Did Polynesians Reach America? DNA evidence

[@StefanMilo]

The first 100 people to use code STEFANMILO at the link below will get 60% off of Incogni: incogni.com/stefanmilo"

[@formulajuan6038]

I thought you'd been hacked

[@cattymajiv]

Stefan, can I ask you what you do for a living? I mean in a general way. I can't picture a man with kids being able to do this if he works in, for example, the concrete industry, or the financial industry, or any unrelated feild of endeavor. So I'm intrigued. But if you choose not to say, I'm ok with it, and I still love you and your work. (And your beautiful eyes and face, and great relatable manner, on top of your honesty and and intelligence. LOL! Not kidding!) Lotsa love from Canada! ❤ ❤ ❤

[@fmac6441]

The study "Paths and timings of the peopling of Polynesia inferred from genomic networks" appears twice as a source in the description. However, the video appears to be very well researched. Congratulations on the brilliant work

[@richardh8082]

@@cattymajiv And his lovely voice. So soothing :)

[@hugod2000]

Amazing and fascinating video. Thank you for posting. 🙏

[@StefanMilo]

What's extremely important to note here, is that I appreciate you watching.

[@DingbatToast]

Love your vids dude 🙏🍻

[@Giuachino]

As a side note I would like to remind you, you’re a great person who has thought me a lot about the origin of me and the rest of your viewers! Never stop being you, we love you! ❤

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

We appreciate what you do, Stefan!

[@Akkordeondirigent]

I very much appreciate science based quality content like yours. So thank you very much!

[@bennichols1113]

545 am and I must have woken up for this. Yay

[@modusartsgroup]

What a great channel. Really refreshing. No "ancient aliens" artifices and, bonus, a sandbagged frontline against them. Many thanks, Stefan Milo! Really good.

[@hannahbrown2728]

If you havent found World of Antiquity or Miniminuteman theyre both exceptional channels just like Stefans.

[@grades6831]

@@hannahbrown2728miniminute man annoying. Stefan far superior

[@hannahbrown2728]

@@grades6831 I mean to each their own, I find him very entertaining and down to earth, which is a quality I think he shares with Stefan in abundance. We shouldnt disparge folks who are fighting a good fight because they dont strike the cords we vibe with most, dont you think?

[@bagbroch9339]

We should be allowed to eat the people who make those channels…

[@Thunderous333]

​@@hannahbrown2728 They didn't disparage it, they literally just gave you their taste. This isn't some cosmic avengers level reddit threat, it's entertainers and my man reserves the right to his opinion and support to anyone he wants. Chill man.

[@paiwanhan]

Taiwanese here. Austronesian speaking Taiwanese cultures were famous for several thing in prehistory. 1. Pottery, which they would decorate by pressing shell or rope to make indentations. 2. Making clothes from the bark of paper mulberry trees. 3. Tattooing both face and body. 4. Removing front teeth, as well as blacken teeth for beauty. 5. Betel nut is culturally important because it's a symbol of love. 6. Manufacturing jade accessories including long jade tubes and jade pendants, and traded them to the Philippine islands and Vietnam. 7. Musical instruments such as Austronesian styled Jew harp and nose flute. 8. Wearing really long tubes, such as jade tubes mentioned above, as earrings, through pretty big holes in the ear lobes. Many of these traditions made it all the way to Polynesia, especially the paper mulberry trees, which can be traced back to Taiwan using DNA.

[@StefanMilo]

That's so cool! thank you for sharing that

[@AfricanMaverick]

The claim that farming came to Oceania with Taiwanese farmers just 5,000 years ago, doesn’t hold grounds and doesn't explain the differences in physique between Taiwanese and Polynesians. Most likely, that claim will soon be debunked once more research is done. Certainly, Taiwanese farmers came however, there’s a strong possibility that the older humans who had lived in much of Oceania had already started farming, long before Taiwanese farmers came. This peer-reviewed study from the Max Planck Institute shows that proto-farming might have already been in the tropics of Papua New Guinea as early as 45,000 years ago.

[@AfricanMaverick]

Polynesians have more East Asian admixtures from an archaic Hun Chinese/ Taiwanese group.

[@absentmindedshirokuma8539]

@@AfricanMaverick aboriginal taiwanese IS NOT the same with later han immigration. It's aboriginal taiwanese that Polynesian.

[@obrnenydrevokocur9344]

@@AfricanMaverick "proto-farming might have already been in the tropics of Papua New Guinea as early as 45,000 years ago." The earliest signs of human presence in what is now Papua New Guinea are from 45,000 years ago. They started to independently develop agriculture "only" 7,000 years ago. The spread of these agricultural methods was rather slow, after all there still are hunter-gatherer groups on the island even today.

[@OffWhiteDaz]

This is one of my favourite KZbin channels. This is how science is supposed to be presented. Lays out complex hypotheses in an easy to follow way. I love the fact that you don't pretend to know everything and present all competing theories and evidence to support them. Keep up the good work

[@rooknado]

Fantastic review! Ive been following for a long time but this is the perfect way to put it :)

[@peterpinn5330]

Absolutely the reason why I love this channel. No "final truth", no " scientists will hate this", but a solid, respectful way of presenting things. That's my kind of science ethics.

[@dixonbeejay]

Absolutely interesting I'm from (Aotearoa) the name was given from a Chiefs wife (Kupe) he travelled from (Rangiatea) or (Raiatea) (taputapuatea) the canoe was called (Aotea) rough estimation around 1600-1700AD before settlers arrived on shore ...a verry interesting story in our Ancestry (Whakapapa) (va'apapa) is the story of (Maui) in our stories he was the first person to find this country In which Europeans Called ( Nu Zielander) New Zealand).. the original name was called (Te Ika a Maui) the Fish of Maui) legend how he fished this island with his brothers...many stories of (Maui) his full name we call him is (Maui-Tikitiki-a-taranga) Also known as (Tiki) origins We have several different tribes that talk about different ancestors (Aoraki) and (Maui) is one of the oldest Ancestors we have in our lineage Here is our lineage Io nui Io Roa Io te Mataho Io te Matua Io take take Io wananga Io tikitiki te rangi Papatuanuku Ranginui Tanenuiarangi Hineahuone Hineahuarangi Hinetitama Murirangawhenua Hineatarangaroiterūpetu Maui Mua Maui roto Maui Pai Maui taha (Maui tikitiki ataranga)

[@hernawanrahmadi1545]

How ironic that Thor Heyerdahl met 'tei tetua' and informed that their ancestors are from The East. While I am from Java and living in Sumatra, half a globe away west of Fatu Hifa, I linguistically understood that 'tei tetua' literally means ancestor or elderly.

[@mrbaab5932]

Because Indonesia was settled by the native Taiwaneze and left their language. Just like Easter Island.

[@robertscheinost179]

The cardinal points are social constructs. South could have been his North.They WERE in the Southern Hemisphere and the star referred to as the Southern Cross is the sky's most notable, most important celestial feature.

[@davidbeddoe6670]

@@robertscheinost179 That's retarded. Every people you think of as native to the Southern hemisphere has had well-remembered roots in the Northern Hemisphere. East was seen at the direction by which you ORIENT yourself in navigation since forever, for humanity, because that's where the sun "comes from". It's no more a social construct than is gravity. Though I'm sure you consider the term "Orient" to be somehow racist as well. **Fapping hand-motion**

[@chrsmcfrln]

@@robertscheinost179 that might be true for continental societies who can use mountain ranges and rivers for reference, but not in the Pacific. Pacific cultures use cardinal points for true direction.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

Yep malayopolynesian languages have very sumilar core vocabulary.. Even counting sounds simikar

[@MNVelo]

This is one of my favorite subjects. The discovery of the pacific islands by Polynesian navigators is one of mankind’s most awe inspiring achievements and their navigation techniques are amongst the greatest pre-industrial technologies.

[@scania1982]

How the fxck did they find Hawaii?

[@bozo5632]

​@@scania1982 Polynesian sea magic.

