No single person “discovered” peanuts; they were first domesticated thousands of years ago by Indigenous peoples in South America, likely in the regions of modern-day Bolivia and surrounding areas. Europeans and other cultures only encountered peanuts much later through exploration and trade.

Quick Scoop

  • Peanuts are a legume native to South America, not a true tree nut.
  • Archaeological and botanical evidence shows they were cultivated and used as food by pre-Columbian civilizations long before written history, so there is no known individual inventor or discoverer.
  • Over time, peanuts spread from South America to Africa, Asia, and the rest of the world via Spanish and Portuguese trade routes.

Why People Ask About “Who Discovered Peanuts”

Many people mix this up with who popularized peanuts or invented peanut- based products.

  • In the early 1900s, George Washington Carver became famous for developing hundreds of uses for peanuts—like oils, cosmetics, soaps, and more—which is why he’s often nicknamed the “Peanut Man.”
  • Carver did not discover peanuts; they were already widely known crops long before his work, and he also did not invent peanut butter, despite popular myths.

Key Takeaway

If the question is “who discovered peanuts,” the best honest answer is:

Peanuts were domesticated by ancient Indigenous South American cultures, so there is no recorded individual discoverer—later scientists like George Washington Carver simply made them far more useful and famous.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.