Floating A Big Idea: Ancient Use Of Rafts To Transport Goods Demonstrated

Science Daily ^ | 3-22-2008 | MIT

[mad_as_he$$]

What a bunch of revisionist c$ap. Everybody knows the ancients moved stuff around through the Stargate.

[Ptarmigan]

Makes sense to me. Dia de la Muerte rituals in Mexico are very similar to what they do in Korea when it comes. I have read that Mexican Indians encountered Asians.

The Mayans spoke of two distinct culture heros, Itzamna and Kukulcan (Kukul Khan), who arrived at different times, Itzamna came from the East (Mediterranean) and invented the Mayan script, he also devised their calender.

The Kukulcan, less in number, came later from the West (possibly from China). Both culture heros were bearded but the Kukulcan had shaved heads.

Kukulcan is supposed to have founded the cities of Mayapan and Chichen Itza. He taught the people to refrain from using arms, even for hunting, and under his rule, the nation enjoyed peace, prosperity and abundant harvests.

This would explain the significant Chinese influence in architecture and technology of the Mayans. With a name like Kukul Khan, how could he not be Asian.

http://www.users.on.net/~mkfenn/page4.htm

[Yollopoliuhqui]

This is a total rip off of Thor Heyerdahl’s previous research into movable dagger boards on large Peruvian balsa rafts after he made his Kon Tiki voyage. Heyerdahl is still considered a heretic and pariah in academia and any reference to his research or “diffusionism” (cross-cultural interaction and influence in the ancient world) in general can get you fired and blacklisted from peer review journals.

[Fred Nerks]

Native Balsa Raft Sketch by F.E. Paris (1841) showing construction of a native balsa raft from the north-west coast of South America. The maximum length of raft is 80-90 feet, maximum width of a raft is 25-30 feet with a freight capacity of 20-25 tons.

[Fred Nerks]

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/thor/balsa-raft.php

Balsa Raft in Aboriginal Navigation of Peru and Ecuador

Extracts from lectures by Thor Heyerdahl

Aboriginal navigation in Peru and adjoining sections of north-western South America is a subject that is little known and still less understood by modern boat builders and anthropologist. The apparent reason is that the Peruvian Indian boat building was based on principles entirely different from those of our ancestry. To the European mind the only seaworthy vessel is one made buoyant by a watertight, air-filled hull, so big and high that it cannot be filled by the waves.

To the ancient Peruvians the only seaworthy craft was one which could never be filled by water because it’s open construction formed no receptacle to retain the invading seas, which washed through. They achieved this by building exceedingly buoyant rafts of Balsa wood.

This type of Peruvian Balsa raft could travel as far as the islands of Polynesia, 4000 miles away. The first record of a Peruvian Balsa raft antedates the actual discovery of the Inca Empire. When Francisco Pizarro left the Panama Isthmus in 1526 on his second voyage of discovery down the Pacific coast of South America; his expedition found Peruvian merchants sailors at sea long before he discovered their country...

[Judith Anne]

Terrific quote and link, thanks.