Given that the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is native to South America, is it true that the Polynesians already had it with them when they settled Easter Island?
A. The short answer: Yes, the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is native to South America and, as far as has been determined, it may well have been brought to the island by Polynesians when Rapa Nui was settled. The longer answer: Though Thor Heyerdahl made much of the presence of the sweet potato elsewhere in Polynesia (and on Easter Island in particular) to bolster his now defunct diffusionist theory of a South American origin for (or presence on) Easter Island in its pre-history, even if we do not know for certain how the sweet potato reached Polynesia (one compelling argument is that eastern Polynesians visited the coast of South America and brought the sweet potato back with them; see below), we have reason to believe it was in Polynesia before Easter Island was settled (there are wild species of sweet potato in southeast Asia) and, based on what we know about the culinary and technological traits of the Polynesians, it s a reasonable assumption that they brought the sweet potato wi
