#Raroia

[gonzalo-obes]

IMAGENES Y DATOS INTERESANTES DEL DIA 28 DE ABRIL DE 2024

Día Mundial del Matrimonio, Día Mundial de la Seguridad y la Salud en el Trabajo, Semana de Acción Mundial por la Educación, Semana Mundial de la Inmunización, Año Internacional de los Camélidos.

Santa Teodora.

Tal día como hoy en el año 1969

En Francia dimite el presidente Charles De Gaulle, y se retira de la política. (Hace 55 años)

1965

El gobierno estadounidense de Lyndon B. Johnson invade la República Dominicana, con la excusa de que los comunistas están involucrados en el derrocamiento del presidente Donald Reid Cabral y con el pretexto de garantizar la seguridad a sus connacionales y sus propiedades privadas. Más de 30.000 militares desembarcarán para garantizar la seguridad en Santo Domingo y para restablecer el orden. Detrás de esta operación se esconde el temor a que el país de un giro al comunismo como Cuba en 1959. La invasión concluirá con una victoria decisiva de las Fuerzas Armadas dominicanas y EE.UU y una llamada de alto al fuego. Se depondrá a Juan Bosch de la presidencia, que había aplicado una política reformista en el campo permitiendo la puesta en práctica de la reforma agraria y la aprobación del divorcio, y se elegirá a Joaquín Balaguer como nuevo presidente del país, que se caracterizará por su afán de perpetuarse en el poder por medio de cuestionados procesos electorales. (Hace 59 años)

1947

Zarpa del puerto de El Callao (Perú), la expedición marítima de la balsa Kon-Tiki, liderada por el noruego Thor Heyerdahl, para corroborar que los indios americanos podrían haber colonizado las islas del Pacífico. La expedición etnológica está formada por varios noruegos y un sueco, que navegarán por el Océano Pacífico en una balsa, construida con troncos de madera, cuerdas y materias primas naturales de Sudamérica, sin usar ningún tipo de material moderno. El viaje concluirá el 7 de agosto al encallar la balsa en unos arrecifes de coral en la isla Raroia, perteneciente al atolón de las Tuamotu en la Polinesia, después de haber navegado casi 7.000 km. en 101 días, demostrando la posibilidad de la colonización. (Hace 77 años)

1789

Se produce el motín del "HMAV Bounty", buque de la armada británica, cuando Fletcher Christian y 11 hombres más se rebelan contra el capitán Bligh y el resto de la tripulación, 31 marineros. Los motivos del amotinamiento: querer quedarse en Tahití, donde habían pasado 5 meses esperando recoger la mercancía con la que tenían que llenar sus bodegas, y en donde las mujeres y el estilo de vida placentero les atraía, lo que les hizo olvidarse de su condición de marineros. Una vez en el camino de regreso a Inglaterra, los amotinados embarcan al capitán, junto con 18 marineros leales, en un bote, provisto de una vela, un sextante y un reloj. Los otros 13 marineros leales al capitán tendrán que permanecer a bordo del "Bounty" por falta de espacio en el bote. Bligh realizará una hazaña de navegación al llegar, después de 41 días, a la isla de Timor, por donde pasan barcos ingleses. Habrán recorrido 3.600 millas y perdido un solo hombre en un enfrentamiento con nativos hostiles de una isla donde intentaron recalar para recoger agua y víveres. (Hace 235 años)

1686

En Inglaterra, Isaac Newton presenta en la Royal Society su manuscrito de "Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica" (Principios matemáticos de la filosofía natural), más conocidos como los Principia, uno de los hitos más importantes de la ciencia, donde describe la Ley de la gravitación universal y establece las bases de la mecánica clásica mediante las leyes que llevarán su nombre, siendo la génesis de los importantes logros que cosechará la física en los dos siglos siguientes. Se recogen principios fundamentales como la masa, fuerza o cantidad de movimiento, además de la ley de la inercia, la ley de acción y reacción y la variación de la cantidad de movimiento. (Hace 338 años)

1503

En Ceriñola (actual Italia) tiene lugar un enfrentamiento entre las tropas francesas y españolas, con victoria de estas últimas, durante la segunda guerra de Nápoles. En esta batalla, por primera vez en la historia, una infantería provista de arcabuces logra derrotar a la caballería en campo abierto. La batalla de Ceriñola marcará el inicio de la hegemonía que España impuso en los campos de batalla europeos hasta su derrota en la batalla de Rocroy (Francia) en 1643. (Hace 521 años)

711

Esta madrugada, el conde Julián junto a un ejército de 12.000 bereberes al mando de Tariq, lugarteniente del gobernador árabe Muza, cruza el estrecho de Gibraltar adentrándose en España, dispuesto a ayudar a los witizianos enemigos del rey visigodo don Rodrigo. Tres meses más tarde, a orillas del río Guadalete (Cádiz), derrotará a don Rodrigo, abriendo la puerta a la dominación árabe de España durante 7 siglos. (Hace 1313 años)

[finaguide]

Vigeland Sculpture Park (Parc Vigeland) est visité par plus d'un million de touristes par an

Dans le jardin, il expose plus de 200 sculptures en bronze, granit et fer forgé, qui sont l'œuvre du sculpteur Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), qui vécut longtemps à Oslo.

Les figures reflètent tout le monde des sentiments humains : tristesse, joie, amour... La plus grande impression est le monolithe de pierre de 17 mètres, composé de 121 corps entrelacés, c'est la plus grande sculpture de granite au monde.  Vigeland a non seulement créé des sculptures, mais a également conçu ce parc, qui est un lieu idyllique avec des mares aux canards et des allées ombragées.

Musée Kontiki (Kon-Tiki).  Deux ans après la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le scientifique norvégien Tur Heyerdahl s'est lancé dans l'un des voyages les plus passionnants du XXe siècle : avec 5 compagnons, sur un simple radeau en bois fabriqué selon les descriptions d'anciens radeaux indiens, il tenta, venant du Pérou, de traverser l'océan Pacifique pour rejoindre la Polynésie.  Ce que presque tout le monde considérait comme irréel se réalisa : le 7 août 1947, après 101 jours, après avoir parcouru 7 000 km, le radeau "Kon Tiki" atteignit l'atoll de Raroia au centre de la mer du Sud, ainsi Heyerdahl réussit à atteindre son objectif et à prouver. que les Indiens d'Amérique du Sud ont eu l'occasion d'atteindre la Polynésie.  Le musée Kon-Tiki expose non seulement l'original du célèbre radeau, mais aussi des flotteurs et des objets des autres expéditions de Heyerdahl, des statues de l'île de Pâques et le plus gros poisson du monde - un requin baleine de 10 mètres de long.  C'est loin de tout ce qui est intéressant à Oslo.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.7 (before 1950)

461 – Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the magister militum Ricimer. 626 – The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of Constantinople. 768 – Pope Stephen III is elected to office, and quickly seeks Frankish protection against the Lombard threat, since the Byzantine Empire is no longer able to help. 936 – Coronation of King Otto I of Germany. 1461 – The Ming dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor. 1479 – Battle of Guinegate: French troops of King Louis XI were defeated by the Burgundians led by Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg. 1679 – The brigantine Le Griffon becomes the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America. 1714 – The Battle of Gangut: The first important victory of the Russian Navy. 1743 – The Treaty of Åbo ended the 1741–1743 Russo-Swedish War. 1782 – George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle.[11] It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart. 1786 – The first federal Indian Reservation is created by the United States. 1789 – The United States Department of War is established. 1791 – American troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War. 1794 – U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. 1819 – Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá. 1858 – The first Australian rules football match is played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College. 1890 – Anna Månsdotter, found guilty of the 1889 Yngsjö murder, became the last woman to be executed in Sweden. 1909 – Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York to San Francisco, California. 1927 – The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. 1930 – The last confirmed lynching of black people in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana; two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed. 1933 – The Kingdom of Iraq slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. This date is recognized as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory of the Simele massacre. 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal begins as the United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. 1944 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I). 1946 – The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits crisis. 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America. 1947 – The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).

[equatorjournal]

Raroia, 1947. Courtesy of Kon-Tiki Museum. "Sky clearing up since midnight, NE wind. Course altered from SSE to S to NW hoping to touch south tip of Raroia and then get over to Gaenga if wind allows. During day wind turned closer to E and we steered WSW. Clear sky. One tern and one booby." From "The Kon-Tiki Expedition" by Thor Heyerdahl. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChNeEQlN7Z4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[claudiosuenaga]

Os 75 anos da Expedição Kon-Tiki: homenagem e tributo a Thor Heyerdahl nos 20 anos de sua morte (parte 2)

Por Claudio Tsuyoshi Suenaga

Sobre o Kon-Tiki viajaram os seis destemidos noruegueses durante 101 dias, do Porto de Callao, na costa do Peru, de onde partiram em 28 de abril, até os recifes do Atol de Raroia, no Arquipélago de Tuamotu, extremo sul da Polinésia, aonde chegaram em 7 de agosto, provando que os povos pré-colombianos possuíam habilidades muito avançadas para a navegação em alto mar e, portanto, podiam perfeitamente ter chegado à Polinésia por volta do ano 500 desta maneira, seguindo a trajetória do Sol e se deixando levar pelo vento e pela Corrente de Humboldt [corrente oceânica que percorre o Pacífico, assim denominada em homenagem ao geógrafo, naturalista e explorador alemão Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), que a descobriu e a estudou].

