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Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl Quotes

Ethnographer

Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and explorer, renowned for his in-depth studies of South American indigenous cultures. His writings and expeditions, particularly his research on the possible connections between Polynesia and South America, have had a profound impact on the field of anthropology.

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Famous Thor Heyerdahl Quotes

“თანამედროვე ადამიანები მივეჩვიეთ, რომ ჩვენ უძველესი ადამიანებისაგან დიდად განვსხვავდებით, სინამდვილეში კი არავითარი ამის მსგავსი არაა, თუმცა მართალია, სხვანაირად ვცხოვრობთ, რადგან გვაქვს აღმოჩენები და ვიცვამთ კიდეც განსხვავებულად.”

Humans Humanity Nature Mankind Human Humanity And Society Georgian

Book:Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

Source: Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

“ადამიანი განუყოფელი, ბუნების ზრუნვის საგანია და არა მასთან მებრძოლი ლტოლვილი. ცივილიზებულმა ადამიანმა ომი გამოუცხადა გარემოს, ბრძოლა გამართა ყველა მატერიკზე და მოიცვა ყველაზე შორეული კუნძულები. ბუნებასთან ბრძოლის დროს ადამიანს შეიძლება იმედი ჰქონოდა, რომ ყოველგვარ ბრძოლაში გაიმარჯვებდა, გარდა უკანასკნელი, გადამწყვეტი ბრძოლისა. იმიტომ, რომ ასეთი გამარჯვება ჩვენ დაღუპვას ნიშნავს: შეუძლებელია იცოცხლოს ნაყოფმა, ჭიპლარს რომ მოიკვეთს. დანარჩენი ცოცხალი ორგანიზმები უადამიანოდაც გაძლებენ, როგორც წინათ ძლებდნენ. მაგრამ ადამიანი მათ გარეშე არ გაჩნდებოდა ამ ქვეყანაზე და ვერც იცოცხლებდა თუ ისინი გაქრებოდნენ. ბუნებაში ცხოვრება ბიოლოგიის ყველა სახელმძღვანელოზე ნათლად გვიჩვენებდა, რომ ყველა ცოცხალი არსება ერთმანეთზეა დამოკიდებული. ქალაქში ნაწილობრივ ვსარგებლობდით გარემოს სიკეთით. ახლა კი გარემოს ნაწილად ვიქეცით და განსაკუთრებით მწვავედ ვიგრძენით, რომ ბუნება დიდი კოლექტივია, რომლის წევრები შეგნებულად ან არაშეგნებულად ერთ მთლიანს ემსახურებიან. მიმდინარეობს მეგობრებისა და მტრების ყოვლისმომცველი თანამშრომლობა, რომელიც პირდაპირ ან არაპირდაპირ უზრუნველყოფს ყველა პარტნიორის არსებობას. თანამშრომლობა ევოლუციის ყველა რგოლს აერთიანებს, მხოლოდ ადამიანი გამოვიდა მარტოხელა მებრძოლის როლში. ყველაფერი, რაც დახოხავს და ყვავის, ყველაფერი, რასაც ჩვენ, ადამიანები ვასხურებთ შხამებს ან ვხურავთ ასფალტით, რათა სისუფთავე იყოს ქუჩებსა და სახლებში, ასე თუ ისე მდუმარედ ემსახურება ჩვენს კეთილდღეობას, ყოველი მათგანი კი საჭიროა, რათა ადამიანის გული სცემდეს, რათა შეგვეძლოს ვისუნთქოთ და ვჭამოთ.”

Humanity Nature Mankind Human Mankind S Place

Book:Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

Source: Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

“სხვადასხვა ღმერთებისადმი რწმენა იქ წარმოიშობა, სადაც მათ ადამიანების მიერ შექმნილ გამოსახულებებსა და კედლებს შორის მოამწყვდევენ...”

God Humanity Nature Mankind Human Gods Human Culture

Book:Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

Source: Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

“Otherwise he was glad we had missed our landing, for he still had three books to read.”

Book:Kon-Tiki

Source: Kon-Tiki

“Purgatory was a bit damp,’ said Bengt, ‘but heaven was more or less as I’d imagined it.”

