Plausibility Check: Polynesian Galapagos

I've just been wondering on something... would it have been possible for the Polynesians to reach Galapagos? If yes, what effects/consequences would this have?
 
I've just been wondering on something... would it have been possible for the Polynesians to reach Galapagos? If yes, what effects/consequences would this have?

I don't think it would mean much. It would either be colonized or taken over by Ecuador no matter who inhabited it. Some could reach South America but would it really matter? They would just be treated as a native tribe by the Spanish.

Are you asking in terms of what would happen to the wildlife? If tons of Polynesians came to the Galapagos, I could see some species dieing out before Darwin gets to the islands. If the Polynesians aren't friendly, they could also screw up Darwin's trip there, maybe kill him? I suppose it could prolong people learning about evolution though I'm sure it would be figured out eventually.
 
I'm not sure what you're shooting for, but there's fairly good evidence that Polynesians had traveled to South America.
 

mowque

Banned
About the Darwin evolution thing...a fellow named Wallace was doing the same thing in Indonesia (some type of high diversity climate) so science (as usual) would have went on at the same pace. Although the loss of the Galapagos as a pristine place is saddening.
 

mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
About the Darwin evolution thing...a fellow named Wallace was doing the same thing in Indonesia (some type of high diversity climate) so science (as usual) would have went on at the same pace. Although the loss of the Galapagos as a pristine place is saddening.
The tortoises would definitely be goners. What else?
 
The tortoises would definitely be goners. What else?

UNESCO misses out on World Heritage Site No. 1. Darwinism must go by a different name.

A definite possibility for a coastal South American tribe that speaks a Polynesian language. Yes, the Europeans would have treated them no differently, but I still think the idea is cool.

Wait -can the Galapagos support much of a human population?
 
Indeed plausable. They got to Easter Island, they be able to make this leap.

Yes, the sweet potato is native to South America but was eaten by Polynesians (pre-European contact).

My understanding is that this is not established fact and that it may have been introduced early on into the European contact.

Wait -can the Galapagos support much of a human population?

Indeed a good question. I foresee an Easter Island situation...
 
My understanding is that this is not established fact and that it may have been introduced early on into the European contact.

My understanding is that my statement is established fact. I left out that the reason is a mystery. Polynesians were eating sweet potato as early as 1000 CE according to archeological evidence.

al-link 1

al-link 2
 
My understanding is that my statement is established fact. I left out that the reason is a mystery. Polynesians were eating sweet potato as early as 1000 CE according to archeological evidence.

al-link 1

al-link 2

1st source is entierly unreliable - basically a wikipedia type set up that anyone can edit, 2nd "source" simple claims unsourced "archaeological evidence"

You'll have to come up with a reliable source to debunk the claim in Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel that the source of sweet potatoes was European introduction in the 15th C. I'm going by.
 
1st source is entierly unreliable - basically a wikipedia type set up that anyone can edit, 2nd "source" simple claims unsourced "archaeological evidence"

You'll have to come up with a reliable source to debunk the claim in Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel that the source of sweet potatoes was European introduction in the 15th C. I'm going by.

Diamond is considerably over-rated on matters of detail. For a thorough exploration of the origins and transfer of the sweet potato, see the following source:

The Sweet Potato in Oceania: a reappraisal

Edited by Chris Ballard, Paula Brown, R. Michael Bourke and Tracy Harwood. Oceania Monograph 56, Ethnology Monographs 19. Sydney: Oceania Publications 2005.

The gist of this work is that sweet potatoes were transferred from South America to Polynesia in prehistoric times, i.e. before European contact.

Of course, that's not the only evidence of Polynesian contact with South America. There were chickens in South America before European contact, and Polynesian contact is the only plausible origin for them. (Although part of the original claim for this was incorrect; the chicken DNA turns out not to be specific for Polynesian breeds of chicken, but still, this looks to be where the chickens came from.)
 
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