A aventura, inédita em seu gênero, foi das mais arriscadas e perigosas – praticamente ninguém acreditou no sucesso da expedição e não faltaram os que tentassem dissuadi-los a abandonarem tão desvairada ideia. Até apostas foram feitas em torno do número de dias que a jangada aguentaria. Completamente sozinhos em alto-mar, estiveram muitas vezes às voltas com violentas tempestades, cercados de tubarões e quase viram a jangada destroçada pela fúria da arrebentação. Contrariando porém todos os prognósticos desfavoráveis, o sucesso coroou a expedição sobre a qual mais tarde se escreveram dezenas de livros e centenas de artigos e reportagens.

Não obstante tamanha façanha, só superada em termos de importância à chegada do homem a Lua 23 anos depois, Heyerdahl ainda teve de continuar enfrentando a incompreensão e a reticência. O manuscrito de Kon-Tiki, oferecido primeiramente às editoras americanas, foi rejeitado sob a alegação de que o público não iria se interessar por uma história em que ninguém – à exceção do papagaio verde, presente de despedida de uma pessoa amiga de Lima, levado a bordo à guisa de mascote, que dois meses após a partida foi tragado por um vergalhão que invadiu a embarcação pela popa – havia morrido. E Heyerdahl provou mais uma vez o quanto estavam errados. A epopeia que narrou em detalhes emocionantes em seu livro majoritariamente voltado ao grande público, Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen [8] vendeu mais de 30 milhões de exemplares e foi traduzido para 67 idiomas desde que foi lançado em 1948.

Em American Indians in the Pacific: The theory behind the Kon-Tiki Expedition, lançado em 1952, Heyerdahl se vale dos dados incontestáveis e abrangentes que coletou durante a expedição para tentar convencer a comunidade acadêmica de que os primeiros colonos da Polinésia saíram do Peru por volta do ano 500 e que uma nova vaga de colonos chegou da costa noroeste da América do Norte entre 1000 e 1300.

As cenas mais emocionantes filmadas durante a sensacional viagem foram editadas em 1950 por Olle Nordemar na película em preto-e-branco Kon-Tiki, vencedor do Oscar de melhor documentário em 1951.

Em 2012, a história da Kon-Tiki finalmente virou filme (intitulado, como não poderia deixar de ser, Kon-Tiki) com roteiro de Petter Skavlan, direção de Joachim Ronning e Espen Sandberg e com o ator Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen no papel de Thor Heyerdahl.

Eleito em 1999 o norueguês do século, Heyerdahl nasceu na cidade de Larvik (no condado de Vestfold, a cerca de 105 quilômetros a sudoeste de Oslo) em 6 de outubro de 1914. Seu pai era dono de uma fábrica de água mineral e de uma cervejaria, enquanto sua mãe, bióloga darwinista, dirigia o museu local. Desde tenra idade ele percorria as florestas adjacentes e escalava as montanhas de trenó. Apesar do seu gosto pela natureza e pela aventura, ele permaneceu com medo da água depois do trauma de quase morrer afogado na infância e não aprendeu a nadar senão aos 22 anos de idade.

Recém-graduado em Zoologia e Geografia na prestigiosa Universidade de Oslo, bem como recém-casado, Heyerdahl recebeu uma ajuda financeira para pesquisar a vida animal na pequeníssima e isolada Ilha de Fatuhiva, pertencente ao grupo das Ilhas Marquesas. Na véspera de Natal de 1936, junto com sua esposa Liv Coucheron Torp (de quem se divorciaria em 1947 em decorrência do ressentimento gerado por conta de seu total engajamento na Expedição Kon-Tiki), foi para lá fugir àquilo que considerava ser o “punho de ferro da civilização”. O casal em plena lua de mel foi adotado por Teriieroo, o chefe da Ilha de Taiti. A experiência de viver ao estilo primitivo, no entanto, não se mostrou das mais aprazíveis. Logo que chegou em Fatuhiva, Heyerdahl descobriu que os nativos estavam sofrendo de uma série de doenças, incluindo a lepra e a elefantíase, induzidas pelo contato com os europeus.

Thor Heyerdahl e Liv Coucheron Torp

Ele e Liv passaram meses morando em uma rústica choupana por eles mesmos construída sobre estacas, debaixo das palmeiras e perto da praia, alimentando-se de raízes, frutos silvestres, peixes e camarões de rio, embora logo descobrissem que o estômago moderno estava desadaptado à dieta primitiva. Liv adoeceu gravemente e Heyerdahl teve que apelar à medicina moderna para salvá-la.

O tempo em que permaneceu na ilha, no entanto, não foi desperdiçado. Após cair acidentalmente em um rio, Heyerdahl descobriu que podia nadar. Enquanto pesquisava as origens transoceânicas dos animais da ilha, dedicou-se a conhecer as tradições dos polinésios. Como teriam ido ali parar e que tipo de herança cultural teriam trazido com eles? De um ex-canibal, o velho Tei Tetua, único sobrevivente de todas as extintas tribos da costa oriental de Fatuhiva, Heyerdahl ouviu a história do mítico herói Tiki, a quem os nativos consideravam ao mesmo tempo deus, chefe e filho do sol. Desde então, uma única questão passou a orientar a sua vida e as suas teorias: como e quando o homem primitivo aprendeu a fazer travessias marítimas? Heyerdahl contou em detalhes as experiências que viveu em Fatuhiva em seu livro Green was the Earth on the seventh day, publicado em 1997.[9]

A sua convicção na existência de laços entre os povos antigos jamais diminuiu, muito pelo contrário. Em 1953, liderou uma expedição arqueológica norueguesa ao Arquipélago das Galápagos (grupo de treze ilhas no Oceano Pacífico a cerca de 1.000 quilômetros a oeste da costa do Equador que por sua elevada biodiversidade atraiu a visita do jovem Charles Darwin em 1835), onde, seis anos antes, quase desembarcara com a balsa Kon-Tiki. Em meio a árvores de cactos, entre lagartos gigantescos e as maiores tartarugas do globo, desenterrou, com a ajuda dos arqueólogos E. K. Reed e Arne Skjölsvod, mais de dois mil fragmentos de jarros (pertencentes a 130 jarros diferentes) deixados pelos precursores dos incas que haviam partido das costas da América do Sul e ali aportado depois de terem navegado ao largo com suas balsas. Peritos em Washington analisaram os fragmentos e estabeleceram que mil anos antes de Colombo, os precursores dos incas tinham realizando repetidas visitas às Ilhas Galápagos.[10]

No ano seguinte, Heyerdahl, que tem parte de sua família no Brasil,[11] veio ao nosso país como convidado para participar do Congresso Internacional de Americanistas, em São Paulo, ao que aproveitou para conhecer e estudar os nossos índios. Assessorado pela indigenista Harald Schultz, de quem obteve muitas e preciosas informações, e acompanhado de sua segunda esposa, a bela Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (com quem havia se casado em 1949 e de quem se divorciaria em 1979), e da pesquisadora Wilma Chiara, Heyerdahl penetrou incógnito nas selvas do Brasil Central e esteve na Aldeia dos Carajás, perto de Aruanã, nas margens do Rio Araguaia.[12]

O Cruzeiro, Ano XXVII, Nº 5, 1954-11-13, pp.34-B a 34-E. [Arquivos de Claudio Tsuyoshi Suenaga]

Leia a parte 1 e confira as continuações nas partes 3, 4, 5 e 6

Notas

[8] Títulos em inglês: The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By raft across the South Seas e Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a raft. No Brasil, o livro foi publicado em maio de 1951 pela Editora Melhoramentos com o título de A Expedição Kon-Tiki: 8.000 km numa jangada através do Pacífico, com uma bela encadernação e capa dura azul com detalhes dourados.

[9] Heyerdahl, Thor. Green was the Earth on the seventh day, Cary, North Carolina, Kodansha America, 1997.

[10] IDEM, Aku-Aku: O segredo da Ilha da Páscoa, São Paulo, Melhoramentos, 1959, p.10-11.

[11] O pai de Thor, Bertrand, teve mais três filhos além dele. Um dos filhos também se chamava Bertrand. Bertrand (segundo) veio para o Brasil antes de 1920, onde teve uma filha, Shirley, que seguiu com a família no Brasil.

[12] Gueiros, José Alberto (reportagem) & Wilma Chiara (fotos). “Novas aventuras de Thor Heyerdahl – Kon-Tiki”, in O Cruzeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 13-11-1954, ano XXVII, nº 5, p.34-B a 34-E.

[sciencespies]

Native Americans and Polynesians Met Around 1200 A.D.

https://sciencespies.com/nature/native-americans-and-polynesians-met-around-1200-a-d/

Native Americans and Polynesians Met Around 1200 A.D.

The Pacific Ocean covers almost one-third of the Earth’s surface, yet centuries ago, Polynesian navigators were skilled enough to find and populate most of the habitable islands scattered between Oceana and the Americas. Now a new genetic analysis is revealing more about their incredible journeys—and the people they met along the way.

A provocative new study argues Polynesians and Native Americans made contact some 800 years ago. That date would place their first meeting before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas and before the settlement of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), which has been suggested as the site of such an initial encounter.

Researchers, published in Nature, sampled genes of modern peoples living across the Pacific and along the South American coast and the results suggest that voyages between eastern Polynesia and the Americas happened around the year 1200, resulting in a mixture of those populations in the remote South Marquesas archipelago. It remains a mystery whether Polynesians, Native Americans, or both peoples undertook the long journeys that would have led them together. The findings could mean that South Americans, hailing from what’s now coastal Ecuador or Columbia, ventured to East Polynesia. Alternatively, Polynesians could have arrived in the Marquesas alone having already mixed with those South American people—but only if they’d first sailed to the American continent to meet them.

Alexander Ioannidis, who studies genomics and population genetics at Stanford University, co-authored the new study in Nature. “The genes show that the Native Americans who contributed came from the coastal regions of Ecuador and Columbia,” he says. “What they can’t show, and we don’t know, is where exactly it first took place—on a Polynesian island or the coast of the Americas.”

