Archaeologists have uncovered two freeze-dried potatoes roughly 500 years old at an Inca provincial center on the southern coast of Peru, making it one of the rarest food finds in more than a century of excavations in the area.
The potatoes, known as chuño, were recovered at Tambo Viejo in the Acarí Valley during 2024 fieldwork led by Lidio Valdez, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary. The findings were published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.
The chuños were found inside a ceramic jar buried in the floor, which researchers believe was used for storage. The jar held two brownish-white pieces with portions of dried peel still attached to their surfaces.
A broken pottery piece and a damaged spindle whorl were also inside. Valdez said these objects confirmed that the contents dated to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The ancient process behind the Inca’s freeze-dried potatoes
Valdez said that the significance of the find was apparent the moment it came to light, and he told his team right away that this was not a routine discovery.
Two freeze-dried potatoes from the Inca period were recovered from a sealed jar in Peru, offering rare insight into ancient Andean food preservation and trade. pic.twitter.com/KkowoBL1m6
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 15, 2026
Chuño can only be produced in cold, high-altitude conditions, so its presence on the warm Pacific coast is evidence that the Inca moved preserved food across long distances within their empire.
To make it, potatoes are left out in freezing temperatures overnight in the mountains and then thawed under the strong daytime sun. The cycle repeats before the potatoes are trampled and dried.
The white variety of freeze-dried potato found at Tambo Viejo comes from naturally bitter and toxic types, which require weeks of soaking after freezing before they can be dried. The final product is lightweight and can stay edible for years.
A food that fed the Inca Empire and rarely survives
Potatoes were central to daily life during the Inca Empire. Spanish chroniclers recorded that llama caravans carried chuño and other supplies to storehouses built to feed the workforce.
Its durability and light weight made chuño among the most practical foods of the time. Chronicler Cieza de León noted that traders who sold chuño near mining areas returned to Spain as wealthy men.
Chuño rarely turns up at archaeological sites. The only comparable find was made more than a century ago at Pachacamac, Peru. Researchers believe the dry coastal climate and the sealed ceramic jar protected the potatoes over time. The food is still made in Andean communities today.
The origin of these specific potatoes has not been determined. Valdez plans to use chemical analysis to trace where they came from and described Tambo Viejo as a site that has consistently produced meaningful results across every excavation season.
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