It really transformed Europe too. Europe's basically a story of famine after famine until they got access to the potato. I don't know if any other technology has saved as many European lives as the potato
replyPacific island cultures are a bit unique in their relationship to the New World though. Chickens which come from SE Asian jungles have been in South America since at least 1300 AD. And sweet potatoes were grown in Polynesia around 1000 AD.
1300 AD?! Did the Polynesians bring chickens with them? I knew about the sweet potatoes, but the chickens are a whole different manner.
replyChickens descend from jungle fowl, which were carried out into the Pacific from SE Asia.
replyYes exactly. We have chicken remains in Chile that are dated between 1304 and 1424. And we even have DNA confirmation from those bones that link them to modern Polynesian chicken populations. The tailless, blue-egged Araucana breed is still around today and is thought to predate Columbus
replyAsk a 5yr old. They've watched Moana a dozen times and can name a chicken character.
replyHis other book, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus"¹ is also excellent.
reply1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_A...