Crops
Sweet Potato
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The sweet potato is a starchy tuberous root crop of the morning glory family, grown as a staple food across the tropics and cultivated as well for its edible leaves and vines. It originates in South America, in what is present-day Ecuador, and was domesticated in Central or South America by at least 5,000 years ago; the oldest radiocarbon-dated remains come from Peru's Chilca Canyon, dated to roughly 8080 BC. Its pre-Columbian presence across Polynesia is a long-debated puzzle: genetic ties between Polynesian and Indigenous American peoples and a striking linguistic parallel between the Proto-Polynesian word kumala and the Quechua and Aymara word k'umar have led most scholars toward a pre-Columbian contact model, in which Polynesian voyagers reached South America and returned with the plant.
Facts
Scientific Name Domestication RegionCentral or South America (wild origin in present-day Ecuador) 1 Domesticated When (Circa)At least 5,000 years ago; oldest radiocarbon-dated remains circa 8080 BC, Chilca Canyon, Peru 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
A New World domesticate; its post-1492 adoption across the Old World is part of the Columbian Exchange, distinct from and later than its separately debated pre-Columbian Polynesian presence.
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