July 11, 2007

Thor Heyerdahl in reverse

Sailor attempts to cross Atlantic in reed boatDominique Gorlitz, a former teacher from Chemnitz, Germany, says his voyage from New York Harbor to Spain would replicate ocean voyages that he believes were taking place 12,000 years before Christopher Columbus.

"We are trying to retrace the ancient waterways to prove that prehistoric people crossed the ocean both ways," Gorlitz said at a news conference.

Scholars have expressed doubt about his assertions.

"There's this 99.9 percent certainty that it didn't happen because we don't have evidence that it happened," Kenneth L. Feder, an anthropology professor at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., said in May. He is the author of "Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology."

Gorlitz said traces of tobacco and cocaine were found in the tomb of Egypt's pharaoh Ramses II, evidence of long-distance trans-Atlantic commerce during the Stone Age. He also believes cave drawings in Spain show that people living 14,000 years ago had an understanding of ocean currents.

4 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
If writerfella's memory serves, Thor Heyerdahl took one trip in the Kon-Tiki to prove Polynesians (or others) could have reached South America via the Pacific. THEN he made an Egyptian style reed boat and tried to prove South America (or North!) could have been reached via the Atlantic. The book copies long ago disappeared and they never were replaced in the Bates Memorial Library. Sounds like old news to writerfella...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Heyerdahl's Ra II sailed from Morocco to Barbados. Hence the title of this item: "Thor Heyerdahl in reverse." I don't believe he ever sailed from the Americas to Europe or Africa.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
The NOVA program, 'Mystery Of The Red Paint People,' implies that Natives invaded Europe all the way down to Ireland BEFORE COLUMBUS SAILED TO NORTH AMERICA. That truly would be Thor Heyerdahl in reverse.' Didn't you get writerfella's video copy? It was mailed Feb. 1, 2007.
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

The two voyages sound similar in concept (Native boat crosses the Atlantic from west to east). But the label "Thor Heyerdahl in reverse" applies better to the voyage that followed Heyerdahl's.

No, I haven't received anything from you this year.