Saturday, March 16, 2024

The disappearance of Micheal Rockefeller, 1960

The disappearance of Micheal Rockefeller, 1960.

Michael Rockefeller was born in 1938. He was the grandson of John D. Rockefeller, one of the greatest businessmen in history, king of the oil industry, and one of the wealthiest people to have ever lived.

Michael took an interest in indigenous art and wanted to expose it to the Western world, so he traveled to Papua New Guinea, a large island in Oceania that was colonized by the Dutch.

Rockefeller would focus on the life and art of the Asmat people. The Asmat were an indigenous group that believed white people were supernatural spirits. Rockefeller returned to the United States after his first trip but went back to the Asmat people in 1961, this time with anthropologist René Wassing.

On their way to the island, their boat overturned. Rockefeller began swimming 22 km to shore, but Wassing stayed hanging onto the overturned boat.

Rockefeller was never seen again. Theories about what happened to the young man suggest he drowned or was eaten by a shark, but the most terrifying theory might be his cannibalization by the Asmat people.

It is speculated that Rockefeller was killed in revenge, as the Dutch mistreated the Asmat people. Cannibalism and headhunting in Asmat culture are usually carried out in murders executed for revenge.

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