SC - Re: Peanuts, Sweet Potatoes, Etc.

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 97-11-07 18:20:15 EST, you write:

<< Query:  "Accepted theory" by whom?  Where cited? 
 Query:  "At least 2 centuries before their arrival in Europe"  What 
 date would that make it?  The 1500s or earlier? >>

History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (Translated by Anthea Bell); pg.
65.

"The sweet potatoe comes from the equatorial forests of America. A widely
traveled tuber, it reached Polynesia two thousand years ago, and helps to
clarify the problem of contacts between the Pacific Islands and the north
coast of South America. It is an additional proof that Melano-Polynesian
migrations took place in ancient times. Until quite recently it was thought
that the sweet potato was introduced into Africa at the beginning of the
slave trade. We now have to put that date back several centuries, without
knowing how or why it got there. Perhaps across the Pacific, as the intrepid
Polynesian canoeists made their return journey from the coasts of Ecuador or
Columbia to the archipelagos, then on to either Malaysia and South-est Asia
or to East Africa by way of Madagascar. Maize, groundnuts, peppers and
cassava are thought to have accompanied  the sweet potato. The coconut palm,
 the banana tree and the taro ( a huge root known to the Romans) are also
believed to have travelled in the canoes, together with agricultural
techniques which are remarkably similar in all tropical regions (including
hoeing, brush fires, terrace cultivation and long fallow periods,
.......etc."

Ras








============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================