The mystery of the migratory potato
Feb 9, 2013 6:57:44 GMT -5
Post by Gerard on Feb 9, 2013 6:57:44 GMT -5
Few episodes in human history have been more remarkable than the movements of the Polynesians from their original home, somewhere in the Malayan region, to the widely scattered islands of the Pacific. These migrations were remarkable, not only because of the remoteness of the islands and the wonderful navigational skills of the voyagers, but also because they depended on the intimate knowledge of the ancient Polynesians of how plants could be used for all sorts of constructional purposes as well as for food and medicine.
The colonization of the islands, which wre previously uninhabited, began before the Christian era, and when Magellan, Drake and other European explorers arrived, the Polynesians had already established themselves on almost every habitable island in the tropical Pacific. Though so expert in seamanship and boat-building, before their contacts with Europeans, they were at a Neolithic stage of development. Their sea-going canoes were, however, so beautifully and elaborately made that when the French voyager, Bougainville, saw them in 1768, he was convinced that they had been carved with metal tools. In fact, the only tools the ancient Polynesians had were made from stone or sea-shells. Every part of their canoes was constructed from wood, leaves, fibres or other plant materials. Even the caulking was done with the gum of the bread-fruit tree.
The islands varied much in size - some were only a few square miles in area - and in physical characteristics. The "high islands," such as the Hawaiian group and Tahiti, are volcanic and were originally forested: the "low islands" are atolls or consist of uplifted coral limestone. Excepting New Zealand, all the islands were tropical, but relatively poor in resources. None had any land mammals or animals which could be used for food, other than birds and marine life. On the smaller coral islands, even water was sometimes scarce. The islands are often over three hundred miles apart, and on long voyages the Polynesians might be at sea for three weeks or more. In addition to food, water, fishing-tackle and materials for canoe repairs, they took with them live pigs, chickens and dogs, and the tubers, offsets and seeds of a large variety of cultivated plants.
There were successive waves of Polynesian migration into the Pacific, as well as movements between islands, as for instance the colonization of New Zealand from the Marquesas about 1300 AD. A detailed account of these migrations cannot be written as the early Polynesians kept no records and archæological evidence is fragmentary. All that is known about the early history of Polynesia depends on oral traditions, now fast vanishing, linguistic evidence and - above all - ethno-botany, the evidence from the plants the Polynesians introduced and cultivated.
It has long been clear that most Polynesian cultivated plants must have originated in the Malayan region. The exception is Ipomœa batatas, the sweet potato, which is widely grown through most of Polynesia. It is not known anywhere as a wild plant, but its nearest relatives live as vines in Colombia and Peru. Though it is certain that the sweet potato reached the islands from South America, when and how is still a mystery.
The colonization of the islands, which wre previously uninhabited, began before the Christian era, and when Magellan, Drake and other European explorers arrived, the Polynesians had already established themselves on almost every habitable island in the tropical Pacific. Though so expert in seamanship and boat-building, before their contacts with Europeans, they were at a Neolithic stage of development. Their sea-going canoes were, however, so beautifully and elaborately made that when the French voyager, Bougainville, saw them in 1768, he was convinced that they had been carved with metal tools. In fact, the only tools the ancient Polynesians had were made from stone or sea-shells. Every part of their canoes was constructed from wood, leaves, fibres or other plant materials. Even the caulking was done with the gum of the bread-fruit tree.
The islands varied much in size - some were only a few square miles in area - and in physical characteristics. The "high islands," such as the Hawaiian group and Tahiti, are volcanic and were originally forested: the "low islands" are atolls or consist of uplifted coral limestone. Excepting New Zealand, all the islands were tropical, but relatively poor in resources. None had any land mammals or animals which could be used for food, other than birds and marine life. On the smaller coral islands, even water was sometimes scarce. The islands are often over three hundred miles apart, and on long voyages the Polynesians might be at sea for three weeks or more. In addition to food, water, fishing-tackle and materials for canoe repairs, they took with them live pigs, chickens and dogs, and the tubers, offsets and seeds of a large variety of cultivated plants.
There were successive waves of Polynesian migration into the Pacific, as well as movements between islands, as for instance the colonization of New Zealand from the Marquesas about 1300 AD. A detailed account of these migrations cannot be written as the early Polynesians kept no records and archæological evidence is fragmentary. All that is known about the early history of Polynesia depends on oral traditions, now fast vanishing, linguistic evidence and - above all - ethno-botany, the evidence from the plants the Polynesians introduced and cultivated.
It has long been clear that most Polynesian cultivated plants must have originated in the Malayan region. The exception is Ipomœa batatas, the sweet potato, which is widely grown through most of Polynesia. It is not known anywhere as a wild plant, but its nearest relatives live as vines in Colombia and Peru. Though it is certain that the sweet potato reached the islands from South America, when and how is still a mystery.
