Comment by barry-cotter
3 years ago
The Polynesians got to South America so yes.
> Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement
> Here we analyse genome-wide variation in individuals from islands across Polynesia for signs of Native American admixture, analysing 807 individuals from 17 island populations and 15 Pacific coast Native American groups. We find conclusive evidence for prehistoric contact of Polynesian individuals with Native American individuals (around AD 1200) contemporaneous with the settlement of remote Oceania13-15.
The major constraint of the race was doing it all in one-go, not to diminish the Polynesians' accomplishment, but island hopping was a key feature of their expansion.