[@AfricanMaverick]

_The Polynesians knew the language of the stars. They had a highly developed navigation system that involved not only observation of the stars as they rose and crossed the night sky, but the memorisation of entire sky charts. Throughout the Pacific, island navigators taught young men the skills acquired over generations. Navigational knowledge was a closely guarded secret within a navigator family, and education started at an early age. In Kiribati, for example, lessons were taught in the maneaba (meeting house) where rafters and beams were sectioned off to correspond to a segment of the night sky. The position of each star at sunrise and sunset and the star paths between islands were etched into memory. Stones and shells were placed on mats or in the sand to teach star-lore. Karakia (prayer) and oral stories contained references to navigation instructions. Te Ika-roa, for example, meant the Milky Way; Atua-tahi is Canopus; Tawera is Venus the morning star; Meremere is Venus the evening star. The following are navigational instructions from Kupe:_ Polynesian Navigation & Settlement of the Pacific - worldhistory

[@MNVelo]

@@scania1982in addition to advanced stellar navigation, it seems they also used knowledge of wave patterns, ocean currents, bird migration, cloud formations and even patterns of bioluminescence to identify potential locations of undiscovered islands. I’m sure there are numerous other systems of knowledge that I’m leaving out of my response, but looking into of any of those techniques should provide a few fascinating rabbit holes to explore.

[@lost_porkchop]

@@scania1982 They were looking for resort locations when they bumped into it/them

[@garygreen2146]

I am a Maori New Zealander, thank you for this upload about pre-European Polynesian and Indigenous people of the Americas. This basically gels with our own oral histories , nice to see scientific research catching up with Polynesian traditional knowledge

[@eeeaten]

I can only think of one aspect of Māori oral history that could be relevant: that kumara was present in nz before the arrival of Columbus in the americas. Is there something else you had in mind?

[@blazer9547]

Thing about science is that it waits for no one. Scientific research would soon debunk Maori understandings and way of knowings. Would you be sympathetic to sciences then?

[@eeeaten]

@@blazer9547 what do you mean? Māori knowledge and understanding is based on the natural world: what works and what doesn’t work based on observation and prediction. There are myths and magical explanations that can be shown to be untrue, but tikanga exists for good reasons.

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

Is there a birdman in your culture?

[@Robespierre-lI]

I'm really stretching my mind here to try to reason out why Maori oral history would support a speculative hypothesis about something that may or may not have happened in the far, far away eastern extremeties of Polynesia. I'm fairly certain I must not be aware of the particular oral histories you have in mind, but I am a historian and I'm not entirely ignorant about this subject matter (though Polynesia is definitely not my research area.) If you could refer me to anything in particular, I would be interested. Don't take my skepticism as a lack of interest. Quite the contrary.

[@neesaljohnson86]

This is when I am grateful fir the algorithms in You tube. Don't know what relationship was between looking at a video and Chilean fashion and Bolivian fashion and indigenous people yesterday but here you are. Thank you for your enlightening information and articulated description of genome data. Truly amazing

[@michaelwale9933]

Stefan has single handily opened up my interest in DNA studies and archaeology.

[@a.wenger3964]

I highly recomend David Reich's book: "Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past" It was published in 2018, but there's so much good information in there about the Ancient DNA revolution in archeaology being so recent but transformative for understanding the past.

[@GuyInAChair3]

I want to recommend a podcast called "The Insight" they are not currently putting out new content, and their last episode was in mid 2020. However they have a lot of episodes, and they go into great detail about genetics and ancient DNA. They have an episode that is an interview with the author of the study discussed here who showed that the Polynesians likely reached the Americas.

[@GuyInAChair3]

@@a.wenger3964 That is a very good book, I'll double this recommendation.

[@TheFutureMike]

He actually has two hands.

[@bigguy7353]

This has been known for a couple decades. There's also DNA evidence that suggests ancient Chinese and even Hebrew or some Caucasian people from around the Sinai peninsula made it to The Americas (not just "America") as long as 800-1200 years ago.

[@MrThrashmetal101]

Hey man, I’m from New Zealand. Polynesian Māori. I appreciate the effort you put into this, you pretty much nailed it 👍🏾. In our oral history our tribes (iwi) discovered different parts of New Zealand to settle in as far back as the 1200s.

[@libraryofthoughts0]

That's very intriguing! greetings from Finland!

[@heatherhawkless484]

what do you think about the "skeletons in the closet" documentary? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnOpoXqXrrV0itU

[@OlohanaYoung]

u r wrong.. Aotearoa was populated well after all the rest of Polynesia... try read a book or 10

[@edwardlatimer2239]

All studies on settlement in Aotearoa were done in the 30 and 40 Technology has improved thousand per cent since then and researchers 4:36 4:36 need to revisit and reanalyze what people wrote back then

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

Is there a birdman in your culture?

[@andywhelan8608]

Videos like this are why Stefan is one of the best science communicators in the world. Fantastic work.

[@SenorTucano]

I visited RapaNui last year and heard some of them talking in their language. Incredibly I could understand them and they were astonished when I greeted them in New Zealand Māori.

[@ericrushine]

That is really interesting and indicates that the divergence is more recent. Not proof but an indication.

[@k0lpA]

@@ericrushine Maybe they didn't just diverge once, like it could be that it was relatively common to have groups of polynesians get to RapaNui ?

[@aliciacantin7993]

​@@k0lpAwithout proof anything is possible but language tends to change relatively quickly, so the fact it was understandable indicates a 'recent' situation (relatively)

[@AndreLobov]

​@@ericrushine"not proof but an indication" it's funny you think you've stumbled upon some new knowledge when linguists have known forever that the languages are closely related 😂

[@teatarou]

Apparently ’iorana and Kia Ora (which already sound pretty similar) mean the same thing, something along the lines of “have life!”

[@PhotoTrekr]

Polynesians might well have reached South America in the past. It's amazing how they navigated the Pacific ocean.

[@AfricanMaverick]

The Australo-Melanesian/Andamanese ancestors of Polynesians had contact with Amerindians pre-Colombian times. Polynesian ancestors sailed back from the Americas bringing Native American admixture into the Pacific islands. This study details the admixture. _Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement | Nature_

[@robertscheinost179]

I liken it to a prehistoric moon shot.

[@_Opal_Miner_]

You have to go fairly far South before you encounter any prevailing Westerley winds that would allow you to travel across the Pacific to South America. You would have definitely encountered and settled New Zealand 1st.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@robertscheinost179 Can you imagine the failed voyages? How many went out? How many unsuccessful voyages returned and how many had no survivors? Maybe there were other points of contact but the return voyage was unsuccessful. What are the odds that the single voyage that made contact wasn’t preceded and followed by other attempts? All that said, my biggest question is, “so what?”. Or to rephrase it, What effect did this contact have on the Polynesian and American cultures? The camote (or sweet potato) is one evidence of an exchange. Possibly the poultry. The genetics, of course. But is there any evidence of influence in either direction? I’ve asked the same question about pre-Columbus European settlement on Greenland. Did it have any discernible effect on nearby American populations? Did the American people have cultural interactions with the Europeans? The answers there seem to be “no”.

[@1marcelo]

Actually, the genetic study mentioned in the video demonstrates that Polynesians never reached South America

[@nicholassmith5611]

In Hawai’i, sweet potato is called uala. When I was in Peru for WIPCE in 2011, I got to listen to a super interesting conversation between a Tahitian elder, Quechua man, and another from Lebanon if I remember correctly. The Tahitian and Quechua men made the connection that their respective names for sweet potato were too similar to discount. The Tahitian man talked about a story they have from antiquity, about a prince visiting Tahiti from the east, bringing with him the knowledge to improve the Tahitian stone working and building techniques, and the sweet potato. The Quechua man likewise, talked about their cultural knowledge of the sons of a particular Inca king, one of whom went on an adventure to the west. The man from Lebanon (it was either Lebanon or somewhere close) chimed in and said that strangely enough, the word they were using for sweet potato was his word for prince. In Hawai’i, we all hear stories growing up about a race of smaller people who were expert builders called menehune, or in some cases Mu, the stone people. I have been thinking it would be so cool if menehune were inca.

[@nicholassmith5611]

So in Quechua, it’s Cumar or Kumara or Cumal. In Tahitian is Umara. Very close, and it’s easy to see how one could become the other, as with Uala in Hawai’i.

