Título: Thor Heyerdahl
Seção: Kon-Tiki expedition
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 1947, Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers sailed from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia in a pae-pae 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 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 August 7, 1947, after a 101-day, 4,300-nautical-mile (5,000-mile or 8,000 km) 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.  Kon-Tiki demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail the Pacific with relative ease and safety, especially to the west (with the trade winds). The raft proved to be highly manoeuvrable, and fish congregated between the nine balsa logs in such numbers that ancient sailors could have possibly relied on fish for hydration in the absence of other sources of fresh water. Other rafts have repeated the voyage, inspired by Kon-Tiki. Heyerdahl's book about The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas has been translated into 70 languages. The documentary film of the expedition entitled Kon-Tiki won an Academy Award in 1951. A dramatised version was released in 2012, also c

user: Wht year did he embark

assistant: 1947, Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers sailed from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands,

user: How did the do this

assistant: pae-pae raft that they had constructed from balsa wood and other native materials, christened the Kon-Tiki.

user: What inspired this

assistant: old reports and drawings made by the Spanish Conquistadors of Inca rafts, and by native legends and archaeological evidence suggesting contact between South America and Polynesia.

user: What did he struggle with

assistant: Heyerdahl had nearly drowned at least twice in childhood and did not take easily to water;

user: What was the result of the experement

assistant: Kon-Tiki demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail the Pacific with relative ease and safety, especially to the west (with the trade winds

user: What did they realize

assistant: raft proved to be highly manoeuvrable, and fish congregated between the nine balsa logs

user: What could that provide

assistant: ancient sailors could have possibly relied on fish for hydration in the absence of other sources of fresh water.