Evidence for precolumbian connections between Polynesia and South America are trickling in these days; but what kind of connection and what is the evidence?
Background
Back in the mid-20th century, the idea that pre-Columbian voyages across the Pacific took place was promulgated by a small group of scientists and enthusiasts. Best known was the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, who built the raft KonTiki and sailed it across the Pacific in 1947, proving that it was possible. On the scientific side, American archaeologist Betty Meggers looked at the ceramic pots recovered from the 2500 BC site of Valdivia and saw body form and ceramic decoration similarities to the Middle Jomon period of Japan.
But neither of these ideas really made it into the mainstream, partly because, at least in Heyerdahl's case, they were couched in terms of population origins--that is to say, they were part of a discussion about whether the Polynesians originated from the Americas or vice versa. Further, crossing the Pacific with limited technology is not an easy journey by a long shot, as Heyerdahl showed; and for substantial cultural contact you need lots of people--basically, a colonization force that is not warranted by any substantial data anywhere to day.
While the ideas of massive colonization of either side of the Pacific have faded, the notion of contact of some sort between the South American coast and Polynesia is beginning to take on serious scholarship. Two recent areas of research have produced information concerning the trans-pacific crossings: sweet potatoes and chickens.
Sweet Potatoes and Trans-Pacific Voyages
Sweet potatoes (Ipomomea batatas) are a New World domesticate root crop, that originated in northern South America or Central America about 2500 years ago. Most of the world uses this very tasty and nutritious crop, and most of the world got the sweet potato due to the efforts of the Spanish and Portuguese explorers who found the sweet potato in Peru and Mexico and exported it to Europe and Africa. However, there is secure evidence that several of the Polynesian islands got the sweet potato long before Columbus and Magellan set sail.
In a 2008 article called Modeling the prehistoric arrival of the sweet potato in Polynesia, Alvaro Montenegro, Chris Avis, and Andrew Weaver describe a series of computer simulations of accidental drift voyages from different points in the Americas. Basically, researchers used ECCO data of hypothetical wind and tide currents for the Pacific and then hypothesized rafts setting off from the Pacific coastlines of North and South America. Their hypothetical movements were recorded, and, if a drifting vessel hit one of the target areas within 180 days--target areas being various islands or island groups in the Pacific--then the trip was recorded as successful.
And, of the 23 targets established in the Pacific, indeed 19 were hit, 16% with at least 1% probability, and eight with 2% or better. The most probable (11.45%) was from Central American and Mexico to the Marshall Islands. An interesting paper, and well worth a look.
- Montenegro, Álvaro, C. Avis, and Andrew Weaver. 2008. Modeling the prehistoric arrival of the sweet potato in Polynesia. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(2):355-367.
Polynesian Chickens in Chile
Chickens, on the other hand, originated in southeast Asia. The latest scoop on chickens is that they were domesticated from the red junglefowl, probably in Thailand, and probably about 8,000 years ago. They are believed to have reached the Polynesian islands about 3,000 years ago, brought by the Lapita expansion. Traditionally, it was thought that chickens were brought to the Americas by the Spanish or Portuguese, but Pizarro reported that when he reached Peru in 1532 the Incas already had domesticated chickens, and they played an important role in religious ceremonies.
A 2007 paper written by Alice Storey and colleagues entitled Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile, reports on excavations at the site of El Arenal-1. El Arenal-1 is located in south central Chile, and is part of the El Vergel Cultural Complex of horticulturalists, dated between AD 1000 and 1500. Fifty chicken bones were recovered from the site, representing a minimum of five birds. The bones themselves were radiocarbon dated, and returned a calibrated age range of AD 1304-1424.
Most interestingly, DNA studies indicate that these chickens were identical to chicken bones from two prehistoric sites in the Pacific: Mele Havea in Tonga (2000-1550 years old), and Fatu-ma-Futi in American Samoa, which dates to about the same period as El Arenal.
- Storey, Alice A. et al. 2007. Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, June 4, 2007.
