THE KON-TIKI ARGUMENT
Sir,-As "Doodlebug" has written his last letter I too must bow myself out. Having again referred to his objeetions to Heyerdahl’s book, and the bow and arrow matter in my ‘letter in which I quoted that the weapon was unknown ' in Eastern Polynesia, "Doodlebug" in leaning rather heavily on Moa-hunter _ culture forces me to point out that the | bone-reel ornament, the stone "mirror" 'and certain specialised types ‘of fish- | heok are definitely South American in origin. _ Concerning the Landfall review, Dr. Skinner selected for close~ examination
a minor flaw in Heyerdahl’s reasoning and on the strength of this condemned the entire hypothesis. This can be done to all who have ever written and thought. To sum up: there are two schools of theught regarding the origin of the Polynesians and there is evidence to support both hypotheses. Apart from the West to East theory being the conventionally established one, I feel it is reinforced by certain psychological drives, one of which must at all costs establish the Maori race as basically Caucasian, while the other cannot accept the Americas as culture-givers. They must always be receivers. May I say, finally, that concerning the earlier East to West migrations — the island inhabitants the proto-Maoris found already in occupation, pre-Colum-bian (Chimu) pottery fragments have just been discovered in the Galapagos Islands. I have this and other information direct from someone who took part in an expedition there this year.
VIRACOCHA
(Timaru).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 724, 29 May 1953, Page 14
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242THE KON-TIKI ARGUMENT New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 724, 29 May 1953, Page 14
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