The Kon-Tiki expedition lead by Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl took a balsa reed raft similar to the ones used on Lake Titicaca all the way across the Pacific to Polynesia. The raft was made of only native materials and only with the tecnology that would have been availiable during Pre-Colombian times. This 1947 journey, that was believed impossible, shed new light on the possibilities of the people of both South America and Polynesia.