Who first discovered potatoes?

Starlord

Pre-Columbian farmers first discovered the potato in the Andes about 7,000 years ago. http://www.indepthinfo.com/potato/history.shtml Apr 16 09, 4:51 PM

Humanist

Wild potato species occur from the United States to Uruguay and Chile. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggest that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru, from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. However, although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile. Based on historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses, the most widely cultivated variety worldwide, Solanum tuberosum tuberosum, is believed to be indigenous to Chiloé Archipelago where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato Apr 16 09, 10:11 PM

Humanist

The first written record of a European encounter with potatoes was penned in 1537 by Castellanos, a Spanish conquistador. After raiding a village in South America, Castellanos and his party found the area deserted and entered the houses in search of loot. Instead of silver and gold, they found maize, beans and truffles. From reading Castellanos account, we now know these truffles were in fact potatoes. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm.php?id=record_detail&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000121&rd=55563 Apr 16 09, 10:14 PM