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:
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
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
Great post on Heyerdahl, Kay, from a happy Conservative to a passionate Liberal!
Very interesting read!! Thank you for sharing!! Have a great festive month ahead!!
I knew of Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions but didn't realise he had raised interest in other areas - makes sense, really.
Fascinating information, Kay :-)
Great images and post. I remember Thor Heyerdahl being in the news a lot when I was a child.
Spectacular - thanks for sharing that delightful piece of history!
Thor and the Kontiki I read about on TV quiz shows regularly.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Heyerdahl certainly was an adventurer!
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?
This was very interesting, and I learned a lot....Thanks!
I remember reading his book about the Kontiki when I was in school. Great idea for today! :D
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.
Fascinating post and terrific photographs!
love those stones steps
I remember reading Kon-Tiki years ago and being fascinated by it. Maybe I should explore reading about his expeditions again. - Margy
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
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?
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
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!
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!
Brings back holiday memories, we have spent lots of time on Tenerife.
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...
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?
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!
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!
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.
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.
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****
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