The Kon-Tiki Expedition 1947 (Norway) 2 Black and white photographs The Kon-Tiki Museum The Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947 was one of the most famous and celebrated maritime expeditions of the 20th century. In an astounding feat of navigation, a crew of six sailed 8,000 km across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft, from South America to the Tuamotu Islands, in Polynesia. During those 101 days, the crew manned a raft built with the materials and technologies available to South American seafarers of pre-Columbian times. The expedition were not simply adventurous; they had a specific scholarly objective, to demonstrate that ancient peoples could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures. The intellect and driving force behind the expedition was the Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), who also had a background in zoology, botany, and geography. The Kon-Tiki was not his only expedition. He made four oceanic trips in primitive ve...