Thor Heyerdahl

Below is information regarding the research and writings of Thor Heyerdahl including a bibliography of scientific and popular works.

BIOGRAPHIES OF THOR HEYERDAHL:

Arnold Jacoby, 1968, Senor Kon-Tiki.  Allen and Unwin, London.

Christopher Ralling, 1990, Kon-Tiki Man.  BBC Books, London.

Snorre Evensberget, 1994, Thor Heyerdahl: The Explorer.   J.M. Stenersens, Oslo.

BBC-TV Television Series: The Kon-Tiki Man.

HEYERDAHL'S EXPEDITIONS:

Organized and led the expedition by the balsa raft Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947 to

demonstrate the possibility of aboriginal South American voyages to the Oceanic islands. Organized and

led Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to the Galapagos Islands revealing evidence of prehistoric camp

sites, and experimented with aboriginal tacking principles of balsa rafts in Ecuador, 1952-53.  Led

Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific discovering distinct cultural

layers with South American correspondences, 1955-56.  Continued research and publications on Polynesian

culture and migration, 1957-68. Began experiments with the seaworthiness of reed ships in 1969 (the Ra

Expeditions) and sailing the papyrus ship Ra II with an international crew from Safi in Morocco to

Barbados in 1970. Continued research on pre-European navigation, sailing the Sumerian-type reed ship

Tigris with an international crew of eleven, from Qurna in Iraq by way of the Indus Valley to Djibouti in

Africa 1977-78. Organized and led the Kon-Tiki Museum Archaeological Expeditions to the Maldive Islands.

excavations at Tucume, Peru, 1988-94, discovering rich evidence of a pre-Inca maritime culture.  

Since 1990, establishing a Norwegian-Spanish archeological projectin the Canary Islands, protecting as

national heritage the newly identified step-pyramids in Guimar on Tenerife, and chairing the Scientific 

Committee of the new international research foundation, FERCO

(Foundation for Exploration and Research on Cultural Origins).

     Since 1950, lecturer at numerous scientific academies and universities with a wide range of

publications on aboriginal migration routes into the East Pacific from Southeast Asia and South America.

Lecturer, International. Congress of Americanists from 1952- and Pacific Science Congress from 1961,

published in the Congress Proceedings. The ocean pollution observed from the reed ship Ra I was reported

to the United Nations and thus began an active involvement in environmental protection.  Since 1966, Vice

President World Association of World Federalists; Trustee, International Board, World Wildlife Fund for

Nature 1977; International Patron, United World Colleges 1980-; Vice-Pres., Worldview International; Hon.

Director, Explorers Club N.Y.;  International Advisor, Green Cross International 1993.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SCIENTIFIC AND POPULAR WORKS BY THOR HEYERDAHL.

(Note: The listing below is nearly, but not quite, complete.  Several of the books have been printed by

multiple publishers in different countries and in different languages.)

1938   Pa Jakt efter paradiset.  [Searching for Paradise.]

1941  "Did Polynesian Culture Originate in America?"  International Science 1 (May) 15-26

1941  "Turning back time in the South Seas."  National Geographic Magazine 79(1):109-136.

1947  "Le Kon-Tiki a ` Papeete."  [The Kon-Tiki to Papeete.]  

            Bulletin de la societe d'etudes ocieniennes 7345-355

1950  "The Voyage of the Raft Kon-Tiki: An Argument for American-Polynesian Diffusion."

            Geographical Journal 11520-41

1950  "Far-kolumbisk sjafart i Peru: den praktiske mulighet for diffusjon til Polynesien."[Pre-Columbian 

            Voyaging in Peru; The Practical Means for Diffusion to Polynesia]  Ymer 2108-137

1950   Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft.  Rand McNally New York 

1951-1952  "Some Problems of Aboriginal Migration in the Pacific."

            Archiv fur Vdlkerkunde 6/7, Beiheft 1  

1952   American Indians in the Pacific: The Theory behind the Kon-Tiki Expedition.

           George Allen and Unwin, London

1953  "Aboriginal Navigation in Peru."

           Proceedings of the30th International Congress of Americanists (Cambridge, England, 1952), 

            72-76

1953  "Objects and Results of the Kon-Tiki Expedition."

           Proceedings of the 30th International Congress of Americanists (Cambridge, England, 1952),

           76-81

1953  "Some Basic Problems in Polynesian Anthropology."

            Proceedings of the 30th International Congress of Americanists (Cambridge, England, 1952), 

            81-85

1955  "The Balsa Raft in Aboriginal Navigation off Peru and Ecuador."

             Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 11251-264

1955  "Preliminary Report on the Discovery of Archaeology in the Galapagos Islands."

            Proceedings of the 31st International Congress of Americanists (Sao Paulo, 1954),

            2685-697.

1957  "Guara Navigation: Indigenous Sailing off the Andean Coast."

            Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 13:34-143

1958   Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island.  Allen and Unwin, London .

1959  "Guara Sailing Technique Indigenous to South America."

