Thor Heyerdahl's theories

Thor Heyerdahl was an explorer and scientist who proposed that ancient peoples could have traveled long distances across oceans using simple boats. He believed that many cultures, like those in South America and Polynesia, might have had contact through maritime exploration, sharing ideas and traditions. To support this, he famously built and sailed replica boats, like the Kon-Tiki in 1947, across the Pacific to demonstrate that such voyages were possible with the technology of his time. His theories challenge the idea that distant cultures developed entirely independently, suggesting instead that ancient seafarers facilitated early global connections.