Thor Heyerdahl

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"/>

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.

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|''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>

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>