            Proceedings of the 33rd International Congress of Americanists  (San Josi, Costa Rica, 1958),

            1333-340

1962  "The objectives of the expedition." Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter  

             Island and the East Pacific, vol. 1,  Archaeology of Easter Island.  Monograph of the School

             of American Research and the Museum of  New Mexico, no. 24, part 1, Allen and Unwin, London

1962  "An introduction to Easter Island." Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter  

             Island and the East Pacific, vol. 1,  Archaeology of Easter Island.  Monograph of the School

             American Research and the Museum of  New Mexico, no. 24, part 1, Allen and Unwin, London

1962  "Surface artifacts." Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the

             East Pacific, vol. 1, Archaeology of Easter Island.  Monograph of the School of American Research 

             and the Museum of New Mexico, no. 24, part 1, Allen and Unwin, London

1962  "General discussion." Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the 

            East Pacific, vol. 1, Archaeology of Easter Island.  Monograph of the School of American

            Research and the Museum of  New Mexico, no. 24, part 1, Allen and Unwin, London

1962  "Merrill's Reappraisal of Ethnobotanical Evidence for Prehistoric Contact between South America and 

            Polynesia." Proceedings of the 34th International Congress of Americanists (Vienna, 1960),

            789-795

1963  "Prehistoric Voyages as Agencies for Melanesian and South American Plant and Animal Dispersal to 

            Polynesia."  Plants and the Migrations of Pacific Peoples, A Symposium Held at the TenthPacific 

            Sciences  Congress.(Honolulu, 1961), edited by Jacques Barrau (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press 

            Honolulu), 23-35

1963  "Feasible Ocean Routes to and from the Americas in Pre-Columbian Times."

            American Antiquity 28482-488

1963  "Archaeology in the Galapagos Islands."  Galapagos Islands A Unique Area for Scientific

            Investigations; A Symposium Presented at the Tenth Pacific Science Congress (Honolulu, 1961),              

            Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), 4445-51

1964  "Plant Evidence for Contacts with America before Columbus."  Antiquity 38/150120-133

1964  "Feasible Ocean Routes to and from the Americas in Pre-Columbian Times."

            Proceedings of the 35th International Congress of Americanists (Mexico, 1962), 1133-142 

1965  "The Concept of Rongo-Rongo among the Historic Population of Easter Island."

            Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific,

            vol.2 Miscellaneous Papers, edited by Thor Heyerdahl and Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., pages 368-383, 

            Monograph of the School of American Research and the Kon-Tiki Museum, no. 24, part 2 

1965  "The Statues of the Oipona Me4ae, with a Comparative Analysis of Possibly Related Stone 

            Monuments."  Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East 

            Pacific, vol. 2 Miscellaneous Papers, edited by Thor Heyerdahl and Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., pages

            123-151, Monograph of the School of American Research and the Kon-Tiki Museum, no. 24, part 2

1965  "Notes on the Pre-European Coconut Groves on Cocos Island."

            Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific,

            vol.2, Miscellaneous Papers, edited by Thor Heyerdahl and Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., pages 461-467, 

            Monograph of the School of American Research and the Kon-Tiki Museum, no. 24, part 2, n.p. 

1966  "Discussions of Transoceanic Contact: Isolationism, Diffusionism, or a Middle Course?"

            Anthropos 61689-707

1966  "The Inca Inspiration behind the Spanish Discoveries of Polynesia and Melanesia."

            Proceedings of the 36th International Congress of Americanists (Barcelona and Seville, 1964),

            193-104

1966   Indianer und Alt-Asiaten im Pazifik: Das Abenteuer einer Theorie. [Indians and Ancient Asians in the 

           Pacific The Adventure of a Theory]  Wollzeilen, Vienna

1968   Sea Routes to Polynesia.  Rand McNally, Chicago.

1968  "An Introduction to Discussions of Transoceanic Contacts: Isolationism, Diffusionism, or a Middle 

            Course?"  Proceedings of the 37th International Congress of Americanists (Mar del Plata,

            Argentina,(1966), 467-88. 

1968  "The Prehistoric Culture of Easter Island."  Prehistoric Culture in Oceania A Symposium,

            edited by I. Yawata and Y. H. Sinoto, Eleventh Pacific Science Congress, Tokyo, 1967

           (Bishop Museum Press Honolulu), 133- 140

1970   The Ra Expeditions. (Doubleday, New York, 1971).

1971  "Yoyage of Ra II."  National Geographic 139/144-71

1971  "Ra II erreicht das Ziel mit einem Papyrus boot von Afrika nach Amerika."  [Ra II Reaches Its Goal

            On a Papyrus Boat from Africa to America.]  Westermann Monatshefte 244-53 

1971  "The Bearded God Speaks."  The Quest for America., edited by Geoffrey Ashe 

           (Praeger New York), 199-238

1971  "Isolationist or Diffusionist?"  The Quest for America., edited by Geoffrey Ashe

           (Praeger New York), 115-154

1972  "Epilogue."  Viking America; the Norse Crossings and Their Legacy., by James Enterline

           (Doubleday Garden City, New York), 165-182

1974   Fatu Hiva.  Doubleday, New York.

1975   The Art of Easter Island.  Doubleday Garden City, New York

1976  "Review of Das Achte Land." [The Eighth Continent], by Thomas S. Barthel  

            Journal of the Polynesian Society 85399-405

1976  "Primitive Navigation."  Mankind's Future in the Pacific, 13th Pacific Science Congress, 1975,

            edited by Robert Scogel and William S. Hoar (University of British Columbia Press Vancouver),

            172-196

1978   Early Man and the Ocean: The Beginnings of Navigation and Seaborne Civilizations.

           Allen and Unwin, London.

