Pacific thatsupport the theory ofcontact between the peoples of the Polynesian islands and the Inca culture. Peruvianscontend that a race "from the North" who lived on Lake Titicaca fled to thewest on greatrafts made of balsa. Their leader's name was Kon-Tiki (Kon-Tiki 19). Furthermore, thePolynesians contend that they are descendants of a group that had comeacross the sea"from a land in the east which was scorched by the sun" (Kon-Tiki19). The leader of thislegendary group- Tiki; who was said to be a direct scion of the sun god.It is said, "Tiki,he was both god and chief. It was Tiki who brought my ancestors to theseislands wherewe live now. Before that, we lived in a big country beyond the sea "(Kon-Tiki 12). Many who oppose the theory of Inca colonization of thePacific islands point tothe vast distances between Peru and the Pacific islands as evidence againstthe possibilityof their migration. This, as Heyerdahl points out, is in error. Thedistance from Peru tothe Tuamoto island chain is 4,000 miles. However, after a raft or sailboathas traveled1,000 miles over the sea surface, it will have reached the Tuamotos. Thisis due to theHumbolt Current, which flows up from Antarctica, along the coast of SouthAmerica, anddue west, towards Asia. In Thor Heyerdahl's 101 day crossing from Peru totheTuamotos, the ocean displaced his raft, the Kon-Tiki, 3,000 miles,and the wind wasactually responsible for only one thousand miles of displacement. Unfortunately, on awest-to-east journey, the sea distance to be covered is 7,000 miles. Thatwould mean a700-day journey just to overcome the current. However, any craftattempting that journeywould have to tack several hundred miles in order to avoid the trade winds. Most experts,Heyerdahl included, feel that such a voyage would be impossible (Early Man33). Thiswould serve to explain the failure of a return route to Peru and negates anAsian migrationto the eastern-most. The ...
