Original sentence: Because the general Polynesian word for the sweet potato is kumara, and the South American word is kumar, it is thought that this was evidence of cross-Pacific contact between South America and Polynesia
Edited sentence: Because the general Polynesian word for the sweet potato is kumara, and the South American word is kumar, it was originally thought that this was evidence of cross-Pacific contact between South America and Polynesia.However, linguists have determined that kumara and kumar are totally unrelated and have nothing to do with each other.This therefore cannot be considered as evidence of pre-Magellan trans-Pacific crossings.Very likely the tuber drifted across the sea just as coconuts and some other plants still do today