 Ryan has been entrusted with continuing some of the research aspects of Heyerdahl’s legacy.Other research by Ryan includes investigations of ancient Egyptian cordage and other technologies, studies of inscribed Egyptian funerary cones, 
biographical studies of early archaeologists including Giovanni Belzoni, studies of the influence of antiquity on culture and the arts, and the documentation of petroglyphs on the island of Hawaii.As a writer and researcher, Ryan is the author of numerous scientific and popular articles on archaeological subjects.