Legendary voyagers

Launching one of history’s great eras of exploration, Polynesians journeyed by canoe across the vast Pacific Ocean. During several centuries of voyaging to the east they found and settled the tiny islands scattered across 16 million square miles from New Zealand to Hawaii, reaching the most distant, like Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and the Marquesas, by perhaps 1200 A.D., They left no written history to chronicle these voyages, but scientists have retraced the trips using various lines of evidence. Striking similarities in languages exist across widely separated island groups, for example, and the remains of structures and stones offer clues to who erected them. Even the spread of foodstuffs like the sweet potato—of American origin but found across the Pacific and nowhere else—could offer evidence of the skills and nerve by which people eventually populated the Pacific (though some scientists suggest that the sweet potato was dispersed naturally.)

Artist’s impression of Polynesian individual with genetic roots tracing back to diverse regions across the Pacific and the Americas, denoting the mixed origin of the population.

(Ruben Ramos-Mendoza)

Most recently, scientists have tried to chart the paths of these ancient voyagers through the genes of their descendants. “We recapitulate, with genetic evidence, a prehistoric event that left no conclusive trace, except for the one recorded in the DNA of those who had contact 800 years ago in one of the most remote places on Earth,” explains co-author Andres Moreno Estrada, with the National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity (Mexico). For this study Estrada and colleagues did a genome-wide analysis for more than 800 present-day individuals, who hail from 17 islands across the Pacific and also from peoples up and down the Pacific coast of South America, looking for evidence of mixing between the two populations. They added a handful of pre-Columbian, South American DNA samples to help confirm that any indigenous signals identified hadn’t been created by later mixing after European contact.

Their findings revealed a Native American genetic signature among people on some of Polynesia’s easternmost islands. Not only did this signature indicate a common source among Colombia’s indigenous peoples, but it also showed that the people who carry it on different islands shared the same Native American ancestors.

“It is fascinating new evidence,” says Pontus Skoglund, who leads the ancient genomics lab at the Francis Crick Institute and wasn’t involved in the research. Skoglund was particularly intrigued by the evidence that Native Americans would’ve encountered Polynesians before they encountered Europeans, contrary to what some previous studies have shown. “This suggests that the Native American ancestry is not due to events in more recent colonial history where trans-Pacific travel was documented.”

Who met whom

If Native Americans had reached these remote islands by around 1200 they likely did so by following the prevailing currents and winds. In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl famously demonstrated that it was possible to travel the Pacific by drifting on winds and currents on a raft when his famed Kon-Tiki journeyed more than 4,300 miles from South America to Raroia Atoll. Those islands lie in the same region that the genetic study suggests as the likely point of contact between Polynesian and Native American peoples.

“That’s where the winds and currents will take you if you’re drifting,” Ioannidis says. “If people in boats plying coastal trade routes were blown off course or drifting to sea, those same currents and winds might have taken them to these Pacific Islands.”

Paul Wallin, an archaeologist at Uppsala University, Sweden who wasn’t involved in the research, thinks this study may confirm a Native South American contact into the Pacific. “[That’s] the same area DNA studies of sweet potato have indicated, [so] this early mix may explain the existence of sweet potato in East Polynesia,” Wallin says. The date is so early that the Native South Americans may have come to the South Marquesas just before the Polynesians did, he adds.

Despite Heyerdahl’s success, most scientists have pushed back against his ideas that Native Americans settled Polynesian islands in this manner. However, this new DNA research could also support an alternate explanation that some of those dissenting scientists favor: that Polynesians might have sailed to the Americas.

“We can speculate that possibly the Polynesians found the Americas, and there was some interaction with Native Americans,” Ioannidis says. “Then as they go and settle the last of these most remote islands, including Easter Island, they take that genetic ancestry with them because they themselves now carry part of that Native American ancestry.”

Moai statues at the Rano Raraku site on Easter Island

(Javier Blanco)

There’s little doubt that the Polynesians—gifted mariners who used the night sky, the sun, birds, clouds, and the reading of ocean swells—had the oceanic skills necessary to reach the Americas. As Ioannidis notes, we know they reached Easter Island. “They made it well to the east of where North America begins, although they were in the Southern Hemisphere,” he says. “If they could have made it there, they could have made it all the way. And why would they have stopped?”

David Burley, an archaeologist at Simon Fraser University not involved in the study, finds the explanation of Polynesians visiting America far more likely. “A North American group from Colombia making it to the southern Marquesas and interbreeding with Polynesians seems a stretch,” he says. “Polynesian seafarers had well developed maritime technologies and were quite capable of reaching the Americas. Not sure that is at all the case for Colombia.”

Mysteries of Easter Island

The new study’s genetic results also offer clues to possibly unraveling the history behind Easter Island (Rapa Nui), whose inhabitants erected the famed Moai monoliths before their civilization collapsed. Some researchers have pointed to the island as a possible landing point for any South American peoples venturing into the Pacific, as it is the closest inhabited island to South America’s Pacific Coast, though it lies 2,200 miles away.

Previous studies that sought to untangle the history of Polynesian settlement haven’t been conclusive. A 2017 Current Biology study (co-authored by Pontus Skogland) sampled human remains dating from before Europeans reached the island in 1722 and found only Polynesian DNA. However, the study included only five individuals, meaning other ancestries might have been present on the island but not represented in the group. A 2014 paper sampled 27 modern inhabitants and found that they had a significant amount of Native American DNA (about 8 percent). It concluded that Native Americans may have journeyed, alone or with Polynesians, to Easter Island before 1500—before Europeans ventured there.

As part of their new study, Ioannidis and colleagues sampled DNA from 166 inhabitants of Easter Island. They determined that admixture between Native American and Polynesian peoples didn’t occur here until around 1380 though the island was settled by at least 1200, perhaps by a Polynesian group that hadn’t had any contact with Native Americans.

“The surprising thing is that the Rapa Nui admixture happened later, although the cultural impact might have been stronger there than in other parts of East Polynesia,” Paul Wallin says. He stresses that it’s too early to make too many sweeping conclusions about this phase of the island’s history. We know South Americans and Polynesians have a shared history on the Pacific Ocean. The exact wheres and whens are mysteries still to be solved.

#Nature

[goalhofer]

On this day: August 7.

1942: Allies land on Guadalcanal at start of battle of Guadalcanal.

1947: Thor Heyerdahl, Erik Hesselberg, Bengt Danielsson, Knut Haugland, Torstein Pettersen-Raaby, Herman Watzinger and Lorita the parrot land on Raroia after setting sail from the Callao, Peru aboard the balsa raft Kon-Tiki 3 months, 9 days earlier.

1957: Oliver Hardy dies in Los Angeles, California.

1964: U.S. congress passes Tonkin Gulf resolution in Washington, D.C..

1998: Bombs explode at U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

2005: Peter Jennings dies in New York, New York.

2007: Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants becomes the all-time MLB home run leader with 757.

[historysisco]

On This Day in History April 28, 1947: To prove his belief that it was possible that South Americans could have reached and settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times, zoological researcher and explorer Thor Heyerdahl and five crew members set sail from Callao, Peru set off on his self made raft. Their destination was Polynesia, nearly 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) away. 

The raft was made to replicate the kind of sailing ship that would have been used by the Incans. It was a 30-by-15-foot raft made of nine balsawood logs harvested from the Ecuadorian jungle lashed together with hemp ropes. Food would have come about due to the fish that the expedition would come across on their journey. The name for the raft came from the name of the Incan god of the sun.

Heyerdahl’s expedition reached the Raroia atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago near Tahiti in 101 days. Heyerdahl would recount his epic voyage in the bestselling 1950 book “Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft” 

For Further Reading:

Apr 28, 1947 CE: Kon-Tiki Sets Sail from National Geographic.org

Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki Voyage from History.com

How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific by Doug Herman from Smithsonian.com dated September 4, 2014

[osobypostacieludzie]

