Archaeologists digging at an Inca site on the arid coast of southern Peru have unearthed two rare, roughly 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes. The potatoes are among the only ones found in more than a century and would have been transported across the empire from the freezing peaks of the Andes.
Shoutout to Charles Mann’s 1493, which contains a remarkably insightful survey of potato biology and indigenous Andean cultivation. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the topic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1493:_Uncovering_the_New_World_Columbus_Created