The Pacific Ocean is the most expansive body of water on planet earth. Despite this fact ancient people managed to venture forth into its immensity and create a civilization of incredible sophistication. The question of how the ancients managed to settle the Pacific perplexed academics for generations. This left the door open for some pretty wild theories about the origins of the Polynesians. Chief among these theorists was the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdhal . Heyerdahl’s audacious stunts would make the world question the conventional wisdom on the Polynesians. But should his theories be trusted? Tune in and find out how stone giants, Gilligan’s Island, and the last cannibal on Fatu Hiva all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Clark, Liesl. “Polynesia’s Genius Navigators.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 15 Feb. 2000. Web. 17 Aug. 2017.

Davis, Wade. The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. Toronto, Ont: House of Anansi, 2013. Print.

Druett, Joan. Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator. Sydney, Australia: Read How You Want/Accessible, 2014. Print.

“First Chickens in Americas Were Brought From Polynesia.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 June 2007. Web. 17 Aug. 2017.

Hage, Per, and Jeff Marck. “Matrilineality and the Melanesian Origin of Polynesian Y Chromosomes.” Current Anthropology 44.S5 (2003). Print.

Heyerdahl, Thor, and Christopher Ralling. Kon-Tiki Man: An Illustrated Biography of Thor Heyerdahl. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1991. Print.

Kirch, Patrick Vinton. The Lapita Peoples: Ancestors of the Oceanic World. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1999. Print.

Stone, Richard. “Graves of the Pacific’s First Seafarers Revealed.” Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 21 Apr. 2006. Web. 17 Aug. 2017.