[@pcatful]

@@nicholassmith5611 When we traveled in New Zealand we helped some farmers plant kumara. I had never heard the name before or know about the legacy, though I had farmed in Hawaii and we had sweet potato there. I don't know if this is a modern name or the Maori name.

[@LeonMoka-nm6py]

Varacocho came across pacific long befor went to wrap..Rapanui 7 main statues are them continued west left thier mark in Tonga Samoa Nan madol indonesia ..American Indians iñ the Pacific by Thor Heyerdahl

[@rakim126]

Wow...menehune from south America..very interesting idea. I thought the homo floresiensis (very small hominins) presence in southeast Asia was a no Brainer for the origin of the menehune. So many questions. I love it. What I find fascinating is the island dwarfism of some pacific island populations (floresiensis, menehune) and the island gigantism of other pacific island populations (Samoans, kanaka, maori). The islands either made people real big or real small haha

[@got2kittys]

Mayan architecture is amazing stone work.

[@Lawarch]

I think its pretty cool how we use other factors to look at human migration. Like how the spread of foods and plants like the coconut, which originally grew in Polynesia, mirrored the possible spread of people out from Polynesia or by floating on the waters across the oceans. Fantastic video so far as always!

[@alexcontreras6103]

Coconut actually spread on it's own the whole seed dispersal concept of a coconut is by voyaging the seas on it's own

[@whatdamath]

The world's longest trip to get a bag of patata chips

[@witchilich]

Hello wonderful person.

[@lovepeace1552]

First Uber Eats pickup. 😂

[@LeonMoka-nm6py]

You got patata chips for a brain

[@Ayquehambre]

Ohh Anton😮

[@sambodi5283]

😂😂😂😂

[@tydli]

As a Colombian, it's fun to explore our genetics because they are all over the place. I somehow felt that there could be a relationship between Polynesia and the Americas, but it thought it was from the Pacific to the land, not the other way around. It's fascinating!

[@hamasmillitant1]

well, i remember being told as a kid that the first japanese where Polynesian/from tiawan that they arrived their 100s of yrs before they migrated to samoa ext, so they could very well have continued migrating over to america and arrived there 100s of years before this study deals with

[@ObjectiveAnalysis]

Ultimately all humans are descended from a common ancestor. Thousands of years of “inbreeding” created different ethnicities

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

@@ObjectiveAnalysisall modern humans alive today - Homo Sapien Sapiens - all have their earliest ancestors in Africa no more than 90,000 years ago. So yes you are correct.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

@@hamasmillitant1 I think that’s wrong, the first Homo Sapiens that arrived in Japan (besides the Jomon people) migrated from Korea and China.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

@@dcatterz7048 I mean we don’t know everything about science and our evolutionary history but based on our knowledge of genetics and fossil remains, we are very confident our species didn’t leave Africa until 100,000 years ago at the earliest.

[@stankythecat6735]

I have flown back and forth across the pacific MANY times . It’s insane how vast it is. You can fly for 10 hours and not see. Land .

[@mtman2]

Yes "more then vast" is a descript, these incredible sailing peoples could live on the ocean as a way of live = getting water and food as they went as well a large stored coconut cache' on board = the real waterworld...!

[@youtube_moderator]

Māori here. We knew that post migration, there was still back and forth trade in obsidian with the islands and that there are stories of migration ancestors returning to the islands from which they came - after - landing and settling in Aotearoa (NZ). We have origin myths about a mythical ancestral homeland called Hawaiki, but no-one knows if it refers to a specific location. In 1350 CE a 'great fleet' of seven canoes - Aotea, Kurahaupō, Mataatua, Tainui, Tokomaru, Te Arawa and Tākitimu - all departed from the Tahitian region at the same time, bringing the people now known as Māori to Aotearoa.

[@Kellethorn]

Kia ora from the states! Hoping to emmigrate permanently to Aotearoa here in the next few years. Beautiful land, incredible people. Truly the best place on earth.

[@edwardlatimer2239]

Some say the Waka left from cook island as well

[@xroadwalker]

Tainui left from aitutaki

[@davidortega357]

It's possible that Polynesians came to north American west coast intermarry with north west coast tlingit Haida, kwahkuitl Chinook, pomp tongva chumash

[@alive2583]

@@davidortega357 When though?

[@pcatful]

Respect for the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Native Hawaiian activists for revitalizing the Polynesian culture, along with other Pacific Islanders, and helping people understand the capabilities and cultural significance of all the Polynesian expansion in the Pacific. This legacy is largely why you see the pictures of the beautiful voyaging canoes being built today (from all over Polynesia and beyond) and the other indigenous cultural examples in the this video. I would think the genetics of the kumara should tell us more.

[@hamasmillitant1]

you know australia has rock paintings(now being destroyed by industrial chemicals that show high prowed boats/ocean going vesels 40,000 yrs ago according to the dating. i think their was another migration around 40000 yrs ago also just from those rock paintings

[@pcatful]

@@hamasmillitant1 That's a lot longer ago than the migrations that went into the Pacific. They had to get to Australia somehow. Also there's indication of voyaging across to Africa.

[@goldgeologist5320]

Thank you for presenting this information thereby expanding my knowledge.

[@teresafernandez9849]

The ancient DNA studies have been done and verified. The Aboriginals of Australia r from ASIA, not Africa, the Natives of Papua New Guinea, the Negritos from the Philippines and others, are all from ASIA, not Africa. The ppl from USA, r so obsessed with skin color and race, they seem to have lost the capacity to grasp the science and concept of skin color and race. It's been known for a long time that diet and environment can dictate ur physical appearance.

[@ShiNooBi1986]

​@pcatful it's possible the dates of polynesian voyaging is wrong

[@hnaku8748]

Hey Stefan, love your channel. I myself come from a very small tribe in India (though we might look more like East Asians than the general Indian population, if that interests) called Apatani. I've encountered similar issues when trying to search for our concrete origins. I've tried going the genetic route, but the data is severely lacking. Similarly there's only very small amount of finding in archaeological side, which tells us very less. Our tribal culture is similar to the South Chinese/South East Asians/Austroasiatic(or even Austronesians if we want to stretch it) as in use of tattoos, stilt houses, way we use orature etc. All of these point to an origin more Southern than our current place. But the linguistic side(at least on the surface) suggests a Northern origin(Tibeto-Burman). We have shamans/priests who keep track of oral records of myth, facts, and stories. Their record notes of the tribal migration being from North to South. To our geographical North is Tibet, to which we share our land boundary divided by the Himalayas. Our trade of goods before British India demarcated us as part of India was majorly held with the Tibetans than the Indians. The goods are still highly regarded. We also have our own exonym for the Tibetan ethnicity. Which makes the idea of Northern origin very plausible too, given Tibetans themselves are generally deemed to have migrated from further North. Although right now, we're not too alike culturally in general. All of these leaves us in a blur and an origin filled with mist. If some day time permits and you could touch that side I'd be very grateful, since you've done Indian subcontinent before. Thanks for the videos, I really enjoyed this one.

[@MrJinXiao]

Ooh fascinating!

[@narsimhas1360]

Interesting

[@diogosaraiva9547]

Thanks for sharing that, made me want to find out more!

[@johnsherfey3675]

Have you yourself taken a DNA test, maybe get a friend to too, and check out what's closest genetically to use using some gene apps online?

[@hnaku8748]

@@johnsherfey3675 I've thought about that, but the popular products aren't easily available here and are not the cheapest(good ones start from like 270 USD, I use a phone cheaper than that; the only available 23andMe bundle costs more than 450 USD). Moreover I've read that the ones from China are more suited and accurate for East Asian ethnicities as they provide better classification with more data (for example, even under the Tibeto-Burman category they'd provide further details of ethnic composition like Yi, Naxi, Qiang etc.). We don't get that with the likes of 23andMe. But the Chinese ones just aren't available. In the end decided that at least for now it's not worth the hassle, specially if it's not accurate. But of course the option is still open if some day I could travel to China (people from our state legally can't currently unless under national service, because politics) or at least import the DNA products :( I've tried to instead hop on to research papers that have already collected genetic samples from Southern Tibet, and make do with it. I'm not an expert so my conclusions would certainly not be the best. But no harm trying. Since the data on single field is scarce, I thought people from multiple fields viewing it would be nice. Stefan has the whole channel dedicated to such stuff, so here I am :)

[@Demandroid]

I’m wondering if anyone had examined the genetics of the sweet potatoes to see when/where they ended up in Polynesia?

