Bokförlaget Forum (Wine and Other Beverages)" and Einar Wallquist’s medical book "Våra sjukdomar (Our Diseases)." In 1947, Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl made and sailed a raft of balsa wood, called Kon-Tiki, from Peru to the Polynesian Islands. The purpose of the trip was to prove that the Polynesian inhabitants originated from America rather than Asia. In the academic world, most people thought Heyerdal a fanatic and questionable scientist. In 1948, Norsk Gyldendal published Heyerdahl’s story, which then was sent to Bonniers for consideration, Helms managed to persuade Kaj Bonnier to have it transferred to Forum. "Expedition Kon-Tiki (The Kon-Tiki Expedition)" was a
Thor Heyerdahl also criticised Heyerdahl's theory in his 2009 book "The Wayfinders", which explores the history of Polynesia. Davis says that Heyerdahl "ignored the overwhelming body of linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical evidence, augmented today by genetic and archaeological data, indicating that he was patently wrong." A 2009 study by Norwegian researcher Erik Thorsby suggested that there was some merit to Heyerdahl's ideas and that, while Polynesia was colonized from Asia, some contact with South America also existed. Some critics suggest, however, that Thorsby's research is inconclusive because his data may have been influenced by recent population contact. However, more recent work indicates