More than 10,000 years ago, people living in the southwestern United States transported a wild ancestor of the modern potato over long distances. According to a study published on January 21, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS OneThis movement probably helped the plant to spread beyond its original habitat. The research was led by Lisbeth Louderback from the University of Utah in the USA together with her colleagues.
The findings suggest that indigenous communities played an active role in shaping the future of the plant. By moving and using this wild potato, they may have begun the earliest stages of domestication and at the same time built a distinctive cultural tradition in the Four Corners region.
The four-cornered potato and its ancient uses
The plant at the center of the study is known as the four-cornered potato (Solanum jamesii). It is a small but hardy and nutritious wild potato that still grows today in southwestern North America, from southern Utah and Colorado to northern Mexico.
To learn how potatoes were used in the past, the researchers examined ground stone tools from 14 archaeological sites. These sites cover a wide span of time, from a few hundred to many thousands of years. The tools were tested for small starch granules left behind when the plants were processed into food.
Stone tools and genetic traces tell the story
Four Corners potato starch was identified on tools from nine sites. Some evidence goes back to 10,900 cal BP. Most of these sites lie near the modern northern edge of the potato region, along the borders of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Earlier genetic research adds another layer of evidence. Some of the living Four Corners populations clipped in this northern area show strong genetic signs of having originated much further south. This supports the idea that humans carried the plant across the region and expanded its range north into Utah and Colorado, where it still grows today.
Early domestication and living cultural traditions
The researchers note that repeated use of a plant and its movement outside its natural range are key indicators of early domestication. In this case, the behavior appears to have started thousands of years ago.
Even today, the Four Corners potato has cultural significance for Aboriginal communities. In addition to the laboratory work, the research team interviewed 15 Navajo (Diné) elders. These interviews confirmed that wild potatoes remain known, consumed and used for spiritual purposes.
Lisbeth Louderback adds: “By combining new archaeobotanical data and interviews of older people with transport patterns identified by genetic sequencing of the Four Corners potato, we have defined an anthropogenic area distinct from its natural distribution. This reveals a unique cultural identity developed by the ancient transport of this species – one that continues into the present day.”
Cynthia Wilson adds, “The mobility of indigenous foodways was governed by kinship practices across the landscape. Indigenous knowledge holders, particularly matrilineal women, held onto these seeds and stories across generations to maintain ties to ancestral land and foodways.”
Funding: This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (Award BCS-1827414). General funding was also received from Red Butte Garden and the Natural History Museum of Utah.
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