In 1947, a young ambitious Norwegian explorer set out to sail across the Pacific Ocean. His name was Thor Heyerdahl. He sailed in a primitive wooden raft called the Kon-Tiki. He was trying to test two theories. The first theory was that a wooden raft could actually float and could be sailed a significant distance. Many scholars laughed at the idea of a wooden raft crossing the perilous Pacific Ocean. They thought bamboo (the primary wood used on the Kon-Tiki) would become water-logged and soon sink. The second theory was about where the native tribes from the South Sea Islands came from. Hundreds of years ago, other explorers found that people lived on these islands. There were even stone statues similar to those found in Peru, South America. Heyerdahl thought they may have come from South America.