Thor Heyerdahl - norweski etnograf i podróżnik, zajmował się także antropologią i archeologią, organizator i uczestnik dwóch wypraw transoceanicznych na tratwie „Kon-Tiki” w 1947 roku i papirusowej łodzi „Ra” w latach 1969–1970. W 2011 roku archiwum Thora Heyerdahla zostało wpisane na międzynarodową listę UNESCO Pamięć Świata. Heyerdahl urodził się 6 października w 1914 roku w Larviku w rodzinie właściciela browaru Thora Heyerdahla (1869–1957) i jego żony Alison Lyng (1873–1965). Matka Thora była wielką zwolenniczką teorii Darwina i rozbudziła w synu zainteresowanie zoologią i antropologią. Po ukończeniu szkoły w swoim rodzinnym mieście w 1933 roku, Heyerdahl studiował zoologię i geografię na Uniwersytecie w Oslo. W 1936 roku Heyerdahl poślubił Liv Coucheron Torp (1916–1969). Podczas studiów Heyerdahl poznał handlarza winem Bjarne'a Kroepeliena, który podczas I wojny światowej odbył podróż do Polinezji i następnie udostępnił uniwersytetowi w Oslo swoją bibliotekę polinezyjską – największy wówczas prywatny zbiór materiałów na temat Polinezji. Heyerdahl rozpoczął we własnym zakresie studia nad kulturą i historią Polinezji. Kroepelien pomógł mu w organizacji wyprawy, wysyłając list polecający Heyerdahla do szefa plemienia polinezyjskiego Teriieroo na Tahiti. W 1937 roku Heyerdahl przerwał studia i wraz z żoną udał się w podróż do Polinezji, gdzie po pobycie u Teriieroo na Tahiti, małżonkowie prowadzili badania terenowe na Markizach (1937–1938). Celem wyprawy współorganizowanej przez profesorów zoologii z uniwersytetu w Oslo było przeprowadzenie badan na temat zasiedlania tych odległych wysp Pacyfiku przez zwierzęta. Heyerdahlowie spędzili rok na samotnej górze na wyspie Fatu Hiva. Podczas tego pobytu Heyerdahl rozpoczął rozważania nad tym, skąd i w jaki sposób na wyspy Polinezji przybyli pierwsi osadnicy. W latach 1939–1940 Heyerdahl przebywał wśród Indian w Kolumbii Brytyjskiej. Po zajęciu Norwegii przez Niemcy w 1940 roku, zgłosił się do norweskiej armii na obczyźnie Utefronten wspierającej aliantów i pod koniec II wojny światowej został wysłany do Finnmarku. Heyerdahl uznawał ówczesne teorie, mówiące że wyspy Polinezji zostały zasiedlone przez osadników z południowo-wschodniej Azji za nieprawidłowe z uwagi na niesprzyjające takim migracjom wiatry i prądy morskie. Jego zdaniem miały miejsce dwie fale migracji z Ameryki – pierwsza z Ameryki Południowej, a druga z obszarów dzisiejszej Kolumbii Brytyjskiej. Teza ta nie była akceptowana przez innych antropologów, którzy argumentowali że taka migracja nie była możliwa, ponieważ żadna prehistoryczna łódź nie była w stanie dowieźć migrantów do Polinezji. Po wojnie Heyerdahl postanowił udowodnić możliwość zasiedlenia Polinezji przez Indian z Ameryki i przepłynąć Ocean Spokojny na prymitywnej tratwie. Wraz z pięcioma towarzyszami zbudował tratwę z drewna balsy, nazwaną „Kon-Tiki”, która była kopią tratwy inkaskiej. Nazwa została nadana na cześć legendarnego króla słońca znanego zarówno wśród Inków jak i mieszkańców Polinezji. W przedsięwzięciu brało udział czterech Norwegów Knut Haugland, Erik Hesselberg, Torstein Raaby i Herman Watzinger i Szwed Bengt Danielsson, którzy razem z Heyerdahlem wypłynęli na tratwie w 1947 w podróż z Callao w Peru w kierunku wysp Oceanii. W ciągu 101 dni tratwa pokonała odcinek ok. 8 tys. km, docierając do wysp Tuamotu, gdzie osiadła na rafie atolu Raroia Atoll. W ten sposób Heyerdahl dowiódł, że nie było przeszkód, aby prehistoryczni żeglarze z Ameryki Południowej skolonizowali wyspy Polinezji. Niemniej jednak większość antropologów uważa w dalszym ciągu, bazując na badaniach genetycznych i fizykalnych, że Polinezja została skolonizowana od zachodu, z Azji. Swoje przemyślenia Heyerdahl opublikował w 1952 roku w książce Indianie amerykańscy na Pacyfiku. Sama wyprawa została przez niego opisana w bestsellerowej książce Wyprawa Kon-Tiki przetłumaczonej na 70 języków, a nakręcony podczas wyprawy film dokumentalny Kon-Tiki uzyskał w 1952 roku nagrodę Oscara. Tratwa „Kon-Tiki” znajduje się w Muzeum Kon-Tiki w Oslo. Przeciwnicy teorii Heyerdahla zaakceptowali możliwość podróży morskich na prehistorycznych prymitywnych łodziach, jednak z uwagi na brak pozostałości po osadnictwie prekolumbijskim na Wyspach Galápagos położonych ok. 1000 km na zachód od wybrzeży Ekwadoru, uznawali, że łodzie te były używane do żeglugi wzdłuż wybrzeży Ameryki a nie do podróży transoceanicznych. W 1952 roku Heyerdahl zorganizował, sfinansował i poprowadził pierwszą wyprawę archeologiczną na Wyspy Galápagos. W wyprawie uczestniczyli Erik K. Reed ze Stanów Zjednoczonych i Arne Skjølsvold (1925–2007) z Norwegii. Uczestnicy ekspedycji doszli do wniosku, że wyprawy na Galápagos miały miejsce w okresie prekolumbijskim, jednak osadnictwo na wyspach uniemożliwiał brak wody pitnej. Po powrocie do kontynentalnego Ekwadoru uczestnicy przeprowadzili serię eksperymentów żeglarskich bazujących na odtworzeniu technik żeglugi inkaskiej przy użyciu stępek guara umożliwiających żeglugę pod wiatr. Na podstawie tych eksperymentów Heyerdahl uważał, że łodzie prekolumbijskie miały taką samą zwrotność jak ówczesne statki europejskie. W następnych latach Heyerdahl zaangażował się w wiele innych ekspedycji i projektów badawczych. Niemniej jednak najbardziej znany pozostał z wypraw morskich i propagowania teorii dyfuzjonizmu – rozprzestrzeniania się kultur przez migracje. W 1955 roku Heyerdahl sfinansował i poprowadził ekspedycję archeologiczną na Wyspę Wielkanocną, której patronował król Norwegii Olaf V. W ekspedycji wzięli udział Arne Skjølsvold, Carlyle Smith, Edwin Ferdon, Gonzalo Figueroa i William Mulloy. Archeologowie odkryli wiele posągów moai i pozostałości kamiennych domów typu spotykanego w prekolumbijskiej Ameryce Południowej. Przeprowadzono również eksperymenty z rzeźbieniem, transportem i stawianiem posągów. Heyerdahl rozwinął własną teorię na temat zasiedlania Wyspy Wielkanocnej. Na podstawie podań mieszkańców oraz wniosków z przeprowadzonych badań archeologicznych, uważał, że część późniejszych mieszkańców wyspy zwanych długouchymi (Hanau eepe) przybyła z Ameryki Południowej, a inni zwani krótkouchymi (Hanua momoko) przybyli lub zostali sprowadzeni jako siła robocza w XVI wieku. Według przekazów holenderskiego admirała Jacoba Roggeveena, który odkrył tę wyspę dla świata zachodniego 5 kwietnia 1722 roku, zamieszkiwali ją biali, Indianie i Polinezyjczycy, żyjący w zgodzie i dobrobycie. Jednak 50 lat później, James Cook zastał zdziesiątkowaną populację złożoną z Polinezyjczyków. Heyerdahl, na podstawie podań mieszkańców, spekulował, że w okresie pomiędzy wizytami Europejczyków doszło na wyspie do wojny domowej, podczas której arystokratyczni długousi zostali zgładzeni przez ciemiężonych krótkouchych. W 1969 roku, na podstawie zachowanych przekazów o oryginalnych łodziach egipskich, Heyerdahl wraz z budowniczymi znad jeziora Czad zbudował replikę papirusowej łodzi, aby zademonstrować, że starożytni Egipcjanie mogli dotrzeć do Ameryki przez Atlantyk (Ekspedycja Ra). Łódź, nazwana „Ra”, po kilku tygodniach żeglugi zaczęła nasiąkać i nabierać wody i żeglarze zostali zmuszeni do jej opuszczenia 500 mil od wybrzeży Barbadosu. W 1970 roku Heyerdahl zbudował drugą łódź „Ra II”. Prace wykonali budowniczowie znad jeziora Titicaca. „Ra II” wypłynęła z Maroka 17 maja 1970 i 12 czerwca dopłynęła do Barbadosu. Załoga żeglarska składała się z siedmiu mężczyzn reprezentujących siedem różnych nacji i żeglowała pod flagą ONZ. Międzynarodowy wymiar wyprawy miał podkreślić potrzebę i możliwość pokojowej współpracy. Podczas wyprawy „Ra” Heyerdahl napisał swój pierwszy list do sekretarza generalnego ONZ U Thanta, zwracając uwagę na coraz większe zanieczyszczenie oceanów. Na zlecenie sekretarza generalnego ONZ, podczas wyprawy „Ra II”, Heyerdahl prowadził codzienne obserwacje oceanu, zbierając próbki zanieczyszczeń – grudki stwardniałej smoły zaobserwowano przez 43 dni z trwającej 57 dni podróży. Po zakończeniu wyprawy Heyerdahl zaprezentował swój raport na pierwszej konferencji ONZ poświęconej prawu użytkowania oceanów, a także komitetom kongresu amerykańskiego i akademii nauk ZSRR. Film dokumentalny o ekspedycji The RA Expeditions otrzymał nominację do nagrody Oscara w 1971 roku. Kolejna ekspedycja trzcinową łodzią „Tygrys” miała zademonstrować, że możliwa była komunikacja między cywilizacją doliny Indusu a Mezopotamią. Załoga żeglarska składała się z jedenastu mężczyzn reprezentujących różne nacji i żeglowała pod flagą ONZ. Ekspedycja wyruszyła 23 listopada 1977 roku z Iraku napotykając jednak w drodze na przeszkody polityczne. Po pięciu miesiącach żeglugi i przepłynięciu 6,8 tys. km łódź „Tygrys” została w końcu spalona przez Heyerdahla i załogę w Dżibuti 3 kwietnia 1978 roku w geście protestu przeciw konfliktom zbrojnym toczącym się na Bliskim Wschodzie i w rejonie Morza Czerwonego. Heyerdahl wystosował przy tym list otwarty do sekretarza generalnego ONZ Kurta Waldheima o zaprzestanie dostaw broni do regionu. W latach 90. XX wieku Heyerdahl badał piramidy w Güímarze na Teneryfie, uznawane przez wielu za pozostałości działalności rolników, którzy usuwając kamienie z pól układali je w „piramidy”. Heyerdahl natomiast stwierdził podobieństwo piramid z budowlami w Afryce i Ameryce Południowej i wiązał ich obecność na wyspie z działalnością starożytnych cywilizacji. W 1998 roku, by chronić i badać piramidy, założył park etnograficzny. Badania archeologiczne z 1991 roku przyniosły jedynie znaleziska z połowy XIX wieku. Dalsze badania wykazały, że piramidy są orientowane pod względem astronomicznym. Ostatnim projektem Heyerdahla było „Jakten på Odin” („Poszukiwanie Odyna”) – wykopaliska w okolicy Morza Azowskiego mające na celu próbę wykazania, że bóg Odyn był człowiekiem, który w I wieku przybył do Skandynawii znad Morza Czarnego. Thor Heyerdahl był aktywnym działaczem ruchu „Zielonych”. Otrzymał liczne medale i nagrody, jak również 11 doktoratów honoris causa. W 1994 prowadził m.in. wspólnie z aktorką Liv Ullmann ceremonię otwarcia Zimowych Igrzysk Olimpijskich w Lillehammer. Heyerdahl zmarł 18 kwietnia 2002 w Colla Micheri we Włoszech i został pochowany w katedrze w Oslo. Imieniem Heyerdahla Nikołaj Czernych nazwał jedną z odkrytych przez siebie planetoid w 1977 roku – 2473 Heyerdahl. W 1982 roku imieniem Heyerdahla ochrzczono niemiecki żaglowiec szkoleniowy – Thor Heyerdahl. W roku 2000 powstał Instytut im. Thora Heyerdahla, który ma na celu kontynuację dzieła Heyerdahla. We współpracy z Norweskim Uniwersytetem Nauk Biologicznych instytut przyznaje czteroletnią profesurę im. Thora Heyerdahla. W 2011 roku archiwum Thora Heyerdahla zostało wpisane na międzynarodową listę UNESCO Pamięć Świata. Archiwum obejmuje m.in. kolekcje fotografii, dzienniki, listy prywatne, manuskrypty książek i plany wypraw z lat 1937–2002. Od 2011 roku jedna z fregat rakietowych norweskiej marynarki nosi imię Thora Heyerdahla – KNM Thor Heyerdahl.

