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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

T is for Thor Heyerdahl's work on on Tenerife




These photos were taken on the island of Tenerife
during our Barcelona-Canary Islands cruise with Royal Caribbean, in 2008.




In 1991 Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) studied the Pyramids of Güímar on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and declared that they were not random stone heaps but actual pyramids. He believed that he discovered their special astronomical orientation, claiming that the ancient people who built them were most likely sun worshipers due to the alignment of the pyramids. Heyerdahl advanced a theory according to which the Canaries had been bases of ancient shipping between America and the Mediterranean.
Heyerdahl's expeditions were spectacular and caught the public imagination. Although much of his work remains unaccepted within the scientific community, Heyerdahl increased public interest in ancient history and anthropology. He also showed that long distance ocean voyages were possible with ancient designs. As such, he was a major practitioner of experimental archaeology. He introduced readers of all ages to the fields of archaeology and ethnology. (Information from Wikipedia)




Posted for the meme ABC Wednesday

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29 comments:

Cezar and Léia said...

Bonjour Kay and Richard!
Wonderful pictures my friends and thanks for teaching me for so interesting history.
wow I'm envious here...No doubts you enjoyed a lot this cruise with Royal Caribbean, a vacation of our dreams!
Amazing post!
Léia

Sylvia K said...

Great post for the day, Kay! Always enjoyed following Heyerdahl's expeditions and he certainly did capture the imagination of so many. Terrific! Have a wonderful day!

Sylvia

Hildred said...

Great post on Heyerdahl, Kay, from a happy Conservative to a passionate Liberal!

Nanka said...

Very interesting read!! Thank you for sharing!! Have a great festive month ahead!!

jabblog said...

I knew of Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions but didn't realise he had raised interest in other areas - makes sense, really.
Fascinating information, Kay :-)

Barbara said...

Great images and post. I remember Thor Heyerdahl being in the news a lot when I was a child.

Tumblewords: said...

Spectacular - thanks for sharing that delightful piece of history!

Roger Owen Green said...

Thor and the Kontiki I read about on TV quiz shows regularly.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

EG CameraGirl said...

Heyerdahl certainly was an adventurer!

Mara said...

His name rings a bell somewhere. Didn't he prove that people in those days actually sailed to America by building one of those boats and sailing to America with it?

Wanda said...

This was very interesting, and I learned a lot....Thanks!

Leslie: said...

I remember reading his book about the Kontiki when I was in school. Great idea for today! :D

Friko said...

I read all the books Heyerdahl ever wrote and believed every word of his theses.

Thanks for reminding me of him. I might go on an expedition with him some time again.

Carver said...

Fascinating post and terrific photographs!

Mom vs. the boys said...

love those stones steps

Powell River Books said...

I remember reading Kon-Tiki years ago and being fascinated by it. Maybe I should explore reading about his expeditions again. - Margy

indicaspecies said...

It is interesting to read about these Pyramids of Guimar and about Heyerdahl's theory. Thank you for sharing, and you have a lovely day.
~celine

Kay said...

Very interesting. He's the guy who also forwarded the idea of travel being possible over the Pacific as far as Hawaii with just a small boat wasn't he?

mrsnesbitt said...

My neighbour has just flown to Tenerife to escape the snow - what a sensible thing to do eh? I however am home - in the snow - but I have fuel, food and good friends to keep me warm
Thanks so much
Denise ABC Team

Francisca said...

I remember Thor from my university anthropology class, but not specifically that he had visited Tenerife. Informative T post, Kay, that I know takes a lot of work!

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for this interesting post! My husband and I were very much interested in Thor Heyerdahl. We went to the museum in Oslo and saw Kon Tiki. This was very impressive.
Thanks also for your visit to my blog and comment! Have a great day!

Gattina said...

Brings back holiday memories, we have spent lots of time on Tenerife.

Rune Eide said...

As a Norwegian I have read most of his books and have seen most of his films. He is controversial (even in Norway), but he did have a point or five.

Great post!

PS He is the only Norwegian to win an Oscar...

Leslie said...

My grandfather was Norwegian (his parents emigrated to the US from Norway when he was a child) and I grew up hearing and reading stories about Thor Heyerdahl. Thanks for re-kindling my memories with this very interesting and informative post!

P.S. You mentioned your excitement when first seeing your articles in print. Were you/are you a journalist?

Beverley Baird said...

I knew about Thor and the Kon tiki - but I didn't know about the pyramids in Tenerife. Very interesting post! Must have been a fabulous trip!
have a great week Kay!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the historical tidbit! I've studied history, anthropology, classical civ... yet I had You've sparked my interest in looking for more info. Thanks!

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Wow-simply fascinating! All these things I keep learning!
If only I was better at retention, though. Sigh...I am of Norwegian ancestry (amongst others), so even more relevant for me.

Cheryl said...

Thor Heyerdahl never fails to conjuer up images of sailing around the world. These photos are stunning and I loved learning something new about the islands.

Cildemer said...

Great choice and very interesting post for T day!
Didn't know that there were pyramids on Tenerife!
Thanks for sharing;o)

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Have a beautiful weekend****