2026年6月、ペルーの海岸沿いのインカ遺跡で、約500年前のフリーズドライのじゃがいも2個が、陶器の中から出土した。June 2026 — At a coastal Inca site in Peru, two roughly 500-year-old freeze-dried potatoes were found inside a ceramic vessel.

An archaeological team led by Lidio Valdez of the University of Calgary discovered two specimens of chuño, or freeze-dried potatoes, dating to about 500 years ago at Tambo Viejo, an Inca administrative centre in the Acari Valley, Arequipa, Peru. A study in an academic journal was reported on 14 June 2026.

Tambo Viejo lies in the Acari Valley, and excavations were conducted in 2024. The tubers were found inside a ceramic vessel buried beneath the floor of a storage structure, their preservation attributed to the arid climate and the sealed container.

Chuño can only be produced in the high, cold zones of the Andes. The team concluded that its presence at a coastal settlement is evidence that the Incas transported food through extensive supply networks. Physical chuño finds are rare, making the specimens an unusual source on Inca logistics.