Editing Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories (section)

=== Turmeric ===
[[Turmeric]] (''Curcuma longa'') originated in Asia, and there is linguistic and circumstantial evidence of the spread and use of turmeric by the Austronesian peoples into Oceania and Madagascar. Günter Tessmann in 1930 (300 years after European contact) reported that a species of ''Curcuma'' was grown by the [[Amahuaca]] tribe to the east of the Upper Ucayali River in Peru and was a dye-plant used for the painting of the body, with the nearby [[Witoto people]] using it as face paint in their ceremonial dances.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tessman |first1=Günter |title=Die Indianer Nordost-Perus |date=1930 |publisher=Friederichsen, de Gruyter, & Co. |location=Hamburg |pages=161, 324}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tessman |first1=Günter|title=Menschen ohne Gott : ein Besuch bei den Indianern des Ucayali |date=1928 |publisher=Strecker und Schroder |location=Stuttgart}}</ref> David Sopher noted in 1950 that "the evidence for a pre-European, transpacific introduction of the plant by man seems very strong indeed".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sopher |first1=David E. |title=Turmeric in the Color Symbolism of Southern Asia and the Pacific Islands. |date=1950 |publisher=M.A. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley |location=Berkeley California |page=88}}</ref>