Why archaeologists are arguing about sweet potatoes

www.popsci.com ^ | 04/13/2018 | Staff

[nutmeg]

Thought you might be interested in this ;-)

[RegulatorCountry]

They’re very shelf-stable if you keep them dry, cool and dark. Very nutritious, too. I can see why sailors might like them.

[Red Badger]

They travel pretty well, so ships crews would not have had much trouble................

[RegulatorCountry]

A yam is an African sweet potato, there are some differences between what we typically call yams and what we call sweet potatoes.

[LonePalm]

I saw it thanks.

Sweet Potatoes are not potatoes. They are in the Morning Glory family. They are also quite different from yams. Despite how they may be labeled in the grocery store, in the US they are ALL sweet potatoes. True yams look very different and are indigenous to west Africa.

Tomatoes, Potatoes, Capsicum Peppers, Eggplants(Aubergine), and Tobacco are all very closely related in the Nightshade family.

Onions and garlic are lilies. Apples are in the rose family and vanilla is an orchid.

'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[PIF]

There is every reason to believe, but no definitive proof, that the megalithic structures underwater off Japan were made by the Jomon, who predate the melting of the glaciers of the Ice Age.

[Red Badger]

I read an article similar to this many years ago, before the
Internet, on bananas. There is a similar controversy about the spread of bananas...............

[Oklahoma]

Just because someone calls a dog a cat doesn’t make the dog a cat.

Yams are monocots and sweet potatoes are dicots. They aren’t even closely related.

[SpinnerWebb]

So, we can blame sweet potatoes on the poor bathroom habits of birds?

Well... they have probably contributed to mine

[PIF]

The theory is getting closer to actual proof with the discovery of Gobekli Tepe dating from 12,000 BC.

Then there is the Comet Strike theory - a mile wide comet fragment struck the Ice cap, instantly converting trillions of tons of ice to water, initiating worldwide floods as shorelines rose up to 700 feet in places.

These are indicating that there was a worldwide highly developed megalithic civilization over 12,000 years ago which was destroyed overnight. The trauma caused us to forget as we fought for survival. Only ‘myths’ remain of those times.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Ham and yams, about as good as it can get!

Following wave patterns and the stars, whatever they had to do to get some ham & yams was worth the trip!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger.

The recent paper in Current Biology argues that DNA evidence suggests the Pacific Island sweet potato family branched off from the American one long before humans were sailing. Thus, the seeds or the veggies themselves must have floated their way across the ocean. This actually isn’t as crazy an idea as it sounds. It’s the primary way that biologists think coconuts spread from island to island—the coconuts float from shore to shore.

Oh look, BS. Coconuts won't survive the floating trip in seawater, even if one arrives it is DOA. Same goes for a sweet potato, obviously. How woould one test that? Try it, y'know, as Thor Heyerdahl did during his Kon-Tiki expedition. The notion that the food crops were on the island upon firstt arrival has already been disproved.

[21twelve]

Yep - I thought of birds right off. I can’t imagine their being an west-east migration route, but perhaps a bird getting caught up in a storm would do it. Although I’m not sure that is the direction of normal weather patterns. But - give things 5,000 years to happen, I’m guessing the odds are for a bird making it to Asia from South America.

[21twelve]

I should have looked before I posted. Prevailing winds move north along the west coast of South America, get near the equator, then head west towards SE Asia.

[gnarledmaw]

Everyone knows that they are carried by swallows.

[SunkenCiv]

Maiden name Spitz.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

When the Sea Venture was wrecked on Bermuda it was uninhabited, but there were wild hogs there. Someone must have brought them.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LiM!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

A little wikipedia research reveals that Europeans were known to have been aware of Bermuda at least from 1498, but there were no records of habitation prior to the Sea Venture. I still do not know if any DNA analysis has been done to find the origin of the wild pigs.

[JimRed]

Oh look, BS. Coconuts won't survive the floating trip in seawater, even if one arrives it is DOA.

There are palm trees on the south and west coast of Ireland, likely from seeds brought from the tropics on the Gulf Stream. They generally don't thrive and produce fruit, but never say never.