[rabidjakal]

Wood raft makes 4,300-mile voyage:

Wood raft makes 4,300-mile voyage:

On this day in 1947, Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti.Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents.

Heyerdahl and his five-person crew set sail from…

[ultraisabarrosmartins1978]

Fram e kon-Tiki, fontes de inspiração e companheiros de viagens

Fram e kon-Tik. Talvez esses nomes não trazem, nos dias atuais, lembranças do que eles realmente representaram. Conhecidos por parte dos apreciadores de uma boa aventura, esses dois barcos são marcos de conquistas e orgulho dos noruegueses.

Fram e Kon-Tiki foram os pilares que definiram minha viagem a Oslo, na Noruega. Desejava conhecer os museus a eles dedicados, e entrar no universo dessas marcantes conquistas de nossa história.

Então, todos a bordo!

No meio da maior competição da história, no início do século passado, nações peso pesado, como Inglaterra, Estados Unidos, Alemanha e França tinham obsessão para ver quem chegava primeiro nos Polos geográficos da Terra.

Para a conquista do Polo Norte não houve fair play. Em 1909, o médico Frederick Cook anunciou com pompa, em Nova York, ter sido o primeiro homem a pisar lá. Logo depois, o engenheiro Robert Peary proclamou o mesmo feito. As declarações de ambos provocaram polêmica. Peary, no entanto, soube mobilizar a opinião pública a seu favor e ganhou no tapetão.

E aí, o foco se voltou para a heroica conquista da Antártida.

De 1901 a 1910 várias expedições tentaram alcançar o Polo Sul, e todas fizeram água no meio da empreitada. No ano seguinte, a Inglaterra jogou todas as fichas em Robert Scott, exímio navegador e conhecedor da Antártida já com duas tentativas anteriores para alcançar o Polo. Scott apostou no transporte de mulas e pela primeira vez na utilização de tratores com esteiras.

Quase ao mesmo tempo, mas sem contar com equipamentos modernos para a época, a Noruega apostava em Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) para a conquista do Polo Sul. Dotado de organização perfeita, confiando mais em técnicas antigas como a de cães para puxar os trenós, e com navio construído especialmente para enfrentar mares congelados – o Fram –, o norueguês chegou ao polo em 14 de dezembro de 1911. Um mês de antecedência do rival inglês.

Toda a saga da expedição de Amundsen está representada no museu, inclusive a atração principal –-o próprio Fram. Embarquei na nau, que hoje conta com a interatividade de diversos sons como madeira rangendo, bando de aves ruidosas em voos rasantes, ventania, vozerio dos marujos, além dos cheiros de alcatrão que se mistura com algo que se cozinha, e o da forte maresia. De imediato me fez sentir um tripulante dessa jornada para a conquista do Polo Sul. Além de toda parafernália da expedição, esse aspecto sensorial é o que o museu tem de melhor.

Até que ponto o desejo de aventura se transforma em obstinação! Essa é a história de outro gigante, dessa vez com forte pegada antropológica – Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002). Mais do que a apreciação biográfica e histórica, o Museu Kon-Tiki traz ao primeiro plano a febre da aventura que não se esgota como valor maior, algo que nossa humanidade não quer perder.

A história das expedições de Heyerdahl não ficou eternizada somente na literatura. Ela é até hoje ponte de inspiração para novas jornadas de conhecimento. Sua teoria era que as civilizações pré-europeias tinham à disposição embarcações em condições de navegar em alto mar, e que os oceanos do mundo não ofereciam barreiras intransponíveis, mas sim eram um elo que os unia.

A ideia que atravessou todo o trabalho de pesquisa de Heyerdahl foi mostrar, em 1947, que povos da América do Sul poderiam ter sido os primeiros habitantes da Oceania. Com apoio de instituições particulares, e com base em desenhos antigos, construiu uma autêntica balsa inca pré-colombiana feita de troncos, utilizando na construção só elementos existentes na natureza e ferramentas da época.

A barca foi então batizada com o nome de “Kon-Tiki” –-deus sol dos polinésios. Orientado somente pelas estrelas, navegou nessa balsa durante 101 dias de Callao, Peru, até Raroia, no arquipélago de Tuamotú, numa viagem cheia de reviravoltas, suspense e que a cada dia ganhava potência dramática.

Hoje sua teoria de que povos ameríndios puderam colonizar a Pacífico tem evidências concretas na ilha de Páscoa, onde Heyerdahl encontrou totora e camote (uma espécie de batata peruana). Com a madeira os habitantes da ilha construíam suas pequenas embarcações iguais as balsas incas.

Além disso um dos moais tem o desenho de uma embarcação de totora. Porém, onde a cultura inca se mostra com maior força é na ilha de Vinapu. Ali um monumento funerário ahu-moai é construído ao modo inca, com grandes blocos de pedra de bordas arredondadas.

O museu Kon-Tiki, em Oslo, possui uma réplica perfeita da balsa, pois a original se desintegrou em sua chegada à ilha, e outras embarcações construídas com o mesmo propósito, como a “Ra II”. Esta é toda feita de papiro, e nela Heyerdahl atravessou o Atlântico, partindo do Marrocos até Barbados, no Caribe. Mais uma viagem para dar voz a sua teoria que considera possível o homem navegar grandes distâncias levado pelo ventos e pelas correntes marítimas, e que o oceano foi ponte de encontro entre povos e civilizações.

A Noruega, já bem consolidada com sua natureza de mão cheia, ganha novos atrativos nos museus Fram e Kon-Tiki onde eles entram como companheiros e fonte de inspiração. Ali a aventura é para todos.

Fram e kon-Tiki, fontes de inspiração e companheiros de viagenspublicado primeiro em como se vestir bem

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.7 (after 1930)

1933 – The Kingdom of Iraq slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. This date is recognized as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory of the Simele massacre. 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal begins as the United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. 1944 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I). 1946 – The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits crisis. 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America. 1947 – The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). 1959 – Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 1960 – Ivory Coast becomes independent from France. 1962 – Canadian-born American pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey is awarded the U.S. President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize thalidomide. 1964 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces. 1969 – Richard Nixon appoints Luis R. Bruce, a Mohawk-Oglala Sioux and co-founder of the National Congress of American Indians, as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 1970 – California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during an effort to free George Jackson from police custody. 1974 – Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air. 1976 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars. 1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been disposed of negligently. 1981 – The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication. 1985 – Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts. 1987 – Cold War: Lynne Cox becomes the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing the Bering Strait from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union. 1989 – U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia. 1990 – First American soldiers arrive in Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf War. 1993 – Ada Deer, a Menominee activist, is sworn in as the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 1995 – The Chilean government declares state of emergency in the southern half of the country in response to an event of intense, cold, wind, rain and snowfall known as the White Earthquake. 1997 – Space Shuttle Program: The Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-85 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 1997 – Fine Air Flight 101 crashes after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing five people. 1998 – Bombings at United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people. 1999 – The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades neighboring Dagestan. 2007 – At AT&T Park, Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run to surpass Hank Aaron's 33-year-old record. 2008 – The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia. 2020 – Air India Express Flight 1344 overshoots the runway at Calicut International Airport in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India, and crashes, killing 21 of the 190 people on board.

[donnyblogger]

“Frontiere? Non ne ho mai vista una, ma ho sentito che esistono nelle menti di alcune persone” (Thor Heyerdahl)

Mi sono imbattuto recentemente sulle tracce di questo grande personaggio visitando il museo ubicato presso le Piramidi di Güímar, al centro dell’isola di Tenerife, alle Canarie Perché questo norvegese è così noto in questo luogo? Raccontiamo la sua straordinaria vita ricca di avventure e scoperte.

