larvik Church]], the same church he was baptized in. He was an atheist.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/1391410/Thor-Heyerdahl.html|title=Thor Heyerdahl|access-date=27 March 2017|date=18 April 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://world.wng.org/2013/05/kon_tiki|title=Kon-Tiki – World|access-date=27 March 2017}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Although much of his work was not accepted by the scientific community for many years, Heyerdahl nevertheless increased public interest in ancient history and anthropology. He also showed that long-distance ocean voyages were possible with ancient designs. As such, he was a major practitioner of [[experimental archaeology]]. The [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] on the [[Bygdøy]] peninsula in [[Oslo]], Norway houses vessels and maps from the Kon-Tiki expedition, as well as a library with about 8,000 books.

The Thor Heyerdahl Institute was established in 2000. Heyerdahl himself agreed to the founding of the institute and it aims to promote and continue to develop Heyerdahl's ideas and principles. The institute is located in Heyerdahl's birth town of Larvik, Norway. In [[Larvik]], the birthplace of Heyerdahl, the municipality began a project in 2007 to attract more visitors. Since then, they have purchased and renovated Heyerdahl's childhood home, arranged a yearly raft regatta in his honour at the end of summer and begun to develop a Heyerdahl centre.<ref>{{in lang|nb}} [http://www.op.no/heyerdahl/ Heyerdahl-byen]. op.no. Retrieved on 5 March 2011.</ref>

Heyerdahl's grandson, Olav Heyerdahl, retraced his grandfather's ''Kon-Tiki'' voyage in 2006 as part of a six-member crew. The voyage, organised by Torgeir Higraff and called the [[Tangaroa Expedition]],<ref>Torgeir Saeverud Higraff with Betty Blair, "Tangaroa Pacific Voyage: [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai144_folder/144_articles/144_tangaroa.html Testing Heyerdahl's Theories about Kon-Tiki 60 Years Later]", Azerbaijan International, Vol. 14:4 (Winter 2006), pp. 28–53.</ref> was intended as a tribute to Heyerdahl, an effort to better understand navigation via centreboards ("guara<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/fall%202003/Guara.html|title=21st Century|work=21stcenturysciencetech.com}}</ref>") as well as a means to monitor the Pacific Ocean's environment.

A book about the Tangaroa Expedition<ref>Tangaroa Expedition, available only in Norwegian ({{ISBN|978-82-8087-199-2}}), 363 pages. The book has photos related to the ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition 60 years earlier and is lavishly illustrated with Tangaroa photos by Swedish crew member Anders Berg.</ref> by Torgeir Higraff was published in 2007. The book has numerous photos from the ''Kon-Tiki'' voyage 60 years earlier and is illustrated with photographs by Tangaroa crew member Anders Berg (Oslo: Bazar Forlag, 2007). "Tangaroa Expedition"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.videomaker.no/|title=AS Videomaker|date=25 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025080101/https://www.videomaker.no/|archive-date=25 October 2017}}</ref> has also been produced as a documentary DVD in English, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish.

==Decorations and honorary degrees==
[[File:ThorHeyerdahl Bust Guimar.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bust of Thor Heyerdahl. [[Güímar]], Tenerife.]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Bust of Thor Heyerdahl in Kish village of Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bust of Thor Heyerdahl. [[Kish]], [[Azerbaijan]]]] -->
[[2473 Heyerdahl|Asteroid 2473 Heyerdahl]] is named after him, as are [[HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl|HNoMS ''Thor Heyerdahl'']], a Norwegian [[Nansen class frigate]], along with ''MS Thor Heyerdahl'' (now renamed ''[[MS Vana Tallinn]]''), and [[Thor Heyerdahl (ship)|''Thor Heyerdahl'']], a German three-masted [[sail training]] vessel originally owned by a participant of the Tigris expedition. [[List of geological features on Pluto|Heyerdahl Vallis]], a valley on [[Pluto]], and [[Thor Heyerdahl Upper Secondary School]] in [[Larvik]], the town of his birth, are also named after him. [[Google]] honoured Heyerdahl on his 100th birthday by making a [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/thor-heyerdahls-100th-birthday/ |title=Heyerdahl Google Doodle |date=6 October 2014 |access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

Heyerdahl's numerous awards and honours include the following:

