[UncleOxidant]

I wonder if this is more of an issue with American academic institutions than it is in other parts of the world (anthropologists avoiding the boat hypothesis, that is)? I note that this article [1] (from Norway) explicitly makes the connection to Thor Hyerdahl's theory - which, as I understand from what you've written here (and from talking to others) is considered in the same category as the Bermuda Triangle and UFOs by American anthropologists.

[1] https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-history-society-and-cul...

[EdwardDiego]

I think Heyerdahl's issue is that he approached it as South Americans travelling to Polynesia, instead of some of the most capable navigators the world has seen travelling to South America.

Some claim it was racism, but IIRC, he based it on prevailing winds and currents, which are west to east... except for during an ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) event, which were poorly understood, or even widely known of, at the time of Kontiki.

And there's some evidence of correlation between Polynesian westward migration, and ENSO events.

[tempforanthro]

I cant comment on Hyerdahl--I just don't know much. A related hole in simian evolutionary theory pertains to new vs old world monkeys, if you want a deep rabbit hole.

edit: the US, afaik, is different in that cultural anthro shares department with archaeology and human/primate genetics at the undergrad level. It's good in the sense that the culturals have to take a bit of science, bad in that politics invade all the subfields.