Thor Heyerdahl nasce a Larvik , una cittadina costiera a sud di Oslo, in Norvegia, il 6 ottobre del 1914. Il padre, anch’egli di nome Thor, era un birraio, mentre sua madre Alison era impegnata a capo dell’associazione museale regionale di Larvik. Fu proprio la madre a stimolare nel piccolo Thor l’interesse per le scienze naturali e per gli animali. Thor sin da bambino era molto bravo anche nel disegno. Amante dello sci di fondo e delle lunghe passeggiate, in gioventù compì molti viaggi a piedi con l’amico Erik Hesselberg in diverse regioni montuose norvegesi, sempre accompagnato anche dal suo amato cane husky della Groenlandia, Kazan.

Thor con il suo fedele husky Kazan nei primi ani ’30 ( (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Nel 1933 conobbe Liv Coucheron Torp, con lei condivise anche la passione per la natura; la sposò nel 1936 ed ebbe da lei due figli: Thor Jr. e Bjorn.

Heyerdahl frequentò l’Università di Oslo, studiando zoologia e geografia, ma lasciò gli studi prima di laurearsi per recarsi in Polinesia. Fu mentre era a Fatu Hiva la più suggestiva delle isole Marchesi, nella Polinesia Francese, che iniziò a chiedersi come gli abitanti del Pacifico avessero raggiunto ed abitato queste isole, così lontane dalla terraferma, in epoche remote. Fu una delle domande alla cui risposta dedicò la vita, ed era in contrasto con le teorie dell’epoca, secondo le quali non sarebbero mai esistiti contatti tra le popolazioni europee/africane e il continente americano e tra le isole del Pacifico e il Sudamerica. Questa convinzione divenne il suo cruccio e fece di tutto per smentire queste teorie, a parer suo errate. Rimase a Fatu Hiva circa due anni con la moglie Liv, parlò con indigeni e con un norvegese che viveva lì da molti anni e che gli mostrò delle statue molto simili ad alcune rinvenute in Colombia. Poteva essere che in epoca precolombiana delle imbarcazioni potessero affrontare 6500 km in pieno Oceano Pacifico? Non restava che provare a dimostrarlo, di persona.

Kon-Tiki – 1947

Thor Heyerdahl, grazie a finanziamenti privati, riuscì ad organizzare la sua prima e leggendaria spedizione, costruì una zattera, battezzata Kon-Tiki, lunga 14 metri e larga 5,5, munita di vele, realizzata nella ricostruzione utilizzando esattamente i materiali che avevano a disposizione le civiltà precolombiane.

Il percorso del Kon-Tiki (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Il Perù mise a disposizione un porto per l’allestimento e il varo. La base della zattera era formata da 9 tronchi uniti di totora, una tipica pianta peruviana, nota per le grandi

Il Kon-Tiki (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

capacità di galleggiamento, lunghi 14 metri per 60 cm di diametro. Fu utilizzato anche legno di balsa. L’albero era formato da fusti di mangrovia, la più grande delle tre vele era quadra (4,6 x 5,5 m.). L’esercito americano rifornì di vettovaglie la spedizione con carne in scatola, fu stoccata circa una tonnellata d’acqua dolce. L’equipaggio era formato da sei persone, cinque norvegesi e uno svedese, e un pappagallo. Il 28 aprile 1947 la spedizione partì dal porto di Callao, in Perù. Il 30 luglio fu avvistato l’atollo di Puka-Puka, ma le condizioni del mare impedirono lo sbarco. Il 7 agosto il Kon-Tiki tentò di raggiungere l’atollo di Raroia, ma il mare grosso spinse la zattera sulla barriera corallina provocando gravi danni all’imbarcazione. L’equipaggio sbarcò, e grazie alle mareggiate riuscì a recuperare i resti della primitiva imbarcazione. Si calcolò che Heyerdahl e il suo equipaggio percorsero circa 6890 km. (3770 miglia marine), la sua teoria era credibile, altri avrebbero potuto navigare con imbarcazioni analoghe e raggiungere le isole del Pacifico dalle coste sudamericane. La sua idea cominciava ad essere presa in considerazione.

Una riproduzione della zattera Kon-Tiki al museo di Güimar, a Tenerife (Foto Donato Milione)

Galápagos – 1953

 Nel 1953 Thor Heyerdahl e i due archeologi norvegesi Erik K. Reed e Arne Skjølsvold furono i primi ad effettuare studi archeologici nell’arcipelago. Prima di raggiungere le isole della Polinesia, le popolazioni sudamericane precolombiane – sempre secondo la sua tesi – sarebbero dovuti passare per le Galápagos prima di raggiungere il centro del Pacifico. Nelle loro ricerche ritrovarono un flauto inca e moltissime ceramiche risalenti addirittura al periodo pre-inca. Giunsero alla conclusione che non fu mai stabilito un insediamento fisso sulle isole, in quanto carenti di acqua potabile per buona parte dell’anno, ma furono area di passaggio. Dal Sudamerica comunque antiche popolazioni arrivarono alle Galápagos, indubbiamente.

Isola di Pasqua– 1955/1956 e 1986/1987

Thor Heyerdahl accanto a un “moai” ( (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Nel 1955 Yjor Heyerdahl, in compagnia di altri 5 archeologi intraprese una spedizione dell’Isola di Pasqua. Su tutta quest’isola del Pacifico erano presenti quasi 900 colossali statue di pietra chiamate “moai” nella lingua locale, che furono scolpite dagli abitanti del luogo a partire circa dall’anno 1000 d.c.. Rappresentano delle figure umane stilizzate con grandi teste. Dapprima si pensava che i moai fossero solo teste, ma scavando si scoprì che sotto, interrati, erano presenti enormi busti. Heyerdahl dimostrò come in antichità fosse possibile trasportare ed erigere queste enormi statue alte, dai 2,5 ai 10 metri generalmente.

       Ra – 1969

Il Ra in Marocco poco prima del varo (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Il Ra in difficoltà, missione da ritentare (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Thor Heyerdahl durante il suo soggiorno sull’Isola di Pasqua scoprì, attraverso antiche raffigurazioni, che le popolazioni locali utilizzavano in passato delle piccole imbarcazioni di giunco con albero e vela. Scattò il desiderio di provare che le antiche popolazioni africane potevano essere in grado di raggiungere le Americhe ben prima della scoperta di Cristoforo Colombo del 1492. Si recò in Egitto e realizzò una barca in giunco del tutto uguale a quelle utilizzate dagli antichi egizi e la chiamò Ra, come il Dio del Sole. Fece trasportare la barca in Marocco, a Tafi, dove fu varata. L’equipaggio erano composto da 7 uomini di diverse nazioni, tra cui l’italiano Carlo Mauri e lo stesso Heyerdahl. La barca, nonostante fosse chiaro che non fosse ben costruita e con un timone rotto, percorse ben 5000 km. in pieno Oceano Atlantico, ma senza giungere a destinazione. La spedizione fu abbandonata prima che il Ra affondasse.

Ra II – 1970

L’impresa del Ra II celebrata in copertina dal National Gographic

L’anno successivo, Heyerdahl, facendo tesoro degli errori della prima spedizione, costruì il Ra II. Quattro indigeni Aymara della zona del lago peruviano del Titicaca, molto esperti nel costruire questo tipo di imbarcazione, aiutarono a perfezionare la barca. Quasi tutto lo stesso equipaggio delle prima spedizione volle ritentare l’impresa (tra cui Mauri). La nuova imbarcazione era più corta della prima, ma molto più resistente. Il Ra II navigò per circa 6100 chilometri dal Marocco fino alle isole Barbados, nei Caraibi, in 57 giorni. Il successo della spedizione obbligò gli antropologi e studiosi di tutto il mondo ad abbandonare la loro convinzione che nessuno prima di Cristoforo Colombo avesse mai raggiunto l’America. Gli stessi antichi Egizi avrebbero potuto farlo con le loro barche di giunco. In questa spedizione Heyerdahl riferì tracce di inquinamento da petrolio scoperto nell’Atlantico.

  Il più robusto Ra II in navigazione (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Una riproduzione del Ra II al museo di Güimar, a Tenerife (Foto Donato Milione)

Tigris – 1978-1979

La costruzione del Tigris (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Sulle pareti delle tombe di alcuni faraoni si possono vedere illustrate delle barche di giunco in navigazione. Heyerdahl si chiese se mai le popolazioni dell’Egitto e della Mesopotamia fossero mai venute in contatto via mare con gli abitanti della valle dell’Indo. Si recò in Iraq con un nuovo progetto, realizzò un’imbarcazione di giunco molto più grande delle precedenti, lunga ben 18 metri.

In navigazione sul Tigris (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Intraprese il viaggio nel 1978 con alcuni storici compagni d’equipaggio (tra cui l’italiano Mauri) ed altri, alla prima esperienza. Era credenza comune che Sumeri e Babilonesi utilizzassero le barche solo per la navigazione fluviale. La nuova sfida di Heyerdahl era dimostrare che le barche di giunco potessero navigare anche in mare aperto. Partendo dal fiume Shatt al-‘Arab, la congiunzione di Tigri ed Eufrate, il Tigris proseguì lungo il Golfo Persico fino a raggiungere la valle dell’Indo (Pakistan) e tocco anche Gibuti, nell’Africa orientale. Il viaggio durò 143 giorni e coprì una distanza di 6800 km. Ancora una volta Heyerdhal dimostrò che i contatti tra le antiche popolazioni intorno alla penisola arabica non erano utopia, ma una possibilità tutt’altro che remota.

