Utah found the remains of “mashed potatoes” — a well-preserved granules of starch.
They are “stored” on stone tools for grinding plants and are now the oldest witnesses to the existence of plant in North America.
Potato starch remains on stone tools that were found in the town of North Creek shelter (Utah), which is known as the “valley of potatoes”.
In particular, scientists have found traces of wild potato called Solanum jamesii, which was raised by several tribes of native Americans, including Apache, Navajo and hopi, reports The Independent.
Most varieties of potatoes that are common around the world nowadays, comes from different species — Solanum tuberosum, cultivars of which are grown in the Andes of South America more than 7,000 years ago.
Scientists who found the remains of the potato in Utah, believe that the fossil may be first example of edible plants that were grown the natives of the American West, and its properties can help professionals to make a modern potato more resistant to disease and drought.
In addition, Solanum jamesii is rich in proteins, zinc, and manganese, and the content of calcium and iron in it more than three times the content of these elements in Solanum tuberosum.
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