1979  "The heterogeneity of small sculptures on Easter Island before 1886.  

       Asian Perspectives 22(1):9-31.

1981   The Tigris Expedition.  Doubleday, New York.

1981  "With Stars and Waves in the Pacific."  Archaeoastronomy 432-38

1986   The Maldive Mystery.  Allen and Unwin, London.

1989   Easter Island The Mystery Solved.  Random House New York

1996   La navegacion maritima en el antiguo Peru.  [Seafaring in Early Peru.]

           Instituto de Estudios Historico-Maritimos de Peru, Lima.

1996   Green was the Earth on the seventh day.  Random House, New York.

1996   Hablan los vencidos.  [Let the conquered speak.]  Angulo Basombrio, Lima.

1997  "A reapraisal of Alfred Metraux's search for

       extra-island parallels to Easter Island.

       Rapa Nui Journal 11(1):12-23.

Heyerdahl, Thor, and Arne Skjolsvold  

1956  Archaeological Evidence of Pre-Spanish Visits to the Galapagos Islands.

          Memoirs 12, Society for American Archaeology, Salt Lake City. 

          Supplement to American Antiquity 22, no. 2, part 3  

Heyerdahl, Thor,  Soren Richter, and H. J. Riiser-Larsen

1956   Great Norwegian Expeditions.  Dreyers Forlag Oslo

Heyerdahl, Thor, and Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., editors

1962  Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific, vol. 1 

          Archaeology of Easter Island.  Monograph of the School of American Research and the Museum of 

          New Mexico, no. 24, part 1, Allen and Unwin, London 

Heyerdahl, Thor, and Edwin N. Ferdon, Jr., editors

1965  Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific, vol. 2 

          Miscellaneous Papers.  Monograph of the School of American Research and the Kon-Tiki Museum, 

          no. 24, part 2 

Heyerdahl, Thor, Daniel H. Sandweiss, and Alfredo Narvaez

1995  Pyramids of Tucume The Quest for Peru's Forgotten City.  Thames and Hudson New York

Heyerdahl, Thor, Daniel H. Sandweiss, Alfredo Narvaez, Luis Millones

1996   Tucume.  Banco de Credito, Lima.

DOCUMENTARY FILMS:

The Kon-Tiki Expedition (Oscar Award, National Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Science, 1951); Galapagos

Expedition,1953; Aku-Aku,1957;  The Ra Expeditions (Oscar nominated,1971); The Tigris Expedition,1979; The

Maldives Mystery, 1986.

SCIENTIFIC HONORS AND AWARDS INCLUDE: Retzius Medal,  Royal Swedish Society for Anthropology and

Geography, 1950; Mungo Park Medal, Royal Scottish Society for Geography, 1951; Bonaparte-Wyse Gold Medal,

Societe de Geographie de Paris,1951; Bush Kent Kane Gold Medal, Geographical. Society of

Philadelphia,1952; Honorary Member, Geographical Societies of Norway, 1953, Peru, 1953, Brazil 1954.

Elected Member Norwegian Academy of Sciences, 1958; Fellow, New York Academy of Science, 1960; Doctor

Honoris Causa, OsloUniversity, Norway, 1961; Vega Gold Medal, Swedish Society for Anthropology and

Gcography, 1962; Lomonosov Medal, Moscow University, 1962; Royal Geographical Society, Gold Medal

London,1964; Distinguished Service Award, Pacific Lutheran University,  1966; Member American

Anthropological Association, 1966; Kiril i Metodi Award, Geographical Society, Bulgaria, 1972; Honorary

Professor, Institute Politecnica, Universidad Nacional, Mexico, 1972;  International Pahlavi Environment

Prize, United Nations 1978; Doctor Honoris Causa, USSR Academy of  Science, 1980; Bradford Washburn Award,

Boston Museum of Science, USA, 1982; Doctor Honoris Causa, University of San Martin, Lima, Peru, 1991;

Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Havana, Cuba 1992; Doctor Honoris Causa University of Kiev, Ukraine,

1993; President's Medal, Pacific Lutheran University, 1996.

NATIONAL DECORATIONS: Commander of the Order of St  Olav, Norway, 1951, and with Star, 1970;  Officer of

El Orden por Meritos Distinguidos, Peru, 1953; Grand  Officer Orden Al Merito della Republica Italiana,

1968; Commander, American Knights of Malta, 1970; Order of Merit, Egypt, 1971; Grand Officer, Royal

Alaouites Order, Morocco, 1971; Order of Golden Ark, Netherlands, 1980; Officer, La Orden El Sol del Peru,

1975.