Archaeologists have found 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes in Peru.
Archaeologists have discovered two rare freeze-dried potato tubers, about 500 years old, in the ancient Inca center of Tambo Viejo on the arid southern coast of Peru. This was reported by the Science X news portal.
The tubers, known as chunyo, were found during excavations in the Akari Valley. Scientists emphasize that such a find is unique, as such samples have not been encountered by archaeologists for more than a century. The discovery of this product on the coast serves as physical proof that the Incas transported food across the vast empire from the high peaks of the Andes.
Dr. Lidio Valdez, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary in Canada
It was obvious that this was not just an ordinary find, but something special. I immediately told my team, "We're going to have a scientific paper here.
The ancient inhabitants of the Andes developed sublimation technology to solve the problem of rapid spoilage of fresh potatoes, which rotted in a week in a warm climate. To prepare chunyo, vegetables were exposed to extreme night frosts in the mountains, and then thawed under the intense daytime sun. Tubers of "white chunyo", which was made from bitter potato varieties by repeated soaking and drying, were discovered in Tambo Viejo. The resulting product could be stored for years.
Two brownish-white tubers with remnants of the peel were inside a ceramic jug embedded in the floor of the building. Together with them, a fragment of Inca tableware and a damaged spinning wheel lay in the vessel. According to Dr. Valdez, these related items confirmed that the potato dates back to the period of the Inca Empire, that is, to the XV–XVI centuries.
According to the publication, at that time potatoes served as "bread for the people." Spanish chroniclers described how caravans of llamas transported products, including chunyo, to various storage facilities throughout the country to provide labor.
Despite the widespread use of this product in ancient times, it is extremely rarely preserved in archaeological layers. The last time a similar find was made was more than 100 years ago in Lima. It is noted that the arid climate of the coast and being inside a closed vessel contributed to the preservation of potatoes in Tambo Viejo.
On June 23, Science Daily magazine reported the discovery of ancient fossil birds in a cave in New Zealand. According to scientists, it turned out to be a previously unknown ancestor of the famous cocoa parrot, which was named Strigops insulaborealis. In total, paleontologists have found the remains of 12 species of birds and four species of frogs in the cave.
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