Thor Heyerdahl centenary commemorative conference in Los Cristianos this month

[Janet]

Los Cristianos will be home this month to a conference organized by Guimar Pyramids as part of the celebration of the centenary of the birth of the famous Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, founder of Pirámides de Güímar. The Parque Etnográfico has designed a programme of activities in commemoration  of the anniversary, in collaboration with the Norwegian embassy in Spain.

The first event, on Friday 11 April, will take place at 12 noon in the Los Cristianos Cultural Centre, and will be a conference where Thor Heyerdahl's friends , family and relatives will share anecdotes, stories and memories about the Nordic researcher. Although Heyerdahl is widely known for his extraordinary trans-oceanic expeditions, his scientific research on human migration throughout history, or his Oscar-winning documentary film about the Kon Tiki  expedition, the conference is intent on showing a new and different side to the scientist, particularly to give previously-unknown human and personal insights into a man named the Norwegian of the twentieth century by the media in his home country.

Among those taking part will be Thor Heyerdahl's widow Jacqueline Beer Heyerdahl, and close friends such as Norwegian shipping magnate Fred Olsen, and photographer Roberto de Armas. The respect that Thor Heyerdahl is held in Tenerife will be demonstrated by the prescence, too, of Carlos Alonso, President of the island Cabildo. The conference is organized in conjunction with the Culture Department of Arona Ayuntamiento. Admission is free but places are limited, so reservations are recommended: just call 922 514 510 or email recepcionpg@piramidesdeguimar.es. JA

[El Profesor]

He was famous in the 1960's for the Kon Tiki expedition and bestselling book.
However I found his second book, The Ra Expeditions to be an unforgettable read. It made a lasting impression on me.

His theory was that the ancient Egyptians sailed to America.
He thought the similarities between the ancient Mediterranean beliefs and architecture and those of Southern and Central America couldn't be a coincidence and he proposed that as sun worshippers it would have been logical for the Egyptians to sail off to the West . . . even if only to see where it goes.

He was ridiculed by his contemporaries because the papyrus boats that sailed the Nile in ancient times would dissolve in sea water, but he reasoned that they wouldn't have come back . . . .  and the only way to prove his theories was to do it.

He copied the designs off the walls in the pyramids in Egypt and built Ra.

The story of his research around the world gathering together craftsmen who still work with papyrus today  (well not today, this was 1969, 45 years ago) and the preparation and the building was an interesting enough adventure. Then he selected a diverse multinational motley crew including a Mexican anthropologist (who also wrote a book about the voyages' anthropological perspective). I think Heyerdahl was the only one with sailing experience.

They set off and almost immediately the steering mechanism broke, so they drifted on the currents and ended up coming straight here . . . yes, sunny Islas Canarias.
Mexican geezer knew about the Guanches and thus Heyerdahl developed the theory that the Berbers from North Africa, who used papyrus boats, probably drifted over and couldn't get back because their boats dissolved. This would explain why the Guanche populations had no navigation between islands; they couldn't build wooden boats and there was no papyrus here.
Anyway they carried on drifting on the Canary current and sank about 100 miles short of destination.
So he built Ra II and did it again.

I remember when they discovered the pyramids in Guimar. I was reading El Dia in a petrol station and they said that Thor Hyerdahl had left a dig somewhere in Central America to fly over and check them out, I thought it tremendously exciting. He had the perspective of the building techniques in ancient Egypt and their similarities with the step pyramids of the Maya and Aztec civilisations . . . . he will know, I remember thinking.

The authorities here were in the process of bulldozing them to make a road; they, and their experts were convinced that they were 18th century potato stores or something. The only way Heyerdahl could stop them was to club together with Olsen and buy the land. He ended up living out his last years in Guimar.

Recently I had a conversation with a young Canarian archaeologist who laughed and poo pooed the Guimar pyramids as nothing more than a tacky tourist attraction. But for me . . . . as far as I am concerned,  if Heyerdahl was that convinced . . . . that is good enough for me.

[Perikles]

if Heyerdahl was that convinced . . . . that is good enough for me.

Magister dixit. Shame on you. Why on earth would you form a judgment about archeological theories merely because Heyerdahl said it? It's like taking somebody such as von Däniken or Hubbard or any of the host of pseudoscientists seriously. They are good at self promotion and making money, not much else.

By the way. there is not one shred of evidence to suggest that the Guimar pyramids are more than a few centuries old, and their alleged astronomical significance is laughable. But I guess you know that. The Guimar site is carefully set out to give the impression to the gullible that it is of serious archeological significance. Without actually lying about anything, they do a good job of that.

[Janet]

I agree with you in principle, but I think it's very harsh and unfair to put Heyerdahl in the same raft as the utter loonies von Däniken and Hubbard.

[Perikles]

I agree with you in principle, but I think it's very harsh and unfair to put Heyerdahl in the same raft as the utter loonies von Däniken and Hubbard.

Yes, perhaps. I was in a bad mood. Still am actually. This cold is getting me down.

[El Profesor]

By the way. there is not one shred of evidence to suggest that the Guimar pyramids are more than a few centuries old . . . . . .

Nor is there evidence to the contrary.
However I can't go to Egypt and Mexico and compare the building techniques . . . Heyerdahl has spent his life doing just that and he seemed pretty sure of the feasibility of the theory. They did mummies, why not pyramids?
Anyway, I recommend the Ra book.

[Janet]

The second event in the Thor Heyerdahl centenary commemoration will be a talk, The Sixth Mass Extinction on Planet Earth, given by Professor Dr Richard Pott in the auditorium of the Güimar Pyramids on Monday 14 April. The lecture will consider the past five mass extinctions and foreshadow the sixth, that of our own species, and perhaps also that of our own contribution to it. Richard Pott is Professor of Geobotany at Hanover University, as well as Director General of the Geobotany Institute, also in Hanover. The event starts at 8pm, and entrance is free. JA

[Perikles]

The second event in the Thor Heyerdahl centenary commemoration will be a talk,

...in Spanish, English, German or Welsh?

[Janet]

 

It's a press release given in Spanish and English about a German professor giving a talk about a Norwegian ... anyone's guess. Probably Welsh.

[Michael]

Kon Tiki was one of the very few books that we were forced to read in school that I actually enjoyed.

Just sayin'.