h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Mystery of the Sweet Potato - A1325044
Author: Master of the Dojo of Coolness - U208372

Thanks for giving this sucker a read-over. The information was gained when I was reasearching a slightly different topic for a class (I'm an anthropolgy major) and I decided it would make a nifty guide entry. If anyone is interested in this sort of thing there are many more entries on Polynesia which could easily be posted.
-Master of the Dojo

Is it known to be the very same plant and not convergent evolution?

Hi Master....

Ooh, I like this one. It's to do with food - my specialist subject Interesting topic.

Is it catagorical that sweet potatoes originated in S America and moved across to Polynesia - and not the other way round? What is the source of the evidence for your assertion? It might be a good idea to bung in a reference to research/publications.

Is there evidence of any other plant/animal species that have 'mysteriously' turned up in unexpected - and inexplicable - places? I can't think of any offhand, but I guess there might be some others - not sure where you'd find out.

Is it possible that the Polynesians were trading with S America? I know huge distances are involved, with little landfall along the way. However, fairly recently it's been accepted that trade was happening between the Far East and Europe back in the bronze age and perhaps before that. Is there any suggestion that may be the case across the Pacific?

One typo: "From previous experiances..." - should be "experiences".

I like this...


F/b

Interesting! I think this is an excellent entry and should certainly be picked soon.

I find the construction 'It is the opinion of this researcher that..' is very clumsy. I think you should just say 'Perhaps the greatest mystery of them all is that of the Sweet Potato'.

You should change the double quotes around "Mystery Islands" to single quotes: 'Mystery Islands'. That's the House Style here.

The greater mystery for me is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams...

And you might want to link to A767180 Thor Heyerdahl - Ethnologist


- Jimi X

Many thanks everybody for the commentary. I will try to answer as many as I can at once. First, the Sweet Potatoes of South America and Polynesia are quite defenitely known to be the same plant. Genetic analysis, etc confirms this.
This reason it is concluded that the plant originated in the Andes and not in Polynesia is complex. It involves many factors, including the fact that there are wild varients of the plant in South America but not in Polynesia, that its distribution in Polynesia is strange and irregular (it mostly grows in Easter Island, Hawaii, and New Zealand but rarely on the thousands of islands in between), and that it is a much more important aspect of South American culture than of Polynesian culture, indicating it has been there longer.
Thanks for the notes about typos, grammer, etc. I will make corrections as soon as I get a chance. Also thanks for the note about Thor, I wasn't aware he had his own entry in the Guide.
Finally, regarding cross-Pacific trade, this does seem to be the most likely possibility and is the one favoured by most modern specialists. However, it remains amazing to me that the Polynesians, great sailors though they were, could have crossed the 4000 km from Easter Island in a canoe against the prevailing easterly winds, had enough supplies remaining when they arrived to have something with which to trade, recognize the sweet potato as a food crop that could potentially grow in their homeland, sail back across the 4000 km while saving enough sweet potatoes that they would be able to plant them when they returned, and then from Easter managed to trade the plant over 2000 more kilometeres to the nearest island to Easter, the uninhabited Pitcairn Island of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, and continue trading it across the Pacific until it reached New Zealand. Truly an amazing story if this is in fact how it happened.
I will try to find some links to source material, but most of my research was in my local library so I don't really know of any useful web pages.
Thanks again to everyone,
-Master of the Dojo

Are you sure this is your first entry? It's written pretty well, and seems to get the from everyone so far.

First entry for the Guide, not the first thing I've ever written. I'm glad about the cheerful reception though.

Cracking entry MotDoC I enjoyed this.

Certain to be an excellent addition to the guide when it is picked Nice to see such a well-written,informative and balanced entry.

A few typos (most of which I missed on initially reading the entry, so engrossing was it, and only spotted when I dumped it into a spell-checker):
traveled > travelled
existance > existence
archeolgical > archeological
facilites > facilities
intial > initial
noone > no one
advancements > advances
anthropolgy > anthropology

Hope you don't mind me alerting you to them - scouts are encouraged to pick entries that need as little editing left to do as possible.

Pimmsaloonie

Is this ready, MotDoc? Let us know when you want us to give it the nod.

Ready to go guv'nor. Any time.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Woohoo! Automated messages are back! Yay!

Oh, and congrats!

Well done on your first h2g2 anthropological society entry

Pimms

Super entry. I had no idea that sweet potatoes were related to morning glory before I read this.

FM

Congratulations!

Coolness!



There's an ornamental sweet potato, Ipmoea 'Blackie' which can fill in warm garden bottom. But that it preferentially sprawls instead of climbing (which you can force it to do with props), it looks remarkably morningglorylike, especially when it blooms like mine is just doing.

Thank you all for your kind help. Feel free to look over my other two entries currently in peer review.

Congratulations MotDoC this entry has had its recommendation accepted - you'll be able to see it listed on ComingUp

Pimms Lettuce

Congratulations Motdoc


F/b