===Governmental and state honours===
* Grand Cross of the [[Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav]] (1987) (Commander with Star: 1970; Commander: 1951)<ref name="PLU">{{in lang|nb}} [http://nrk.no/underholdning/store_norske/4349420.html nrk.no]. Retrieved on 7 July 2011.</ref>
* Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Peru (1953)<ref name="PLU" />
* Grand Officer of the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]] (21 June 1965)<ref name="PLU" /><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/Onorificenze.aspx?pag=0&qIdOnorificenza=&cognome=heyerdahl&nome=&daAnno=1900&aAnno=1990&luogoNascita=&testo=&ordinamento=OCO_ANNO_DECRETO%20DESC,OCO_MESE_DECRETO%20DESC,OCO_GIORNO_DECRETO%20DESC | title = Presidenza della Republica; ONORIFICENZE | language = it | access-date = 12 March 2013 }}</ref>
* Knight in the [[Order of Saint John of Jerusalem]]<ref>Heyerdahl paid 50,000 dollars for this honour. ''[[De Telegraaf]]'' (16 November 1971)</ref>
* Knight of the [[Order of Merit (Egypt)|Order of Merit]], Egypt (1971)<ref name="PLU" />
* Grand Officer of the [[Order of Ouissam Alaouite]] (Morocco; 1971)
* Officer, [[Order of the Sun (Peru)]] (1975) and Knight Grand Cross
* International Pahlavi Environment Prize, United Nations (1978)<ref name="PLU" />
* Knight of the [[Order of the Golden Ark]], Netherlands (1980)<ref name="PLU" />
* Commander, [[American Knights of Malta]] (1970)<ref name="PLU" />
* [[Civitan International]] World Citizenship Award<ref>Armbrester, Margaret E. (1992), {{cite book |last= Armbrester |first= Margaret E. |title= The Civitan Story |year= 1992 |publisher= Ebsco Media |location= Birmingham, AL |page= 95 }}</ref>
* [[Austrian Decoration for Science and Art]] (2000)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf | title = Reply to a parliamentary question | language = de | page=1381 | access-date = 16 November 2012 }}</ref>
* [[Medal of St. Hallvard|St. Hallvard's Medal]]

===Academic honours===
* Retzius Medal, Royal [[Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography]] (1950)<ref name="PLU"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plu.edu/~ryandp/thor.html |title=Thor Heyerdahl |access-date=12 January 2011}}</ref>
* Mungo Park Medal, [[Royal Scottish Geographical Society|Royal Scottish Society for Geography]] (1951)<ref name="PLU" />
* Bonaparte-Wyse Gold Medal, [[Société de Géographie]] de Paris (1951)<ref name="PLU" />
* Elisha Kent Kane Gold Medal, [[Geographical Society of Philadelphia]] (1952)<ref name="PLU" />
* Honorary Member, Geographical Societies of Norway (1953), Peru (1953), Brazil (1954)<ref name="PLU" />
* Elected Member [[Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters|Norwegian Academy of Sciences]] (1958)<ref name="PLU" />
* Fellow, [[New York Academy of Sciences]] (1960)<ref name="PLU" />
* Vega Gold Medal, Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (1962)<ref name="PLU" />
* Lomonosov Medal, [[Moscow State University]] (1962)<ref name="PLU" />
* Gold Medal, [[Royal Geographical Society]], London (1964)<ref name="PLU" />
* Distinguished Service Award, [[Pacific Lutheran University]], [[Tacoma, Washington]], US (1966)<ref name="PLU" />
* Member [[American Anthropological Association]] (1966)<ref name="PLU" />
* Kiril i Metodi Award, Geographical Society, Bulgaria (1972)<ref name="PLU" />
* Honorary Professor, [[Instituto Politécnico Nacional]], Mexico (1972)<ref name="PLU" />
* Bradford Washburn Award, [[Museum of Science, Boston]], US, (1982)<ref name="PLU" />
* President's Medal, [[Pacific Lutheran University]], Tacoma, US (1996)<ref name="PLU" />
* Honorary Professorship, [[Western University (Azerbaijan)|Western University]], Baku, Azerbaijan (1999)<ref>"Thor Heyerdahl: Beyond Borders, Beyond Seas: Links to Azerbaijan," Western University, Book VII: Exploration Series, 2011, pp. 22–23.</ref>

===Honorary degrees===
* [[Doctor Honoris Causa]], [[University of Oslo]], Norway (1961)<ref name="PLU" />
* Doctor Honoris Causa, [[Russian Academy of Sciences|USSR Academy of Science]] (1980)<ref name="PLU" />
* Doctor Honoris Causa, University of San Martin, Lima, Peru, (1991)<ref name="PLU" />
* Doctor Honoris Causa, [[University of Havana]], Cuba (1992)<ref name="PLU" />
* Doctor Honoris Causa, [[University of Kyiv]], Ukraine (1993)<ref name="PLU" />
* Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Maine, Orono (1998)