[@mrbaab5932]

Good idea.

[@jrc6193]

and chickens

[@AfricanMaverick]

You should read this article titled “Reconciling Conflicting Phylogenies in the Origin of Sweet Potato and Dispersal to Polynesia” . According to the article, the sweet potato arrived in Polynesia by long-distance dispersal in pre-human times. The authors provide evidence that the sweet potato was present in Polynesia in pre-human times and that it negates the need to invoke ancient human-mediated transport as an explanation for its presence in Polynesia.

[@AfricanMaverick]

@@jrc6193 as for chickens read: "Using ancient DNA to study the origins and dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens across the Pacific"

[@timlewis5527]

​@@AfricanMaverick the sweet potatoe was selectively bred to be a crop plant. Seems highly unlikely that a wild variant predating human cultivation would arrive, be cultivated in the same way in two places, and then die out in the wild. I haven't read the paper but that in my mind that is pretty hard to reconcile.

[@robertscheinost179]

I'm glad you threw in that side bar about the Taiwan aspect concerning Polynesian ancestry. People need to understand that there is a universal quality, a curiosity factor, so to speak, to go out and explore, to see what is on the other side of the mountain or over the next wave in this case. It's deeply rooted in our psyche. As always, a great video. Thanks, Stefan!

[@1Ma9iN8tive]

Fantastic video my friend. Probably THE BEST synopsis of our Polynesian history of populating the Pacific. Well done. Really, really well done. This is the quality we are looking for when people treat our Polynesian Austronesian families in their research. Arohanui From Aotearoa New Zealand

[@Sensirebel]

Ok, I'm from the area where the Lapita pottery was found, around the Bismark Archipelago the Melanesian Islands of Papua New Guinea and the most Northerly Island of the North Solomon Islands Archipelago (Nissan Island). In my language the word for sweet potato is also Kumal, the exact same word used by the Quechua in South America.

[@josem.deteresa2282]

I guess Micronesian culture may have imported sweet potatoes from Polynesia, along whith its name

[@anneka3980]

Yes. And other words like for corn… found among the Quechua

[@sahulianhooligan7046]

They reached Australia too, ancient lapita pottery shards found in Lizard and Green Island near Queensland. And the Australian Aboriginal tribe that lived opposite Lizard Island on the mainland have a word for canoe which appears to be a Austronesian loan word

[@fadhil2831]

Not just that,there also makassar tripang trade route,the bugis and makassar of sulawesi reach and trade with native people in coast of darwin and make temporary outpost for trade and drying tripang

[@kidslovesatan34]

​@@fadhil2831 That's true.

[@kidslovesatan34]

OP, that's news to me. Do you have a citation for that factoid?

[@st4r444]

Polynesians are the new "we wuz everthang"

[@rebeccabriggs2982]

​@st4r444 sounds about right. I'm in New Zealand and had enough of the hierarchy trying to be put in place.

[@themaximus144]

This channel deserves so many more views and subs then it has. You do really great work Stefan. I wish there was more content like this on the internet on the subjects of archaeology genetics and prehistory.

[@yuraqmisi6463]

I personally think that the Polynesians came to the coast of Ecuador, not Colombia. This is because there seem to be certain similarities between their cultures: - On the coast of Ecuador, the Manteño-Huancavilca culture developed, a culture with an affinity for the sea. - The people of the Manteño-Huancavilca culture were great merchants who used to travel by sea in large rafts to Central America to exchange their products. - The currency of exchange of these transactions was the spondylus shell. To obtain them they had to dive great depths using large stones as weights. - Their rafts were characterized by using sails, something unusual in the American continent before the arrival of the Europeans. - These sails were triangular in shape, not square like the Spanish ones. - Their main crop was probably sweet potato, due to the forested environment in which they lived. Potatoes, on the other hand, were a more common crop in the Andean highlands. Tal vez existió cierta influencia entre ambas culturas. Nada es seguro, pero si realmente existe una respuesta creo que se encuentra en la costa de Ecuador.

[@atomic_wait]

I was just reading about this topic, perfect timing. Polynesian navigators are all-time badasses.

[@OlohanaYoung]

he is so wrong on this its laughable.... so where are the mango avocado sapote pineapple frogs gold parrot silver monkey snake copper orchids iguana bigcats turtles mahogany etc. etc. in Polynesia? u got it ALL BACKWARDS... a fisherman from Peru drifted one way to Marquesas c1200 .. made it to shore with sweet potatoes in his canoe.... THE END duh

[@MichaelLeBlanc-p4f]

The Spanish did alright too

[@scintillation-9]

Keep up the fantastic work, Stefan. Early humanity is a topic that I'm now fascinated by, and you've been a big part of that, truly. Your videos somehow seem to still be getting better. Just wanted to say thank you.

[@theofficialken1755]

Some of my students are related to the Hokulea crew. Way finding is real. The most successful exploring vessels were double hulled Polynesian voyaging canoes. Kahoolawe and Necker were used as starting compass points for voyages in the different island/atoll groups.

[@tevitamotulalo3909]

Malo from Tonga 🇹🇴 Great stuff. There’s a lot to discover and rediscover.

[@Slipperygecko390]

Love it that you're talking about Polynesia. Some interesting things turn up in our Mythology too. The Kumara legend goes that a human visited one of the heavens and bought back Kumara, that heaven is identified by a star in the east, where South America is. Another mythological hint is in the Trials of Maui where Maui travels east to a great mountain range to do battle with his ancestor. Those mountains could refer to the Andies. Something else that's interesting I noticed in your video is in the Rongorongo language there is a large Sea Turtle, A Sea Turtle is also found on the Anaweka Waka found in NZ dated to around 1300, and very sophisticated. The Sea Turtle is also a symbol used at Nan Madol and is an important part of their identity, Nan Madol was founded by two brothers who migrated there from an unknown island around the same time as NZ and Rapanui. Sea Turtles are a good symbol for ancient Polynesia because they travel long distances.

[@alexb_47933]

in Aymara, Sweet Potato is called Kumara too! And this culture was (and their descendants are still) located on the "Altiplano" (High Plateau) among mountain ranges.

[@OlohanaYoung]

so where are the mango avocado sapote pineapple frogs gold parrot silver monkey snake copper orchids iguana bigcats turtles mahogany etc. etc. in Polynesia? u got it ALL BACKWARDS... a fisherman from Peru drifted one way to Marquesas c1200 .. made it to shore with sweet potatoes in his canoe.... THE END duh

[@tatimoa]

@@OlohanaYoung duh.fishermen just drift round with kumara cuttings aye khhh

[@gregrefon]

@@OlohanaYoung you poor thing...

[@denniswhalen6190]

And don’t forget, they taste good and are nourishing.😅

[@dougkoger2277]

Excellent video! My wife and I sailed to the Marquesas in 2019 and have been wandering around French Poly ever since in between time back in U.S. It's important to note that Polynesians achieved their astounding voyages across the Pacific against the prevailing wind. Their catamarans were certainly very capable as evidenced by where they established settlements. It would be surprising if they didn't make it to South America. If some archeological evidence were to be found in the Galapagos if not mainland South America, that would be more definitive. Hopefully future DNA surveys will find South Americans with Polynesian ancestry. Fascinating stuff!

[@TheBelrick]

But let's be clear, they did NOT navigate. They had no knowledge of navigation . They went where the wind and tide took them. Remember, we do not know of the many failed journeys, only the successful ones. This creates massive bias.

