00:01.44
kinkella
Hello and welcome back to the pseudo archeology podcast episode 131 I'm your host one last time. Dr Andrew Kingkeella and we have been discussing the kon tiki and thor hired allll and it's um. We're we'll we'll move on to towards the sort of long term effects. What what does it mean now. But before we get there I teased you at the end of the last segment with a tease because that's how I like keep you listening you know I know how to do this. So. And I was like hey sometimes there's some great ideas that might not have the same luck in terms of like cultural timing right? So but con tiki this silly funky boat. Oh that that basically sunk right? by the end I think they. I think they hit a reef ride end and then but you know they they had problems they they basically the boat just basically drifted. That's what the Khan Tiki did the the khanti it it had like a sail but it just sort of. Just sort of followed the prevailing winds and that kind of thing and that was one the Thor hired allll's points is is look I can just basically set this thing a drift and it'll hit something mountain the out in the pacific on the flip side about 25 years after Khan Tiki a little bit more.

01:24.57
kinkella
28 or something like this. Um the ah polynesian voyaging society in Hawaii built a double hold canoe called the hokala and this thing man is bad as and I think what's so sad is. We all have heard the term kontiki but we have not heard the name hokula right? The hokul is not launched in 1975 and and this is is like a culturally correct double hold Canoe. Um, of of that polynesian style right? correct now and this before I even get to what it did. This can be a really great um experimental archeology moment here right? where we're trying a real. Boat made to real specifications and seeing how it does and guess what the hokulea. Went from Hawaii to tahiti using only traditional navigation right? Just only using the stars and that sort of thing traditional navigation techniques. That's amazing. Good for them. They didn't get to start at a big ass continent.

02:48.12
kinkella
Like kontiki they went island to island right? thousands of miles away Hawai to tahiti that's forever in a day gone that is an amazing voyage. So good for them right? and they tried to do it in the style. Um. In sort of what we were. You know you could say like sort of the ancient style or the cultural style whereas Kdiki of course had like radios on it. It's sextants and yeah they could they had technology on it different out where they were um the hokala didn't and what I will say too is that the um. Hokaea started its initial voyage from honolua Bay Honolua Bay is in Maui I've been to Honolua Bay and Honolua Bay Guys is beautiful it's on the north what is that the northwest corner far northwest corner of maui way up top in the corner and that bay like it is some of just note to self if you're ever on maui it is some of the best snorkeling over there. The parking you just sort of have to park on the side ah side of the road it's one of those you even have to walk across. It's like this little tiny strip of jungle all of a sudden you're in the jungle for a moment There's a little There's a little tiny little creek. There. You walk through it, you bring your backpack with your snorkeling stuff in it. It's kind of rocky There's no real beach. There.

04:15.75
kinkella
But then you get out there and the snorkeling is fantastic. I highly recommend. Um, honoloa bay for snorkeling now that's in the summer in the winter. That's some of the biggest big wave surfing in Hawaii is in that area. But. Anyway I just thought it was really interesting reading that I'm like wow they they took off from honolula bay ah what a pretty place so and then after the um.

04:45.10
kinkella
The hookkolia did its voice to tahiti it wasn't on the verge of crapping out like the khan tiki it did 9 additional voyages right? They went to like Micronesia Paul this is showing off Polynesia Japan. Went over to the United States just to the hell of it like that oh did good for you right? and and in a lot of ways it was. It was also sort of done to show the middle finger to the kon tiki and I think it did a great job. But the bummer is. You just hear again and again and again about thorra hired all and and Kontiki and we should be hearing more about the Hokulia just because did what a great story right? So at least there's that so as we kind of. Wind down you know and we kind of have this wider look at Thor hired all you know what can we say about this. It's these are some in a way some of my favorite conversations. Because we're totally in a gray area you know because if you look at some somebody like Thor hired all his his ideas on how Polynesia was populated are utterly racist and disproven and a pointless waste of time right.

06:12.86
kinkella
That the people of Easter Island were blonde haired or whatever. It's just it's just ludicrous like we're grownups man. What what? the hell you know? so so you got that. But. We have to analyze him with cold scientific mind we would say on the other side he the kontiki voyage does sell like that sense of wonder right? that sense of excitement. Um. Some of that you know sometimes I do see missing a bit in modern archeology I find it that I find that a lot of times modern archeologists to to they try and be too cool. You know they try and be too cool for school. They're like well you know archeology. It's it's a lot of work. It's not It's not really that exciting. And I hear that again and again and I think that academics are really shooting themselves in the foot because what's sad is real academic archeology does have the best answers to the past right? it. Does have the data and the knowledge you can tell the very best the most accurate story of the past using real archeology but then to sell it to the public like yeah, but it's boring and that's not the public saying that that's actual archeologists because they think that.

07:39.22
kinkella
Saying somehow that their work is exciting takes away cheapens it or something and I am here to say friends. We must stop that because then you have pseudo scientists like Thor Hiardd all who are gonna take the public's imagination away because we're not filling it so you know what I'm going to do you know what friends my research it's exciting as hell I work on the ancient. My ah I work in the sinottas. Yeah, that's right. I swashbuckle through the jungle with a backpack and a canteen I spend the night in the middle of the jungle I can hear jaguars I go diving to a hundred feet in the middle of the jungle is it super exciting. Yeah, it's as exciting as it sounds and. My story is not alone other archeologists have stories just like mine. So. My little note here to other archeologists is please please please brag about yourselves and with that. I'll talk to you guys next time.