[blam]

"Genetics are only part of the sweet potato puzzle. Archaeological, anthropological, historical and other data all need to be considered, Roullier says. For instance, the Polynesian word for the tuber, “kuumala,” is extremely similar to the Andean people’s Quechuan word, “kumara.” This linguistic evidence for humans introducing sweet potatoes to the South Pacific is highly compelling, says anthropologist Seth Quintus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa."

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[Charles Martel]

That suggests the plants, or their seeds, somehow migrated across the ocean on their own, possibly via wind, water or birds.

I always knew that the coconut theory wasn't that far-fetched.

[chajin]

I YAM THAT I YAM - God

“I yam whats I yam, and that’s all that I yam” - Popeye

[fruser1]

What would be really impressive is if sweet-potato pie arrived there before humans.

[Rurudyne]

Don’t bet on it. Humans may not have left traces found yet but the standard view of mankind is so full of holes the Swiss would sell it as cheese.

[JimRed]

It’s all very nice to be curious and learn things...things of value. What value is there in knowing how long sweet potatoes have been in Polynesia and where they came from? Will that knowledge increase sweet potato production, or improve their nutritional content?

Bottom line, if they’re spending their own money to find out, no harm, no foul. But they’re usually spending OUR money! Apply this principle to all the interesting but useless studies going on; save us a bundle.

[moovova]

Chopped walnuts, brown sugar and mini-marshmallows weren’t far behind...

[Bryanw92]

Finally, proof that the colored version of Mr Potatohead did exist and he was quite the ocean traveler. But, eventually, he was killed off by humans who made little pedal-powered SUVs out of bamboo and palm fronds which destroyed the native habitats of the Mr Potatohead of Color. After that, the white Mr Potatoheads colonized the world, spreading their racism.

Note that according to a professor at NYU, the colored Mr Potatoheads were not originally the color of Trump’s hair. They were dark brown and built magnificent cities of crystal. After the white Mr. Potatohead colonized the world, the Trump-colored Mr Potatohead was created through rape and slavery.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

No kidding. The Pak brought them.

[SunkenCiv]

The researchers calculated the average rate of genetic change for the plant, determining that the Polynesian sweet potato diverged from its South American cousin at least 100,000 years ago. That suggests the plants, or their seeds, somehow migrated across the ocean on their own, possibly via wind, water or birds.

IOW, their calculations are a giant pile of crap. They should be calibrating their stupid model using reality, rather than trying to do the opposite. One way to do that would be to abandon the Clovis-First-and-Only nonsense, and admit humans have been in the Americas for 100s of 1000s of years.

For instance, the Polynesian word for the tuber, “kuumala,” is extremely similar to the Andean people’s Quechuan word, “kumara.” This linguistic evidence for humans introducing sweet potatoes to the South Pacific is highly compelling

Game, set, match.