Heaven Purgatory

Book:Kon-Tiki

Source: Kon-Tiki

“We are not talking about esthetics. We are talking about life: survival of Man. We must train young people to get another vision of Nature. We call it 'wilderness,' and we think it is progress to get further and further away from it. How crazy! Where would we have been if Nature had not built us up?”

People Ifs Thinking Men Has Beens Young Talking Vision Progress Crazy Survival Built Train Environmental Wilderness Not Talking

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Circumstances cause us to act the way we do. We should always bear this in mind before judging the actions of others. I realized this from the start during World War II.”

World Way Should Mind War Action Causes Judging Bears Circumstances I Realized War Of The Worlds World War Ii

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity.”

Men Simple Ability Progress Civilization Simplicity Complication

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“In my experience, it is rarer to find a really happy person in a circle of millionaires than among vagabonds.”

Persons Circles Millionaire Really Happy Happy Person Vagabonds

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Those who have experienced the most, have suffered so much that they have ceased to hate. Hate is more for those with a slightly guilty conscience, and who by chewing on old hate in times of peace wish to demonstrate how great they were during the war.”

War Hate Wish Conscience Guilty Chewing Guilty Conscience

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“In fighting nature, man can win every battle except the last. If he should win that too, he will perish, like an embryo cutting its own umbilical cord.”

Ifs Men Should Lasts Fighting Winning Cutting Battle Cords Embryos Umbilical Cord

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“One learns more from listening than speaking.And both the wind and the people who continue to live close to nature still have much to tell us which we cannot hear within university walls.”

People Stills Wind Wall Listening University

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“A civilized nation can have no enemies, and one cannot draw a line across a map, a line that doesn't even exist in nature and say that the ugly enemy lives on the one side, and good friends live on the other.”

Nations Sides Lines Enemy Draws Ugly Maps Civilized Good Friend Best Friend Civilized Nations

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“I have never been able to grasp the meaning of time. I don't believe it exists. I've felt this again and again, when alone and out in nature. On such occasions, time does not exist. Nor does the future exist.”

Believe Doe Able Time Felt Awareness Don't Believe Occasions Again And Again

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“I was in uniform for four years, and I know that heroism doesn't occur from taking orders, but rather from people who through their own willpower and strength are willing to sacrifice their lives for an idea.”

People Knows Years Ideas Order Four Sacrifice Willing Four Years Heroism Uniforms Willpower

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“I don't believe in war as a solution to any kind of conflict, nor do I believe in heroism on the battlefield because I have never seen any.”

Believe Kind War I Believe Conflict Solutions Don't Believe I Believe In Heroism Battlefields

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“We must wake up to the insane reality of our time. We are all irresponsible, unless we demand from the responsible decision makers that modern armaments must no longer be made available to people whose former battle axes and swords our ancestors condemned.”

People Made Reality Decision Modern Battle Demand Wake Up Responsible Available Insane Former Our Time Makers Ancestor Irresponsible Axes Armament Decision Makers

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“It is also rarer to find happiness in a man surrounded by the miracles of technology than among people living in the desert of the jungle and who by the standards set by our society would be considered destitute and out of touch.”

People Men Would Be Technology Standards Miracle Desert Our Society Jungle Finding Happiness Destitute Standards Set

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Surrounded by military airplanes and warships from the world's most civilized and developed nations, we have been denied permission by friendly governments, for reasons of security, to land anywhere, but in the tiny, and still neutral, Republic of Djibouti.”

World Has Beens Stills Reason Government Nations Land Security Military Tiny Friendly Civilized Republic Denied Airplane Permission Warships Developed Nations

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Civilization grew in the beginning from the minute that we had communication - particularly communication by sea that enabled people to get inspiration and ideas from each other and to exchange basic raw materials.”

People Ideas Inspiration Sea Minutes Materials Communication Grew Civilization Raw Materials

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Any scientist can testify that a dead ocean means a dead planet .... No national law, no national precautions can save the planet. The ocean, more than any other part of our planet, ... is a classic example of the absolute need for international global action.”

