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Determined to test his theories of migration among early civilizations, anthropologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl built exact reproductions of vessels once manned by ancient Peruvians, Egyptians, and Sumerians and set sail, risking his reputation and his life in four epic voyages.
With his first voyage, Heyerdahl sought to prove that pre-Inca inhabitants of South America could have populated the South Pacific. He sailed the balsa raft Kon-Tiki from Peru in 1947, arriving in Polynesia after 101 days at sea on the perilously waterlogged raft. The Ra expeditions from Africa to the West Indies in 1969 and 1970 showed that it would have been possible for ancient Mediterranean peoples to sail to the Americas in papyrus reed boats long before Columbus. Heyerdahl also organized the first archeological dig at the pyramids of Tucume, Peru, and his work on Easter Island helped explain how the enormous statues were carved from volcanic rock and moved across the island. Kon-Tiki Interactive explores the mysterious origins of the world's civilizations and captures the life and adventurous spirit of one of the century's most original explorers. |