Maldive 1983-1984

Nel 1982 Heyerdahl ricevette una lettera anonima dalle Maldive contenente una foto di una statua sconosciuta. La curiosità lo portò ad organizzare una spedizione archeologica nell’arcipelago dell’Oceano Indiano. Accompagnato dall’amico archeologo Arne Skjølsvold e da altri collaboratori alla prima esperienza. Su molte isole trovarono dei cumuli che contenevamo piccoli templi che vennero datati intorno al 550 d.C. Vicino a questi templi vennero rinvenute della vasche in pietra con delle scale, delle piscine. Vennero scoperte anche alcune statue di pietra, alcune raffiguranti Buddha. Fu ritrovata anche una moneta romana risalente al 90 a.C., ma nonostante tutto Heyerdahl non riuscì a confutare le tesi degli scienziati che negavano che i primi abitanti delle Maldive provenissero dall’India e dallo Sri Lanka.

Túcume (Perù) 1988-1992

Nel 1988 Thor Heyerdahl si recò in Perù nella zona archeologica nei pressi di Túcume, nel nordovest del paese, che all’epoca fu il più grande progetto archeologico. Nel sito erano presenti 26 edifici di forma piramidale. Dopo studi e rilevazioni gli archeologi stabilirono che le rovine risalissero all’incirca al 110 d.C. Fu nel marzo 1992 che venne fatta la scoperta più importante della spedizione, dei bassorilievi che mostravano dei mitologici uomini uccello, accovacciati con in mano un uovo, molto somiglianti a quelli trovati sull’Isola di Pasqua, seguirono altre scoperte, come le pagaie doppie ritrovate finora solo nella suddetta isola. Erano le prove che i popoli precolombiani del Sud America avevano per primi scoperto e popolato l’Isola di Pasqua, spingendosi fino alla Polinesia orientale. Oggi è universalmente accettato che intorno al 1300 d.C. ci fossero stati contatti tra popoli polinesiani e sudamericani.

Thor Heyerdahl con l’amico archeologo Arne Skjølsvold a Túcume (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Güimar (Tenerife, Canarie) 1992-1998

Thor Heyerdahl nei primi anni ’90 si recò sull’isola di Tenerife, nelle Canarie, attratto dalle costruzioni che emergevano nella cittadina di Güimar lungo la costa est dell’isola. Quelle file di pietre, che le popolazioni locali attribuivano a raccolte di pietre da parte di pastori per liberare il terreno, si rivelarono essere parti di piramidi, che l’archeologo norvegese riportò alla luce con i suoi scavi. Queste piramidi hanno molto in comune con quelle americane di Incas e Maya, come l’orientamento astronomico.

Cit. “Nel giorno del solstizio d’estate si può vedere un doppio tramonto dalla piattaforma della piramide più alta, dove il sole scende dietro il picco di un’alta montagna, lo oltrepassa, appare di nuovo e scompare dietro la montagna successiva. Tutte le piramidi hanno una scalinata sul lato occidentale, sulle quali è possibile salire seguendo esattamente il sole nascente, la mattina del solstizio d’inverno.” (http://www.costaestenerife.com/)

Le pietre, di origine vulcanica, provengono dal Monte Teide al centro dell’Isola. La domanda che si poneva era chi avesse costruito quelle piramidi. Non certo i Guanches, popolazione primitiva ancora ai tempi di Colombo, che viveva nell’isola. Heyerdahl era convinto che le Canarie fossero (come lo furono per Cristoforo Colombo) una tappa di passaggio per la navigazione verso l’America. Questo mistero non è ancora stato chiarito del tutto, ma il sospetto che tra le piramidi egizie, quelle delle civiltà precolombiane e, aggiungiamo, anche quelle di Tenerife ci sia un collegamento è un argomento piuttosto intrigante, ricco di indizi e non del tutto fantasioso. Nel 1998 il parco etnografico di Güimar è stato aperto al pubblico e, per il turista che non sia solo in cerca di mare e divertimento, è una tappa irrinunciabile sull’isola di Tenerife. Il parco etnografico, oltre alle piramidi è sede di un giardino botanico con specie autoctone canarie. C’è un museo, in gran parte dedicato ai misteri delle piramidi e alle imprese di Heyerdahl con tanto di ricostruzioni di alcune delle sue leggendarie barche e molte fotografie. Heyerdahl fu aiutato economicamente in queste sue ricerche dal compatriota Fred Olsen, armatore operativo alla Canarie.

Sotto alcune foto del sito archeologico di Güimar (Foto Donato Milione).

  Thor Heyerdahl si spense il 18 aprile del 2002 a Colla Micheri, una frazione di Andora (SV), in cui trascorse molti anni della sua sua vita. Nel giugno del 2019  un’ala del Museo Luciano Dabroi a Palazzo Tagliaferro di Andora è stata dedicata, in collaborazione con il comune di Larvik, all’esploratore norvegese, molto legato a questi luoghi.

Una scultura della testa di Thor Heyerdahl al museo di Güimar a Tenerife (Foto Donato Milione)

Thor Heyerdahl è stato un grande uomo, oltre che un grande etnologo, antropologo, esploratore, scrittore, regista, ambientalista. Pur essendo spesso deriso e osteggiato da molti scienziati dimostrò con i fatti, e sulla propria pelle, mettendosi sempre in gioco,  quelle che erano le sue convinzioni, le sue teorie, le sue idee, senza badare ai pericoli e alle conseguenze. Un pioniere affamato di conoscenza e desideroso di scoprire quella storia del mondo ancora poco conosciuta, un grande scienziato e un grande uomo. Un dovere ricordare le sue imprese.

Alcune pillole e curiosità

A Oslo, capitale della Norvegia, c’è un museo dedicato al grande archeologo ed esploratore, The Kon-Tiki Museum, Bygdøynesveien 36,0286 Oslo, mail kon-tiki@kon-tiki.no

Thor Heyerdahl ebbe tre mogli: Liv Coucheron Torp (1936–1947), Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (1949–1980), e Jacqueline Beer (1991–2002), e 5 figli, Thor jr. e Bjørn (da Liv), Anette, Marian e Helen Elisabeth (Bettina), da Yvonne.

Heyerdahl si considerava cittadino del mondo, pacifista e sostenitore dei valori di eguaglianza e ambientalista. Fece parte del Movimento federalista mondiale (World Federalist Movement) e ne divenne un membro molto attivo.

Si dilettava anche nel disegno e nell’intaglio artistico del legno.

Thor Heyerdahl (Foto Kon-Tiki Museum)

Heyerdahl scrisse 14 libri di divulgazione scientifica, molti tradotti in varie lingue. Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen, 1948) è stato tradotto in 70 lingue e vendette decine di milioni di copie.

Thor Heyerdahl realizzò anche dei film su molte delle sue spedizioni. Nel 1950 uscì il documentario Kon-Tiki, che vinse l’Oscar l’anno successivo.

Nel 2012 è stato prodotto un film, sempre dal Titolo Kon-Tiki, diretto da Joachim Rønning ed Espen Sandberg, che racconta l’avventura di Heyerdahl sulla mitica zattera, l’eploratore è stato interpretato dall’attore norvegese Pål Hagen.

L’Oscar vinto per Kon-Tiki

              Il trailer del film Kon-Tiki, prodotto nel 2012 e distribuito nel 2013

Personaggi: Thor Heyerdahl uno dei più grandi esploratori del XX secolo “Frontiere? Non ne ho mai vista una, ma ho sentito che esistono nelle menti di alcune persone” (Thor Heyerdahl)

[equatorjournal]

F. Edward Butterworth, Raroia, 1974. From the book "Pilgrims of the Pacific". Pilgrims of the Pacific offers though-provoking theories about human distribution on the face of the earth. Beginning with an initial movement out of Babylon, the author suggest possible routes overland across Asia and oceanic voyages which may have been taken by early migrants. Maps, photographs, and replicas enhance the presentation which is based on years of study and personal investigation. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfD7XTgjnN/?igshid=4o5506cwpwfr

[oneguywithaniphone]

August 07, 1947: Wood raft makes 4,300-mile voyage

On this day in 1947, Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti.Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents.

Heyerdahl and his five-person crew set sail from Callao, Peru, on the 40-square-foot Kon-Tiki on April 28, 1947. The Kon-Tiki, named for a mythical white chieftain, was made of indigenous materials and designed to resemble rafts of early South American Indians. While crossing the Pacific, the sailors encountered storms, sharks and whales, before finally washing ashore at Raroia. Heyerdahl, born in Larvik, Norway, on October 6, 1914, believed that Polynesia’s earliest inhabitants had come from South America, a theory that conflicted with popular scholarly opinion that the original settlers arrived from Asia. Even after his successful voyage, anthropologists and historians continued to discredit Heyerdahl’s belief. However, his journey captivated the public and he wrote a book about the experience that became an international bestseller and was translated into 65 languages. Heyerdahl also produced a documentary about the trip that won an Academy Award in 1951.

Heyerdahl made his first expedition to Polynesia in 1937. He and his first wife lived primitively on Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands for a year and studied plant and animal life. The experience led him to believe that humans had first come to the islands aboard primitive vessels drifting on ocean currents from the east.

Following the Kon-Tiki expedition, Heyerdahl made archeological trips to such places as the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island and Peru and continued to test his theories about how travel across the seas played a major role in the migration patterns of ancient cultures. In 1970, he sailed across the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados in a reed boat named Ra II (after Ra, the Egyptian sun god) to prove that Egyptians could have connected with pre-Columbian Americans. In 1977, he sailed the Indian Ocean in a primitive reed ship built in Iraq to learn how prehistoric civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and Egypt might have connected.

