SV: SV: Harappan Euhemerus

[Lars Martin Fosse]

Dominik Wujastyk [SMTP:ucgadkw at UCL.AC.UK] skrev 19. desember 2000 13:44:
> Incidentally, I'm surprised nobody here has raised Thor Heyerdahl's
theory
> that the IVC folk sailed to the Maldives and left inscriptions there.
> See his _The Maldives Mystery_, which, curiously, is a banned book in the
> Maldives themselves, although the research was funded by the Maldivian
> government with the backing of President Gayoom.

> From what I understand, Heyerdahl does not have a high standing in
scholarly circles *as a scholar*. This has been the case more or less since
he started publishing on scholarly matters. E.g. he has proved that it is
possible to sail on balsa rafts to Easter Island, but he has not proved
that this was how the Easter Islanders got there in the first place. His
diffusionist theories are generally rejected by scholars. But he is greatly
respected for his courage and his moral stance. On crossing the Atlantic
(the Ra expedition) I believe he discovered important evidence about
pollution of sea water. His voyages have demonstrated beyond reasonable
doubt that primitive vessels had a much larger range than previously
assumed. Since he is a "Norwegian Hero" and an international figure, I
believe he has also been able to open doors for other scholars who may have
more solid scholarship but less door-opening capacity. It is therefore a
bit sad that he has gotten into the present scrape with the scholarly
world, but his latest publications are so dubious that a reaction had to
come. He'll probably survive. He is as tough as they come.

Lars Martin Fosse

Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
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