Needs Mean Action Law Example Planets Ocean Scientist Absolutes International Classic Our Planet Precaution Save The Planet

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Man invents the most inhuman armaments to assault others so like himself that uniforms are needed to distinguish between friend and foe.”

Men Needed Uniforms Assault Foe Inhuman Armament

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“It says in the Bible, in plain words, that God made a self-portrait. He created man in His own image - man and woman - for God is Love.Why should we start thinking of a god up in the clouds with wings, if He dwells within us in the spirit of Love?!”

Ifs Thinking Men Should Made Self Spirit Men And Women Wings Clouds Portraits God Is Love Self Portrait Self Portrait Photography

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Am going to cross Pacific on a wooden raft to support a theory that the South Sea islands were peopled from Peru. Will you come? I guarantee nothing but a free trip to Peru and the South Sea islands and back, but you will find good use for your technical abilities on the voyage. Reply at once.' Next day the following telegram arrived from Torstein: COMING. TORSTEIN.”

Use Next Ability Support Sea Theory Crosses South Following Islands Guarantees Next Day Voyages Pacific Peru Telegrams

Book:Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft

Source: Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft

“Borders I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people.”

People Inspirational Mind Existence Heard Adventure Travel Borders

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“Once in a while you find yourself in an odd situation. You get into it by degrees and in the most natural way but, when you are right in the midst of it, you are suddenly astonished and ask yourself how in the world it all came about.”

World Way Inspirational Funny Asks Natural Situation Degrees Odd Midst Finding Yourself

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“...arranging the journey was so difficult. Getting home again was much easier.”

Home Difficult Journey Easier Sailing Arranging

Book:Aku-Aku The Secret of Easter Island

Source: Aku-Aku The Secret of Easter Island

“Land! An island! We devoured it greedily with our eyes and woke the others, who tumbled out drowsily and stared in all directions as if they thought our bow was about to run on to a beach. Screaming seabirds formed a bridge across the sky in the direction of the distant island, which stood out sharper against the horizon as the red background widened and turned gold with the approach of the sun and the full daylight.”

Ifs Eye Running Sun Sky Land Approach Red Gold Aging Backgrounds Beach Bridges Islands Horizon Bows Daylight

Book:The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas

Source: The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas

“I also believe that when one dies, one may wake up to the reality that proves that time does not exist.”

Believe May Doe Reality Dies Prove Wake Up

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“This world has seen a great many civilizations. And many of them have survived for longer periods than ours up to the present. They were all as sure as we are today of having founded the first eternal civilization. We today differ from them in having our western civilization spread to embrace the entire planet, leaving no room on any continent for any other culture to take over if we fail.”

“It is progress when weapons are improved to kill more people at a longer range.”

People Progress Weapons Range

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“It is progress when a centuries-old oak is cut down to give space for a road sign.”

Giving Space Cutting Progress Century Oaks Road Sign

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“For every minute, the future is becoming the past.”

Past Minutes Becoming

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“In a city a man may feel second to none. But alone in the immensity of the universe, among all the creatures that preceded man and built up the human species, even a most fervent atheist will wonder if Darwin found the visible road but not the invisible mechanism.”

Ifs Men Feels Humans May God Universe Found Cities Wonder Creatures Built Species Atheist Invisible Visible Mechanism Human Species Immensity Fervent

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“We have always been taught that navigation is the result of civilization, but modern archeology has demonstrated very clearly that this is not so.”

Results Modern Taught Civilization Navigation Archeology

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

“But if we begin thinking about the world being over 100 million years old, then it's absolutely by chance that you and I are sitting here alive today, while all the others are dead or have never been born.”

Ifs Thinking World Years Today Born Chance Millions Alive Sitting Live For Today

Author:Thor Heyerdahl

About the Author

Born: October 6, 1914
Died: April 18, 2002
Known for: Ethnographer
Quotes: 36

Related Topics

People Ifs Men World Civilization Progress Believe Human Humanity Mankind

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Fatu-Hiva: Back to NatureRelated source material

Kon-TikiRelated source material

Aku-Aku The Secret of Easter IslandRelated source material

Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by RaftRelated source material

The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South SeasRelated source material

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