The Westward Spread of Inca and Egyptian Culture

The Westward Spread of Inca and Egyptian Culture

The second half of the twentieth century has seen many changes in

theories

concerning the mode of colonization of the islands of Micronesia, and the

rise of the Inca

Empire, with it's striking similarities to Egypt. In the past, it has been

suggested that

Asians had worked their way through the Pacific, over a period of thousands

of years. It

was believed that each island group had formed independently, and that the

residents,

while they were of the same race, had totally different cultures. Since

the 1940's,

however, these views have been changing. It is now accepted by many

scholars that early

Egyptians sailed as far west as South America, in their huge reed boats.

In turn, the Incas,

who owe many of their technological advancements to these Egyptian

travelers, set sail to

the west, colonizing Easter Island, Hawaii, and the other Pacific islands.

The most common misconception about these early travels is that they

took place

on boats or ships. This is definitely not the case. In fact, the

Egyptians and Incas relied

on rafts; the Incas used balsa logs ( Kon-Tiki 21), the Egyptians

used bundles of papyrus

reeds (Ra 3). One striking piece of evidence for Egyptian-Inca contact is

the existence of

reed rafts on Lake Titicaca that are exactly like rafts used on Lake Chad

and the Nile (Ra

3). Of course, this could be merely coincidence, but much more evidence

exists to

support the theory of ancient contacts between Egyptians and Pre-Colombian

Incas.

The most positive, though hardly concrete, item is the legends of the

*I*Viracocha*/I* (which

translates as white man in English) people of Lake Titicaca in South

America. The

*...

... middle of paper ...

...from Atlantis, that brought the societies together.

Indeed, Heyerdahl's

theories, once considered outlandishly radical, are now considered tame by

many people.

The possibilities are certainly endless, but in light of the evidence so

far gathered, the idea

of westward migration seem the most logical explanation for the

similarities between

Egyptian and Inca cultures, and the colonization of the Pacific

Islands.

Bibliography:

Begley, Sharon; Chidega, Farai; et al. "Out of Egypt, Greece."

..... Western Civilization , Volume One. Conneticut: Dushkin,

.....1995.

Heyerdahl, Thor. Early Man and The Ocean . New York: Doubleday,

1979.

---. Kon-Tiki . New York: Pocket Books, 1973.

---. The Ra Expeditions . New York: Doubleday, 1970.

---. "The Voyage of Ra II." National Geographic . Jan. 1971:

44-71.