this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2025
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Ive seen it suggested that Polynesians might have gone to the Americas at some point (prior to their contact with Europeans familiar with the place that is), given that the presence of sweet potatoes and some genetic similarities. If such a thing did occur, I wonder if it was before or after the vikings visited.
The mere existence of sweet potatoes in Polynesia before 1492 is hardly proof -- they could've floated across by themselves or something.
What's really interesting is that the word for sweet potato is basically the same in Polynesian and Andean languages ("kumara"), and words don't float.