Título: Thor Heyerdahl
Seção: Expedition to Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Background: Thor Heyerdahl (Norwegian pronunciation: [tu:r 'haei@da:l]; October 6, 1914 - April 18, 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany, and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures. This was linked to a diffusionist model of cultural development.

Conteúdo: In 1955-1956, Heyerdahl organized the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The expedition's scientific staff included Arne Skjolsvold, Carlyle Smith, Edwin Ferdon, Gonzalo Figueroa and William Mulloy. Heyerdahl and the professional archaeologists who travelled with him spent several months on Rapa Nui 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.  In Easter Island: The Mystery Solved (Random House, 1989), Heyerdahl offered a more detailed theory of the island's history. Based on native testimony and archaeological research, he claimed the island was originally colonized 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 li

user: How is Heyerdahl related to the expedition of Easter Island?

assistant: Heyerdahl organized the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

user: Who went with him?

assistant: The expedition's scientific staff included Arne Skjolsvold, Carlyle Smith, Edwin Ferdon, Gonzalo Figueroa and William Mulloy.

user: When did they go?

assistant: In 1955-1956,

user: Was the trip a success?

assistant: The expedition published two large volumes of scientific reports

user: Was this the only expedition to Easter Island?

assistant: In Easter Island: The Mystery Solved (Random House, 1989), Heyerdahl offered a more detailed theory of the island's history.

user: How well did his theory go over?

assistant: According to Heyerdahl, something happened between Admiral Roggeveen's discovery of the island in 1722

user: What else did Heyerdahl do?

assistant: Heyerdahl notes the oral tradition of an uprising of "Short Ears" against the ruling "Long Ears".

user: What does he mean by "short ears" and "long ears"?

assistant: Heyerdahl claimed, the "Long Ears" ignited their moat and retreated behind it, but the "Short Ears" found a way around it,

user: Where these people they encountered?

assistant: This moat was found by the Norwegian expedition and it was partly cut down into the rock.