While Heyerdahl’s work was never embraced by most scholars, he remained a popular public figure and was voted “Norwegian of the Century” in his homeland. He died at age 87 on April 18, 2002, in Italy. The raft from his famous 1947 expedition is housed at the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway.

from History.com - This Day in History - Lead Story https://ift.tt/RVbC0i

[blogiurbaninth]

ปลุกตำนาน 160 ปี ETERNA สหกรุงทองฯ นำเข้านาฬิกาสุดหรู จากสวิสเซอร์แลนด์

ปลุกตำนาน 160 ปี ETERNA สหกรุงทองฯ นำเข้านาฬิกาสุดหรู จากสวิสเซอร์แลนด์

บริษัท สหกรุงทอง เทรดดิ้ง จำกัด ผู้นำเข้าและจัดจำหน่ายนาฬิกาชั้นนำระดับโลก นำเข้านาฬิกาหรู  แบรนด์  ETERNA (อีเทอร์นา) ที่มีประวัติยาวนานกว่า 160 ปี จากประเทศสวิสเซอร์แลนด์ นำเสนอรุ่นใหม่ ETERNA Super KonTiki Chronograph ด้วยดีไซน์ที่สื่อถึงความหมายของชีวิตที่เต็มเปี่ยมไปด้วยการผจญภัย มั่นใจตอบโจทย์ไลฟ์สไตล์นักสะสมและคนรักนาฬิกาทั่วประเทศ 

นายยุทธพล ตันติวงษากิจ กรรมการผู้จัดการ บริษัท สหกรุงทอง เทรดดิ้ง จำกัด เปิดเผยว่า ETERNA (อีเทอร์นา) ถือเป็นนาฬิกาหรูอีกหนึ่งแบรนด์ที่น่าจับตามอง ด้วยประวัติยาวนานกว่า 160 ปี   จากประเทศสวิตเซอร์แลนด์  และได้สร้างตำนานด้วยการพัฒนาระบบขึ้นลานด้วยโรเตอร์ขึ้นมาอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพแห่งแรกในโลกกับ ETERNA-Matic ball- bearing และนาฬิกาข้อมือที่ปลุกได้เรือนแรกของโลก รวมทั้งประดิษฐกรรมล่าสุดคือกระปุกลานแบบ ETERNA Spherodrive ซึ่งให้ผลดีและเป็นมาตรฐานใหม่ในการยืดอายุการใช้งานและคงความมีคุณภาพของเครื่องให้ยาวนานยิ่งขึ้น ส่งผลให้ ETERNA กลายเป็นแบรนด์ยอดนิยมของนักสะสมนาฬิกาทั่วโลกอย่างแท้จริง

วุฒิไกร ชัยเศวตกานนท์ (ปาล์ม) ทายาทรุ่นที่ 3 บมจ. มหากิจรับเบอร์ ผู้ประกอบการธุรกิจผลิตและส่งออกยางรัด ยางแผ่น รายใหญ่ ระดับ 1 ใน 5 ของประเทศไทย ทั้งยังเป็นเจ้าของธุรกิจน้ำดื่ม เนปจูน ที่นอกจากจะมีตำแหน่งผู้บริหารและเป็นนักธุรกิจรุ่นใหม่แล้ว คุณปาล์มยังถือเป็นอีกคนที่มี   ไลฟ์สไตล์ที่น่าสนใจ โดยเฉพาะเรื่องของการสะสมนาฬิกา

“นาฬิกาถือเป็นของสะสมที่ผมรัก  โดยปกติแล้วผมจะเลือกซื้อนาฬิกาจากภาพลักษณ์ของแบรนด์และ ดีไซน์ที่ดีเป็นหลัก เพราะผมมองว่านาฬิกาถือเป็น Accessory ชิ้นสำคัญสำหรับผู้ชายที่สามารถบ่งบอกถึงรสนิยม บุคลิกภาพ ความชื่นชอบ และไลฟ์สไตล์ของคุณได้เลย” คุณวุฒิไกร กล่าว

ที่ผ่านมา คุณวุฒิไกร เลือกสะสมนาฬิกาหรูมากมาย และหนึ่งในนั้นคือ นาฬิกา ETERNA     โดยรุ่นยอดนิยมสำหรับนักสะสม คือ ETERNA KonTiki (อีเทอร์นา คอนติคิ) โดย KonTiki กลายเป็น  ชื่อที่ผูกพันกับ ETERNA ซึ่งมาจากนามของเทพเจ้าแห่งแสงอาทิตย์ของชาวอินคา จากการผจญภัยในท้องทะเลของ ธอร์ เฮเยอดาลห์ (Thor Heyerdahl) และลูกเรือของเขาในปี 1947 เพื่อออกเดินทางจากชายฝั่งประเทศเปรูไปยังแนวปะการังราโรเอีย (Raroia) ในหมู่เกาะโพลีเนเซีย (Polynesia) เพื่อที่จะแสดงให้เห็นว่าเกาะนี้น่าจะเดินทางจากฝั่งอเมริกาใต้ได้ดีกว่าจากทางเอเซีย   และในครั้งนั้นลูกเรือทุกคนได้สวมนาฬิกา ETERNA บนข้อมือที่ทำหน้าที่ของมันได้อย่างไม่มีที่ติตลอดระยะเวลาของการผจญภัย

ปัจจุบัน ETERNA ได้ส่งน้องใหม่ อย่าง ETERNA Super KonTiki Chronograph ซึ่งยังคงเอกลักษณ์ตัวเรือนในแบบเดียวกันกับในครั้งอดีตที่ผ่านมา และยังคงให้ความรู้สึกถึงความแข็งแกร่ง   และทรงพลัง ด้วยดีไซน์ที่สื่อถึงความหมายของชีวิตที่เต็มเปี่ยมไปด้วยการผจญภัย ดึงดูดทุกสายตา  ด้วยตัวเรือนขนาด 45 มิลลิเมตร ที่เข้ากันได้เป็นอย่างดีกับหน้าปัดใหม่ที่ดูตื่นตาตื่นใจ ด้วยช่องบอกสเกลโครโนกราฟสองช่องที่โดดเด่นและรูปทรงสามเหลี่ยมอันเป็นเอกลักษณ์ถูกจัดวางไว้ในตำแหน่งบอกเวลาที่เคลือบด้วยสารเรืองแสงสีขาว Super Lumi-Nova ทำให้อ่านเวลาได้อย่างชัดเจนทั้งในเวลากลางวันและกลางคืน

ทั้งนี้คุณวุฒิไกรกล่าวเพิ่มเติมว่า ETERNA ถือเป็นนาฬิกาหรูอีกหนึ่งแบรนด์ที่ตนมีความชื่นชอบ  โดยเฉพาะรุ่น Super KonTiki Chronograph โดยให้ความเห็นว่า ตนเป็นคนที่รักการทำกิจกรรมกลางแจ้ง ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการเล่นกีฬากอล์ฟ การท่องเที่ยว และการขับรถ ซึ่ง ETERNA รุ่นนี้ สามารถตอบโจทย์ไลฟ์สไตล์ดังกล่าวได้อย่างลงตัว โดยสิ่งที่ทำให้ Super KonTiki Chronograph รุ่นใหม่นี้มีความแตกต่างไปจากนาฬิการุ่นอื่นๆ ในคอลเลคชั่นก็คือการที่ภายในถูกบรรจุไว้ด้วยเครื่องแบบ flyback chronograph อันโด่งดังที่ได้รับการออกแบบและผลิตภายใต้โรงงานของ ETERNA เอง ซึ่งฟังชั่นก์ flyback ที่จะทำให้การจับเวลาในแต่ละช่วงนั้นทำได้ต่อเนื่องโดยที่เพียงแค่กดปุ่ม reset เข็มก็จะกลับมาเริ่มต้นจับเวลาใหม่อีกครั้งในทันที

เครื่องรุ่น 3916A นี้อยู่ภายใต้อนุกรม 39 ที่เป็นดั่งตำนานของแบรนด์ซึ่งทำงานด้วยความถี่ 28,800 vph สำรองพลังงานได้นานถึง 60 ชั่วโมงและตกแต่งให้สวยงามด้วยการเคลือบโรเดียมบนทุกชิ้นส่วนเช่นเดียวกันกับเครื่อง in-house ของ ETERNA ทุกรุ่น ซึ่งเครื่อง 3916A นี้มีความเที่ยงตรงในระดับโครโนมิเตอร์โดยชิ้นส่วนถึง 70% นั้นถูกผลิตขึ้นเองภายในสำนักงานใหญ่ที่เมืองเกรนเคนท์  Super KonTiki Chornograph  เป็นนาฬิกาที่รวมไว้ซึ่งสไตล์ในแบบพร้อมลุยที่บอกเวลาได้อย่างเที่ยงตรงและมีคุณภาพในระดับสูงสุด ซึ่งทั้งหมดนี้ก็คือความเป็นตัวตนอันแท้จริงของ ETERNA คุณวุฒิไกรกล่าว

ในฐานะที่เป็นเพียงหนึ่งจากผู้ผลิตนาฬิกาไม่กี่ราย ETERNA ได้แสดงออกถึงคุณค่าของความคิดใหม่ๆ และเพียรสรรหาวัสดุที่มีความละเอียดอ่อนในการนำมาใช้เป็นพื้นฐานในการรังสรรผลงานให้ได้ตามประเพณีของบริษัทที่สืบทอดกันมา เหล่านี้คือสิ่งที่ทำให้ ETERNA ประสบความสำเร็จตลอดระยะเวลาเกินกว่าศตวรรษจากผลงานที่ทำได้เหนือความคาดหมายและเอาชนะทุกขีดจำกัดของความท้าทายต่างๆ ได้อย่างไม่มีที่ติ

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