SCIENCE AND EDUCATION
Western University marks 101st anniversary of Thor Heyerdahl
Baku, October 9, AZERTAC
An event marking the 101st anniversary of well-known Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl has been held at Western University.
Speakers highlighted current economic, political, cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Norway.
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany, and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures.
Heyerdahl visited Azerbaijan several times and spent his last years working on projects focusing on old connections between Caucasus and Scandinavia.