==Publications==
* ''På Jakt efter Paradiset'' (Hunt for Paradise), 1938; ''[[Fatu Hiva (book)|Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature]] (changed title in English in 1974).''
* ''[[The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas]]'' (''Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen'', also known as ''Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft''), 1948.
* ''American Indians in the Pacific: The Theory Behind the Kon-Tiki Expedition'' (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1952), 821 pages.
* ''[[Aku-Aku|Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island]]'', 1957.
* ''Archaeology of Easter Island'', vol. 1 (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1961), vol. 2 (1965)
* ''Sea Routes to Polynesia: American Indians and Early Asiatics in the Pacific'' (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968), 232 pages.
* ''The Ra Expeditions'' {{ISBN|0-14-003462-5}}.
* ''Early Man and the Ocean: The Beginning of Navigation and Seaborn Civilizations'', 1979
* ''The Tigris Expedition: In Search of Our Beginnings''
* ''The Maldive Mystery'', 1986
* ''Green Was the Earth on the Seventh Day: Memories and Journeys of a Lifetime''
* ''Pyramids of Tucume: The Quest for Peru's Forgotten City''
* ''Skjebnemøte vest for havet'' [''Fate Meets West of the Ocean''], 1992 (in Norwegian and German only) the Native Americans tell their story, white and bearded Gods, infrastructure was not built by the Inkas but their more advanced predecessors.
* ''In the Footsteps of Adam: A Memoir'' (the official edition is Abacus, 2001, translated by Ingrid Christophersen) {{ISBN|0-349-11273-8}}
* ''Ingen Grenser'' (No Boundaries, Norwegian only), 1999<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/19/science/did-the-vikings-stay-vatican-files-may-offer-clues.html |title=Did the Vikings Stay? Vatican Files May Offer Clues |first=Walter |last=Gibbs |date=19 December 2000 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>
* ''Jakten på Odin'' (Theories about Odin, Norwegian only), 2001

==See also==
* [[M/S Thor Heyerdahl|M/S ''Thor Heyerdahl'']] – a ferry named after him
* [[List of notable brain tumor patients]]
* [[Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]]
* [[Pre-Columbian rafts]]
* [[Vital Alsar]]
* [[Kitín Muñoz]]
* [[The Viracocha expedition]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Thor Heyerdahl}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913133203/http://www.hf.uib.no/i/Nordisk/MaalogMinne/artikler/heyerdahl-v1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.hf.uib.no/i/Nordisk/MaalogMinne/artikler/heyerdahl-v1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=13 September 2009 |title=Maal og minne 1, 2002 }} a scientific critique of his Odin project, in English
* [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/73_folder/73_articles/73_thorheyerdahl.html Thor Heyerdahl in Baku] Azerbaijan International, Vol. 7:3 (Autumn 1999), pp.&nbsp;96–97.
* [http://www.plu.edu/~ryandp/thor.html Thor Heyerdahl Biography and Bibliography]
* [http://www.greatdreams.com/thor.htm Thor Heyerdahl expeditions]
* [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai111_folder/111_articles/111_heyerdahl_tigris.html The 'Tigris' expedition, with Heyerdahl's war protest] Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:1 (Spring 2003), pp.&nbsp;20–21.
* [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_storfjell.html Bjornar Storfjell's account]: A reference to his last project ''[[Jakten på Odin]]'' Azerbaijan International, Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020602013044/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0419_020419_wirethor.html Biography on National Geographic]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061002210937/http://www.forskning.no/temaer/thor_heyerdahl Forskning.no] Biography from the official Norwegian scientific webportal (in Norwegian)
* [http://www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_romero_heyerdahl.shtml Thor Heyerdahl on Maldives Royal Family website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070211045916/http://www.blueworldexplorer.co.uk/explorers/heyerdahl.htm Biography of Thor Heyerdahl]
* [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/thor Sea Routes to Polynesia] Extracts from lectures by Thor Heyerdahl
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090130083513/http://www.heyerdahl-byen.no/ The home of Thor Heyerdahl] Useful information on Thor Heyerdahl and his hometown, Larvik
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/1391410/Thor-Heyerdahl.html Thor Heyerdahl] – Daily Telegraph obituary
* {{Internet Archive author |sname= |sopt=w}}

{{Thor Heyerdahl}}
{{Kon-Tiki}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyerdahl, Thor}}
[[Category:Thor Heyerdahl| ]]
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Larvik]]
[[Category:Norwegian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Norwegian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:Norwegian explorers]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian historians]]
[[Category:Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]]
[[Category:Reed boats]]
[[Category:Replications of ancient voyages]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Italy]]
[[Category:Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]]
[[Category:Norwegian ethnographers]]
[[Category:Norwegian atheists]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit (Egypt)]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:University of Oslo alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century Norwegian writers]]
[[Category:Archaeologists of Easter Island]]