[@patriciamoke15]

@@TheBelrickthat’s not true our people utilised the environment stars wind birds current sails and manpower

[@patriciamoke15]

@@TheBelrickand the sun they knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west

[@NalgoDeSatanas]

Me encanta el tipo de videos que haces, porque pones en el centro la duda y no la respuesta final y aun asi aprendí un montón viendo tu video, eres lo que el mundo de la divulgación cientifica necesitaba, al menos en mi vida. Muchas gracias Stefan ❤️

[@tearoapouhaereiti9060]

I am a Māori from Aotearoa, New Zealand and we have a type of potato here called the 'Peruperu', according to oral history its said to have been named after the land of whence our ancestors got them from, Peru in South America.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

The name "Peru" is derived from the word "Biru," which was the name of a ruling Inca chief who lived in the region in the 16th century. The Spanish explorers who arrived in the region in the 1500s named the country "Perú" after the chief, and the name has been used ever since. Biru reminds me of some certain color...

[@bittersweet340]

@@rizkyadiyanto7922 So where did the Maori know how to build "Reed Boats" from!

[@buzzardscry1383]

🤯

[@teresafernandez9849]

Hi.. Mexican here, live in California. We are cousins! We share DNA! Take good care of yourself, ur family!!

[@azhariusman9428]

🫵😂

[@AE-ix2iz]

As a longtime fan of your channel and a Polynesian of Samoan descent, I’m just loving this. It’s amazing to see Polynesian stories/legends being verified by science. Also, despite the heavy colorism within the Polynesian community the evidence should speak for themselves. Thank you Stefan 🤙🏽

[@TheOz91]

Fun fact: as somebody from Malaysia, I was asked if I was Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian by someone before. And that makes sense since Polynesians and modern Malays have the same roots, it's just that our ancestors decided to explore the seas and settle in many different places. Being highly mobile and have developed technology that can cross the ocean, it would not be surprising to find people from faraway lands settle in places we don't expect.

[@kidslovesatan34]

I'm intrigued by what you mean by colourism in the Polynesian community. I have no idea what you mean. Would you mind please elaborating?

[@AE-ix2iz]

@@kidslovesatan34 well I’m not sure if it’s fully based on skin color or it could just be ignorance based on cultural pride. Within the Polynesians in Hawaii, especially Hawaiian attitudes toward the Samoans and Tongans, Hawaiians will distance themselves from the latter group. For example, when Nainoa Thompson, the premier navigator/way-finder of Polynesia and huge Hawaiian cultural icon, said in an article that all Polynesians originated from Samoa/Tonga region it caused a huge uproar in the Hawaiian community. The general Hawaiian public derided him calling his statement, “bullshit,” “offensive,” or “hewa” (Hawaiian for “offensive”). They even called Mr. Thompson a fake Hawaiian for his statements. Or when the actor Dwayne Johnson (part Samoan) wanted to make a movie about Kamehameha, a great Hawaiian king, the Hawaiian public went crazy again. But they were more than okay with a Native American portraying a Hawaiian princess. I could list several more but you get the point lol Note: I used the term colorism because Hawaiians have been intermixed with European and Asian people for a couple centuries now and you’ll rarely come across a Hawaiian that looks like a Polynesian so they tend to be lighter skinned.

[@kidslovesatan34]

@@AE-ix2iz Okay, that's so odd given their shared cultural and genetic history. While distinct, Polynesians in New Zealand and Australia recognise their common ancestry and kinship too.

[@AE-ix2iz]

@@kidslovesatan34 I need to visit soon. I love rugby

[@cbroma2007]

I visited Rapa Nui in 2008. I just had to see in person such a special place. I don't know if things have changed since my visit, but at the time Chile was doing very little for the island to help preserve its unique archealogy and erosion was taking a toll.

[@victoriaburkhardt9974]

My mind is blown. I'll watch this video again after this information settles in a bit. Thanks for sharing, Stefan..

[@FrancisFjordCupola]

Imagine showing these results to the people who worked on the human genome project, decennia ago. They must be wonderfully surprised how far their techniques go into helping us uncover the history of our species.

[@nomadpurple6154]

The funny thing is that saw the human genome project mostly as a way to discover causes of genetic diseases and to cure them. There was never any talk of how it would be used for the study of history. I expect they would be very surprised by this and very disappointed about the lack of progress in the medical field.

[@Laura-kl7vi]

@@nomadpurple6154 No, they knew. My goodness, people really underestimate scientists. They didn't know the details but they knew it could unlock human origins. They also knew that at that time the ability to extract non-degraded DNA from ancient specimens was not optimal, but it'd get better. It's true that how much that aspect of the field advanced is amazing! Their FOCUS was genetic diseases because current.people.are. dying. And there is huge progress in the medical field. Why do you think there isn't? The human genomic project wasn't completed until 2003. You don't understand scientists at all. If I sound exasperated, it's because a whole bunch of people here underestimate what scientists know, and are saying "they should sequence the genome of the sweet potato to trace it's origins. I guess scientists over-focus on humans" and alike.

[@Mauipat]

Having live on Maui for nearly 50 years, I arrived at the time of the resurgence of Hawaiian sailing culture, and have followed with great interest the history of the Polynesian migration. I watched a documentary about the migration that I believe was done by PBS Hawaii, with the help of researchers from the University of Hawaii. To my understanding they seemed to have what I thought was DNA evidence of the possibility of Polynesian as far North as Santa Barbra, California, and contact with the Chumash people there. It's been a few years since I saw the documentary, but if your interested You could contact the University of Hawaii. they have a wealth of information on the subject. Aloha!

[@eeeaten]

no genetic connection, but the possibility of some cultural exchange. it's hard to use cultural exchange as stand alone evidence, but intriguing!

[@685_DANG3Rx]

@@eeeatencultural excahnge or more so trading...

[@eeeaten]

@@685_DANG3Rx what

[@jonathankirsch2121]

I love when you add more of your humor and personality into your videos! It's what keeps the content so engaging and fun. As much as I like your extremely polished, sanitized and documentary quality videos, I like the ones where you just throw in silly outtakes and parenthetical jokes, they're the best 😍 thanks for teaching me more new stuff! I literally throw your videos on repeat the background, I've seen them all so many times I can quote them by heart, and I tell everyone all the fascinating stuff I learn from them

[@jennystrong8722]

My mother-in-law was Maori, father-in-law Samoan. My mother-in-law told me that according to her oral history her Maori ancestors came from both Hawaiki and also South America. She also said that her ancestors were arriving in New Zealand from those places from 500-700 years ago. Another interesting thing is that my husbands grandmother was called Tupaia.

[@eeeaten]

genetics shows maori did not come from south america. they were from eastern polynesia, from samoa/tonga before that, from the western pacific before that.

[@noidv]

Stefan Milo does it again! This was amazing. Just to think I became interested in this subject after watching Graham Hancock babble on about “maybe South Americans are decended from Polynesians” because he had heard they share some DNA. He was really twisting facts there! Thanks Stefan. Impatiently awaiting your next video.

[@randomgamerdude98]

Don’t take Graham Hancock’s words seriously

[@solarnaut]

@@randomgamerdude98 It's advisable to wait until the mushrooms kick in, BEFORE listing to Graham. B-)

[@yoeyyoey8937]

@@randomgamerdude98 wym he was literally right in this case?

[@yoeyyoey8937]

How was he twisting facts?

[@noidv]

@@yoeyyoey8937 Did you watch Stefan’s video? How was he right?

[@Psittacus_erithacus]

My only regret (about watching this video) is that I have but one thumbs-up to give in support of this excellent content. Truly top notch: thoughtful, informative, low-key inspiring. Engaging with the quest for knowledge and the contemplative, diligent people carrying it forward is a much needed antidote all the nasty, short-sighted, self-involved rubbish that dominates the headlines. I'm truly thankful for Stefan's efforts to put more of us in contact with this side of humanity.

[@alicialmh]

I don't think I have ever commented on one of your videos, but I've watched almost every one, and I just want to thank you for the great content. You have a knack for getting across how awesome these histories are without being sensational or conspiratorial.

[@AndrewBlucher]

And, I'll add, without being condescending or racist (as far as I can tell from my Wasp background).

[@cmorgansd]

You're my new favorite channel! I don't want to go to work today. I just want to binge watch all your videos.

[@Ksouel]

Maybe the incisions in the Lapita pottery are not the precursor of tattooing, but a representation of tattooing on pottery. The way its made, without any dragged lines, only punctures, would point towards that in my opinion. Great video as always.

[@robertscheinost179]

A point of view that I never considered before. Thank you!

