DNA studies have found no evidence South American Indians settled Polynesia thus proving Heyrdahl's theories of the settlement of Polynesia from South America incorrect.
Interesting lesson though - because of the spectacular nature of his voyage, his flamboyance, etc. people haven't really noticed the key fact he was wrong, and some nerds in labs with DNA who aren't interesting were right.
Thor was correct that such voyages were possible. He was incorrect about the direction.
“DNA studies have found no evidence South American Indians settled Polynesia thus proving Heyrdahl’s theories of the settlement of Polynesia from South America incorrect.”
Agreed. But in the bigger picture, he demonstrated the possibility of long distance ocean travel, previously not considered.
True, but at least he showed that people in general could have travelled much farther than previously thought.
From the Introduction to the book The Kon-Tiki Expedition:
The Inca Indians whom the Spanish conquistadores found in Peru told them that they had inherited the land from a race of white gods. These tall, fair skinned gods, said the Incas, were responsible for the colossal monuments scattered about the landscape. The Incas had finally defeated these people in a great battle beside Lake Titicaca, killing most of them. But a few escaped to the Pacific coast under the leadership of the sun-king Kon-Tiki. There they had vanished from the face of the earth, or at any rate from history...
I question the assumption that the survivors were South American Indians. If the race of tall, fair skinned gods was annihilated, what DNA evidence could there possibly be?