Early Man and the Ocean: A Search for the Beginnings of Navigation & Seaborne Civilizations

by Thor Heyerdahl

Presents Heyerdahl's original research into ancient oceanic voyages, including the Kon-Tiki and Ra expeditions, which support his theories about prehistoric voyagers traveling across the southern Atlantic to Mexico

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Nautical, Travel, Anthropology, Prehistory

438 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914, Larvik, Norway – April 18, 2002, Colla Micheri, Italy) was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a scientific background in zoology and geography. Heyerdahl became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed 4,300 miles (8,000 km) by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. All his legendary expeditions are shown in the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo.

Thor Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison Lyng. As a young child, Thor Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology. He created a small museum in his childhood home, with a Vipera berus as the main attraction. He studied Zoology and Geography at University of Oslo. At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kropelien, a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kropelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department. After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin, a project was developed and sponsored by his zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there. Just before sailing together to the Marquesas Islands in 1936, he married his first wife, Liv Coucheron-Torp (b. 1916), whom he had met shortly before enrolling at the University, and who had studied economics there. Though she is conspicuously absent from many of his papers and talks, Liv participated in nearly all of Thor's journeys, with the exception of the Kon-Tiki Expedition. The couple had two sons; Thor Jr and Bjørn. The marriage ended in divorce and in 1949 Thor Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen. They in turn had three daughters; Annette, Marian and Helene Elisabeth. This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1969. In 1991 Thor Heyerdahl married for the third time, to Jacqueline Beer (b. 1932).

Thor Heyerdahl's grandson, Olav Heyerdahl, retraced his grandfather's Kon-Tiki voyage in 2006, as part of a six-member crew. The voyage, called the Tangaroa Expedition, was intended as a tribute to Thor Heyerdahl, as well as a means to monitor the Pacific Ocean's environment. A film about the voyage is in preparation.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[refgoddess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always interested in Heyerdahl's stories, having been hooked way back by Kon Tiki. However, this is a compilation of essays, written for fellow archaeologists, mainly, and is a bit dry going. Also, I'm under the impression that his theories have been exploded. I'll have to take a look at that.

[Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is, perhaps, more detail here than the average reader might desire and some of the information can be found in his other books, but pulling it all together in one book gives a marvelous overview of the probable migration of people (Hittites and Phoenicians from near Asia to Mexico, Panama, Ecuador and Peru, for example) carrying their technology, religion and culture along on the ocean currents. It is a fascinating study that causes the reader to rethink much of what has been accepted as historical ‘fact’.

[S. Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heyerdahl makes a convincing argument for the spread of cultures along oceanic currents, contrary to conventional wisdom. While subsequent research may not have supported all his theories, I found his confidence in the abilities of early humans to navigate the open ocean both refreshing and inspirational.

This book is a collection of essays based on academic conference proceedings. As such, it is not as quick a read as works intended as popular history. Despite the scholarly tone, it is a worthwhile read for those interested in prehistory.

[Ramsis Saleh · Rating 5 out of 5]

درة التاج هو كتاب "الإنسان البدائي والمحيط" (Early Man and the Ocean)، الصادر عام 1978، هو الكتاب الذي يمثل "العقل النظري" لثور هيردال.

إذا كانت كتبه الأخرى (مثل كون-تيكي ورع ودجلة) هي "يوميات مغامرة"، فإن هذا الكتاب هو بحث علمي أكاديمي رصين. في هذا المجلد الضخم، جمع هيردال كل الأدلة التي حصدها عبر عقود ليقدمها للمجتمع العلمي، رداً على من اتهمه بأن رحلاته كانت مجرد "مغامرات ناجحة بالصدفة".

إليك كيف يربط هذا الكتاب بين كل أجزاء مكتبتك:

1. المحيط كطريق وليس كحاجز

الفكرة المركزية هنا هي "الجغرافيا البحرية". يثبت هيردال بالخرائط والبيانات العلمية أن التيارات البحرية (مثل تيار الخليج وتيار هومبولت) تعمل مثل "الأحزمة الناقلة" (Conveyor belts).

الإنسان القديم لم يكن بحاجة لمحركات؛ كان يحتاج فقط لبناء قارب متين (بالمقاييس التي ناقشناها) وتركه للتيار، وسوف يصل حتماً من القارة "أ" إلى القارة "ب".

2. الربط مع "مسطرة جوديا" والمقاييس

في هذا الكتاب، يخصص هيردال فصلاً كاملاً لنقاش "التطور المتوازي مقابل الانتشار الثقافي":

يطرح السؤال الذي سألتَه أنت في بداية حوارنا: لماذا تتشابه المقاييس؟

يجادل هيردال بأن احتمال أن تبتكر حضارتان منفصلتان (في مصر وبيرو مثلاً) نفس "الذراع" ونفس "القدم" ونفس "التقويم الفلكي" ونفس "أسلوب بناء السفن" هو احتمال رياضي مستحيل.

إذن، الحل الوحيد هو أن "المحيط" نقل هؤلاء المعلمين أو المهندسين بمساطرهم وأدواتهم.

3. "الإنسان البدائي" لم يكن بدائياً

يهاجم هيردال في هذا الكتاب "المركزية الأوروبية" التي تفترض أن الإنسان القديم كان غبياً.

يثبت أن ملاحي العصر البرونزي كانوا يمتلكون "علومًا دقيقة" (كما في عنوان كتاب نويجباور) في الفلك والرياضيات، تمكنهم من معرفة مكانهم في عرض البحر بدقة مذهلة.

[Zeka Vasch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Сборник научных работ. Не сильно "популярное чтиво" поэтому скучноватое