[@AndrewBlucher]

Interesting theory

[@HotFish]

So good! The quality of the narration, explanation, the character, and the visual production is absolutely beautiful and so comprehensive. You’ve made things very easy to understand and have treated everything with so much respect and honesty (which is a nice change of pace in the anthropology/archaeology scene). Not only is it interesting from a learning point of view, it is such a pleasure to watch

[@bigtimehawaii]

I can watch your videos many times. I do appreciate the information you share mahalo and aloha.

[@PeachysMom]

His style is so watchable. It’s relatable and understandable to the layman without being dumbed down. And very chill.

[@Mosiveiau]

During my 3yr posting as an adviser on Pohnpei, FSM, there were numerous accounts of mexican fishermen who were lost at sea off the west coast of south america and drifted thousands of nautical miles to the Micronesian islands of the Marshalls and FSM.

[@angelikaopland7880]

Those South American fishermen had unusually capable balsa rafts, able to sail upwind with arrays of adjustable daggerboards. They left archaeological evidence at most of the easily accessible beaches of the Galapagos Islands, & were commented on by the first Spaniards to navigate South along the West coast, who admired the abilities & size of the first sailing raft they encountered, which was a coastal trader, not lost at all.

[@whatgoesaroundcomesaround920]

@mosiveiau There are populations along the Pacific coast of Mexico that are descended from Chinese mariners who ended up shipwrecked there. Some are supposed to be pre-Columbian.

[@Bruski1988]

There are also stories of pre-Columbian Chinese voyages along the North American coast, but there is an absence of archeological or DNA evidence to support either claim. @@whatgoesaroundcomesaround920

[@andyjay729]

@@whatgoesaroundcomesaround920 One of the first known examples of a Japanese person in North America was in the early 1800s, when a fisherman was washed out to sea and eventually landed on the coast of present-day Washington State. He was enslaved by the native Makah tribe.

[@rooknado]

@@andyjay729WOAH

[@ivjay5741]

Awesome video again Stefan. Its one of countless unending puzzles to solve. I 100% share your curiosity, but not your knowlegde. I love the way you build up to a best possible answer! this way i am able to follow and learn. Thanks!

[@Grimpy970]

Thank you for breaking down this information in a way that is easily understood! There's no chance I could have deciphered those graphs and diagrams without more context. Thanks for all your hard work. You're doing a service to mankind!

[@brettevill9055]

I wonder whether it would be possible and informative to do a genetic study of local strains of sweet potato in the area.

[@hiselbii5326]

It would absolutely be possible, but you would have to be careful about the results. Many vegetables are genetically very different from how they were a few decades or centuries ago, a lot of mixing and modification going on and all that. But if you had a more wild/old kind of sweet potato, it would be very interesting indeed.

[@Blue..]

I need to go to sleep, but Stefan drops a 44 minute long ancient human DNA video ☠

[@branominal]

Love your work man I know that there is more interest in videos about human evolution, so I hope this video makes back a decent amount and you can keep doing what you're doing.

[@MrStealYaWifey]

Samoan here, the languages are explained in present day as different dialect. However, the explanation of accents makes more sense. Also, the modern catamaran is modelled on polynesian design, along with the Sydney Opera house has very very close similarities with the way the fale samoa is built. peace to Tagaloa's children! POLYNESIA ARE ALL ONE RACE!

[@thkempe]

The Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, which makes any trace of Samoan tradition pretty unlikely.

[@manuhamoa]

@MrStealYaWifey follow the linguistic (and migration) route, etymology bro, Savaii (Sam), Havaii (Tah), Avaiki (Cook Is), Hawaii (USA), Hawaiki (Aotearoa). Similar to Maoí (Sam), Maohi (Tah), Maoli (Haw), Maori (Avaiki & Aotearoa) means indigenous. Throughout Pacific, Tokelau=North, Tonga=South, Center=Home of Tagaloa/Tangaroa, God of the Sea, the seafarers. Tagaloa's son Moa, means center, origin of word Moana, ocean, the oceanic people of Sa-Moana.....whakawhetai, nga mihi, malo áupito, ma le faaaloalo lava

[@MrStealYaWifey]

💯 Not only linguistically, also culturally & religiously similar creeds giving acknowledgement to Tagaloa. Tagaloa also left behind tenets for his children to flourish from his gift of life and land. There is a foundation of independence and unity to flourish for Tagata Pasifika. But the realization of our source is Tagaloa is good enough for me. At least his children know where home is, and starting to wake up.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

Tbh all of us are part one “race”

[@popdollaz310]

@@MrStealYaWifey sole I’m trying wake up rn been sleep since birth and even worse I’m from America lol but wats ur social media trying message u with a few questions and hopefully u can enlighten me

[@lightbeingform]

Holy crap Mr Milo, this is next-level science communication. As a molecular bio nerd, I appreciate how you presented this evidence. Exciting stuff!

[@lostboy8084]

They actually were geniuses in sailing the triangle sails actually were game changing, the pantoons also were something that allowed them to sail oceans that and it would be interesting to see more on this.

[@pcatful]

Look up Hokulea.

[@alfredoaculerl]

Me encanta! Estuve intentando trabajar justamente con esto, es un gusto saber que hoy ya se sabe algo más 🎉 Saludos desde Chile, increíble contenido

[@bobmnz6914]

Translated: I love it! I have been trying to work precisely with this, it is a pleasure to know that today something more is known 🎉 Greetings from Chile, incredible content.

[@mrwelshmun]

Stefan my main man, absolutely loving your videos. Only just found your channel in the last week. I've already watched about 10 of your videos. You bring light, insight and curiosity to some of my favourite topics and I'm absolutely here to stay for it. Keep up the good work pal!

[@marcus3cfc]

As a Brit from England, I love human history around the world going back as far as genetics can take us, up to and just before the birth of homo sapiens. Recorded history has verified a lot of what we already know, but there is much that cannot be verified in greater detail like the Polynesian/native American adventure without the help of genetics coupled with guesswork and some recorded knowledge handed down by descendants. I really enjoyed this video!l and it was really fascinating! Keep up the good work!

[@eleSDSU]

That is such an Anglo point of view, "there is much that cannot be verified" is only true for you angloids since you insist on ignoring and dismissing every historical record from other cultures. Knowledge once again hindered by your racism.

[@alayneperrott9693]

Fascinating! I have wondered about this since reading Kontiki many years ago, an interest reinforced by visiting the Anthropology Museum in Taipei and learning how the indigenous people from Taiwan migrated south and eventually contributed to the heritage of Polynesians.

[@OlohanaYoung]

he is so wrong on this its laughable.... so where are the mango avocado sapote pineapple frogs gold parrot silver monkey snake copper orchids iguana bigcats turtles mahogany etc. etc. in Polynesia? u got it ALL BACKWARDS... a fisherman from Peru drifted one way to Marquesas c1200 .. made it to shore with sweet potatoes in his canoe.... THE END duh

[@katiefrances531]

i took a course on polynesian culture and history in community college and the expansion westwards was a section that i was very interested in. thank you for providing more up-to-date information on the subject!

[@kidslovesatan34]

Polynesians were typically moving East and sometimes south and north. West? Not so much.

[@manxx25]

Thanks! I love what you do. There is an art to making presentations like this watchable. :) You are one 'o the masters. ;p It is hoped that you are able to live on the income your content brings in without having to dilute your energies with a "real" (i.e., done out of necessity not joy) job. Keep it up, mang!

[@DonegreaghConnemaras]

Fascinating to see the Lapita pottery - inspiration for my work at pottery class ! Thank you, Stefan ! Super information as always :-)

[@karenstubbs94]

The Kon Tiki voyages are a favorite of mine. I grew up on National Geographic, I am now 73. A lifetime of adventure and learning.

[@bonkersblock]

Unfortunately Koln tiki was a lie.. 😂

[@johannageisel5390]

@@bonkersblock The hypothesis that inspired Heyerdahl to his voyage was wrong, but he successfully made that voyage.

[@sipuman9337]

@@johannageisel5390after several attempts

[@dylanvan5042]

Stefan youre videos are truly incredible, well researched, and most importantly, human pieces of art. thank you for all the evident time and effort you put into your work.

[@vintagelady1]

So fascinating, & so wonderful to see non-Europeans being given the respect for their culture that had been systematically buried. As a teacher, I was often disgusted by the history textbooks repeating the lies of the euro conquerers that the indigenous people had essentially no culture, no technology, no literature, were just a bunch of humanoid animals who "deserved" to be conquered. You would never know that there were massive cities in Africa, Polynesian explorers who put Columbus to shame, glorious artwork, legitimate oral tradition, writing, such a rich cultural tradition that european settlers tried to erase or discount. It is good to see these cultures rise again from the ashes, reviving their traditions & languages. In diversity there is strength & beauty.

[@BaraJFDA]

Exquisite content as always Sir Milo. Also the word Potato comes from Batata in Taíno-Arawakan languages. They're the first Indigenous Americans to be contacted by the Spanish after 1492 so they passed on Batata to the Spanish Patata. Same with Ananas for pineapple from the Tupi-Guaraní People to the Spanish.

[@RickyDog1989]

Great video! But everybody wants to know: what about polynesian DNA in native americans? Is this a future development the researchers want to pursue, maybe looking at samples from the Zenu people? Did they check and found no evidence? I can think of some plausible answers to these questions, but it would have been so much more satisfying to have the researchers discuss this point! Next time you see them, ask them 😂 please!

[@johncarey5513]

As far as I remember they checked and found no evidence of Polynesian DNA in South Americans. That's why I personally think it's more likely that it was actually a South American(s) who went across to the islands, maybe blown by a storm and/ or the ocean currents. They do bring that up close to the end of the video.

[@johncarey5513]

@tsa3b Are there records of multiple voyages between these islands and NZ? There's still no trace of Polynesian DNA in South Americans. If they had regular contact, including people from South America going back to Polynesia with them there should be at least a trace of Polynesian DNA there.

[@rationallyruby]

@@johncarey5513 the thing is we don’t have every dna sequence of every single person living and dead in the area so it’s all possible but even just missing one persons dna could mean a whole bunch of data is missing.

[@johncarey5513]

@@rationallyruby Given the time scale involved you would expect to see at least one person from the area the Native South American DNA comes from to have traces of Polynesian ancestry. Especially if there were multiple journeys between them. It would look a lot like the Native South American DNA in the Polynesian islands, where everybody has a little bit. Unless your argument is that everyone with that DNA died without passing it on. Given the fact that they still have people living in those areas of South America with DNA the same as/similar to the DNA that was transferred to Polynesia indicates that the population there wasn't wiped out, so even one generation of people from Polynesia would likely leave *some* trace.

[@rdklkje13]

The coloured lines figure does seem to show light blue dots in many of the American samples (Zapotec, Columbia, Ecuador, Magdalena). And, oddly, dark blue traces too - Melanesian??? Since they didn’t talk about this I figured it is most likely just noise, bits that might be misleading for whatever random genetic reasons. But I guess this might be something that their follow-up work is taking a closer look at.

[@mantsukinohana2353]

Wow this was an amazing video!! I'm a fan of your work and channel, and having Native Hawaiian ancestry I had to immediately watch this! Thank you for sharing this information and making this video. When I was in the public school system we were very much taught that theory of we somehow drifted to the islands. Until I went to an immersion school in high school that taught us our ancestors were expert navigators that came here through observation and deep understanding of the cosmos. I hope the broader educational system will catch up with these new scientific findings and start changing the narrative about ancient Polynesian societies. I always thought growing up why were we taught and forced to memorize history about European countries and not about our own history and ancestors? Now as an adult I try to learn as much as I can about my ancestors through educators and academics like yourself! It's so amazing when modern science can validate the oral histories. While I respect the oral histories of our ancestors and the stories people tell me as truth, I'm also a pragmatic and rational person, and want concrete proof something happened. So this genetic evidence is so fascinating! I agree that archeology cannot explain everything. Eventually things return to the earth, but our DNA contains all the knowledge throughout time.

[@iluvtododrawrings]

Very interesting findings, but I wouldn't start teaching something based off of one study.

[@lonnesower9413]

@@iluvtododrawrings Beats teaching based on no studies though.

[@mmonroenot]

Thanks!

[@DonCorr]

Aloha, Polynesian of Hawaiian ancestry here. Love your content

[@cubearthx]

Totally appreciate your content and your enthusiasm for the topic (and the lame jokes 😅). Each one of your videos leave me with a sense of awe and a drive to continue spirit of adventure that is characteristic of our species. Much love for a small Caribbean island ❤️🤍🖤

[@kaliburx4]

Super interesting, thanks for the great video. One thing I didn’t get is why you seem to prefer the hypothesis that Polynesians reached South America first, intermingled with locals, and then went back home. This would require two voyages, sort of a welcome by local populations, having children together, their support to likely repair the ships and travel back, etc. A much simpler explanation (which you of course present too) is that South Americans traveled to Polynesia (maybe just fishermen drifting in the ocean) and ended up in Polynesia where they got stuck and had to spend the rest of their lives. Much simpler explanation - and supported by Occam’s razor

[@gavtoye9605]

Yes, the one journey factor is stronger than the two journey one

[@JHaven-lg7lj]

I’m also curious about whether or not the study had mitochondrial DNA from either side - I imagine it could clarify some issues, and raise other questions

[@nmarbletoe8210]

1, Polynesian voyagers went to basically everywhere else in the Pacific. It would be very surprising if they found tiny Easter but missed the Americas 2. There are haplotypes of polynesian affinity in Peru (unpublished?) 3. Chickens were probably brought from Polynesia to Americas (Storey 2007) 4. Bottle gourd from Polynesia has DNA from Asia and America, but it is not certain if this was an ancient hybridization or modern

[@st4r444]

Intermingle and a welcomed is not likely. There is a reason why austronesian islands that are 8000mi apart still maintain similar language and culture as opposed to vietnam and Pakistan which are closer but have different language, religion and customs. Polynesians were historically conquerors and war like culture with warriors. Since they travel the sea fast, any island they landed on would become Polynesian culture fast. Adventuring deep into south America would not be ideal. It is too vast and does not provide them the advantage the sea life provides. They can no longer escape from enemies to the sea and ofcourse, going into a large unknown territory is a bad idea. Some of the native Americans were fierce and quite unwelcome. Considering if they had met Polynesian warriors who were both on guard, it wouldn't end well. In ancient time, it was common to shed blood. Since Polynesian travelled by raft, they'd be in smaller number and wouldn't last.

[@sillau9]

​@st4r444 still doesn't mean Polynesians didn't met some without any tension..possibilities of even intermingled had relationships wit them & or traded wit them, & brought back food & such that was only native in the America's before they went back to their Polynesian islands..

[@StrandedKnight84]

Thor Heyerdahl is a controversial figure even here in Norway. He didn't really follow the scientific method, and usually worked off his intuition. But he let us dream about possibilities with his daring voyages and definitely inspired many scientists that came later.

[@beowulf1312]

Thor was his own man and wasn't a trained anthropologist. He was a guy who loved the Pacific. After the turmoil of the war and the Nazi invasion of his country, he wanted to explore and renew his life. He had a hunch and had the courage and energy to set up and do his expedition. It was a great experiment, vindicated in large part by the DNA we now know about.

[@jcdenton1635]

@@beowulf1312 Sometimes it takes a crazy genius to go out there and push the boundaries of what's possible to make a new discovery. It is fitting that we now know more about Polynesian history because of the efforts of a man who channeled the same courage and determination as the Polynesians he studied. That being said, Thor Heyerdahl's theories were a hit or miss. Mostly misses, actually. Okay, almost ENTIRELY misses. But he can have this one thing right?😂

[@fion1flatout]

>'m pretty disgusted at Stefan calling one of Thor's ideas 'racist'. It seems pretty reasonable to me for Thor to speculate that, during the age of Viking voyages, a seafarer might have Nordic links. This whole video is about genetics, you could call tall of it racist if you took a negative standpoint

[@Who_Let_The_Dogs_Out_10-7]

@@fion1flatout @6:30 I think this is why some people call Graham Hancock a racist. Apparently, it's common for native peoples around the world to say that their "bringers of civilization" or whatever, were white. Now, to insist that "white" meant "European"... That might be racist. Maybe they were what We call "Yellow". We have too much to learn, yet.

[@jcdenton1635]

@@fion1flatout Honestly, it doesn't seem that reasonable. Why would anyone expect the Vikings to reach the Pacific Islands when they didn't even sail to Southern Africa, which was much closer? It reminds me of the theories that claim Vikings built the pyramids of Central America. It simply doesn't make sense when you consider that no such pyramids exist in Europe, itself, let alone an entirely different continent. The only thing sort of mindset I can think of that would account for such a wild theory is a racist one. If you believe the natives were so unadvanced that you would rather credit an entirely different people who have no such history in their own land, I don't know what else to call that theory other than racist.

[@advityarajsingh]

Very few people are doing this much detailed intensive and genuine work. keep it up man

[@cleanthegreen]

I am Filipino from northern Philippines, Luzon. An Igorot from Cordillera. Linguistically, we have ties to Formosans of Taiwan. As per Lapita tattooing, those line patters closely reseamble the Batok style of tattoos made famous by Apo Whang-od of the Philippines. Just my thought from the other end of this vast pacific gene pool.

[@KyleBohannon-yi9tc]

Hows it cuz! Phillipino folks are our Asian cousins for sure

[@SevenBates]

This is impeccable history communication, Stefan. Immediately subscribing. ✌️

[@megret1808]

I read Kon Tiki when I was fifteen and it bent me off a path of “quiet desperation” and pulled me out of my cultural cocoon. I’ve now been to these sites from Bolivia to Rapa Nui to Taiwan and the rest of SE Asia. I’m fascinated by the yet unrecognised scope of megalithic artefacts. From the Plain of Jars in northern Laos to the Indonesian islands you see the same works, same symbolism. Add in lower sea levels pre Younger Dryus and Sundaland appears. Just like Doggerland, Sundaland was fully occupied possibly all the way to Nan Madol

[@Esper54]

Heya! A pakeha from NZ here and while I don’t have maori blood in my veins it is SO interesting to see more and more research to build on those projects we always did in school. We used to debate in school essays on whether the Polynesians came from SA or Taiwan. And seeing more research put into these links is bloody awesome.

[@matthewvicendese1896]

Two big videos in less than a month! Is Stefan a full-time video creator now? If so, lucky us! My question on the video is, is there genetic or archaeological studies on the potatoes to see when they arrived?

[@Xxtz-ur4hj]

I agree...We have in New ealand a native potatoe called Peru peru An oblong potato we can only guess originally came from Peru with a name like this. Purple skin with white splotches, with a creamy white or yellow flesh

[@OlohanaYoung]

he is so wrong on this its laughable.... so where are the mango avocado sapote pineapple frogs gold parrot silver monkey snake copper orchids iguana bigcats turtles mahogany etc. etc. in Polynesia? u got it ALL BACKWARDS... a fisherman from Peru drifted one way to Marquesas c1200 .. made it to shore with sweet potatoes in his canoe.... THE END duh

[@GeckoHiker]

​@OlohanaYoung Why would a fisherman from Peru travel over the ocean with raw sweet potatoes? Was it for fish bait? Clearly, a fisherman might have traveled with a fire roasted sweet potato to eat for lunch! That wouldn't propagate very well.

[@KKellyMeine]

I have the same question!

[@davemeise2192]

I remember reading the Kon Tiki Expedition in school. I have been fascinated ever since about how and why we (humans) expanded through the islands. However, this is the first time I ever considered us going from the islands to the americas. Very well done. I especially like the final thoughts about how science is about using what we currently know to come to a conclusion but keeping an open mind so revised conclusions can be made when sufficient evidence is gathered again.

[@Moraren]

The timing of this video couldn't be better as I'm currently in the middle of reading Thor Heyerdahl's book Kon-tiki. This puts the whole thing into a different perspective. While his views might not have aged that well, they did a really fascinating journey on their raft and i really recommend the book.

[@johncoulter2]

There is an inherent aspect of beauty and grace in these accounts of human movement and interaction that no alien or Atlantis type 'documentary' can ever portray. I always come away with a sense of awe, wonder, humility and community from your amazing videos.

[@christophercousins184]

I would be interested in in hearing more about Polynesian culture/cultures. Fascinating and exciting show!

[@OlivierMalinur]

Very interesting video. Really fascinating to see what genetics, archeology and linguistics (for the potatoes) could show and how they converge.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Finding evidence of a meeting of two cultures that only met once in history may leave no genetic traces.

[@AnakWatanKra]

Malaysian here. It's also fascinating to imagine as we the Malaysian people ,living next to Thailand and inhabit mainland of Asia, are actually share common ancestor with the Rapa Nui ! Crazy to think about how far our ancestor are connected !

[@taradeviwest9351]

I'm a Melanesian (whose ancestry goes back to the Taiwanese Indigenous). I can tell u that we share the same roots in language, the food n cultures. Hiva , I believe , is the name of our ancestral mother, Eva.. or in our Sanskrit (from the Hindu Buddha influence) called Tara, Dara, the goddess of the moon.. The same belief, all over the world.

[@eeeaten]

the last half of your post appears to be opinion. also indigenous taiwanese were/are austronesian, not melanesian.

[@taradeviwest9351]

@eeeaten opinion, of coz, but I'm from the melanesian side of southeast asia, not austro-nesian.. we look very different too, but have almost the similar general culture, arts, food, and language. I used to read a few researchers regarding our dna heritage, the Polynesian-Melanesian group. But of cz I'm no expert, just someone who is interested in our heritage. It's amazing that all of us have the same menu : rice wrapped banana leaves and cooked in bamboos & that sweet potatoes being very important ingredient. 😄🦬🌏

[@g166yhogle]

​@@eeeaten all the coastal inhabitants of Melanesian islands are Austronesians.

[@eeeaten]

@@g166yhogle pretty much

[@stephenbesley3177]

love your work Stefan. thank you for posting

[@cacogenicist]

Paul MM Cooper's _Fall of Civilizations_ episode on Rapa Nui is fantastic, if you find yourself wanting some more info on that. It seems they were doing _quite well_ for themselves when the first Europeans got there, contrary to what you may have heard.

[@joshwheeler8317]

That whole series is great, but the Rapa Nui episode really packs an emotional punch.

[@cacogenicist]

​@@joshwheeler8317 - Yeah, that was brutal. ... the most recent episode on Carthage was none too cheery at the end either. Rapa Nui is, I think, sort of the prototype of the "outside context problem."

[@joshwheeler8317]

I think these two channels make a great pair. Fall Of Civilizations gives an epic overview while Milo gives in depth highlights of particular civilizations and customs.

[@zimriel]

I think it was more Peru than Europeans specifically which screwed over Rapa Nui

[@AyubuKK]

I admire their seafaring culture and skills.

[@trixy1823]

Thank you! ❤. I still remember the moment, in elementary school 50 yrs ago, thinking how foolish archeologists were to think humans weren’t capable. Insisting the Americas were only reached by the land route was ridiculous.

[@dennisg8164]

I was in San Diego maybe 20 years ago or so. Can't remember exactly. When I was there a couple of vessels arrived from the Cook Islands. They were proving it could be done in a traditional vessel like you show. It was pretty cool

[@nevamind68t23]

Fakaaue lahi Stefan, absolutely fascinating 🙏🏾 Excellent work, visuals and illustrations👍🏾🦘🤎 Cheers from a Niuean 🇳🇺

[@rnedlo9909]

Thank you for another wonderful video. My Great Grand father came from the Hamburg area in Germany. The family tradition is we were boat makers and arrived in the 9th century to settle down as farmers to "get away from the Sea Raiders (Vikings). I got my haplogroup DNA and it turns out it was from Sweden so there was a close connection to the Vikings, most likely they were boat makers AND Sea Raiders who just wanted to settle down. The point is that is a thousand-year tradition handed down through the centuries that DNA backs up, so why couldn't the traditions of the Polynesians be accurate as well.

[@beachboy0505]

10:50 Captain Cook meeting T'pia was one of history's greatest meetings.

[@jeffryborror4883]

His meeting on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island) could be considered more consequential, at least to him.