ANT 351 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Hohokam, Soil Fertility, Cactus
Making a Living: Subsistence Strategies of Southwestern Peoples
Water
-The first need for any person
oBesides oxygen
- arid environment needs a minimum of about one gallon per day
-ancient people had an intimate knowledge of the landscape
owhere to obtain water from springs, live streams, shallow water tables, and
seasonal catchments
- Before ceramics, the main thing used to carry water was a pitch-covered basket
oa tightly woven basket, globular with a thin neck, coated with pine sap
-after ceramics, people used dippers to dip water from streams and pools
- canteens were used to carry water
ospherical, with small openings at the top
- after agriculture was adopted, people also built canal systems and reservoirs
- People built reservoirs along natural drainages
-Anther way to obtain drinking water in old pueblo towns was to roll giant snowballs
when snow was available, then break off chunks of snow or catch the runoff from the
melting snowball.
Fire
-made with the use of a wooden drill rubbed rapidly between two hands against a base
made of wood
-Friction would create glowing embers which would then be rapidly transferred to tinder
and blown upon until a flame was produced
Salt
-Essential to human health
-Natives obtained salt by traveling great distances to obtain it directly, or traded with
their neighbors for it
-Ancient salt mines are known from many places
oEx: extensive salt mine near Camp Verde, Arizona
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oEx: areas at the bottom of the Grand Canyon
- important commodity, and special rituals were observed when it was gathered
Hunting and gathering
-All people hunted wild animals and gathered wild plants
oBefore agriculture this was the only means to survive
-Those who adopted agriculture obtained the majority of their calories from maize,
squash, and beans
Hunting
oonly two animals were ever domesticated
the turkey
provided feathers
the dog
Provided companionship, intruder detection, hunting partner, and
garbage disposal
oNative peoples of the Southwest hunted, killed, and captured a wide variety of
game animals
othere were important food taboos that limited or prohibited the consumption of
certain animals
Bones of the coyote, fish, and amphibians were seldom found
o most important wild animals that were killed and eaten were small game
Ex: jackrabbits, cottontails, prairie dogs, and various forms of
smaller rodents
oSmall animals were hunted with a variety of means
the bow-and-arrow, throwing stick, clubs, deadfalls, and snares.
osmall animals such as rodents were often eviscerated and pulverized, with the
liver left behind for flavor, then roasted over an open flame with the skin left on
orabbits would be skinned then butchered by stripping the meat from the bones
and drying it for jerky
olarge game included
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
bighorn sheep, mule deer, white tail deer (in the southern deserts), elk,
and antelope
olarge game was hunted in a variety of ways
ambushes at watering holes to organized drives
men wearing camouflage provided by the skins and antlers of the
animals being sought.
exclusively with the throwing spear
bow-and-arrow was used only after agriculture was adopted
processed in the field, and only selected useful parts (those rich in meat
and marrow) were brought back to the camp or village for consumption.
Birds were also taken, some for food, some for their feathers, and some
(raptors like hawks and eagles) for religious purposes.
a variety of insects, which are highly nutritious and sometimes provide
the only form of high quality protein available
Gathering
The Pinyon Complex
Pinyon (Pine) nuts are an exceptionally important source of food
Pinyon trees do not produce seeds every year, but have cycles in
which no or very few seeds are produced, followed by incredible
production of seeds
one of the most nutritious foods available anywhere in the SW
Shelled seeds can be eaten raw, parched (using hot coals tossed
quickly up and down in a basket called a “parching tray” or ground
into a meal
Stored up to 5 years
The Acorn Complex
only where oak trees grow
Acorns leached of bitterness (caused by tannic acid), then
roasted, shelled, ground into meal, and made into mush
The Mesquite Complex
very important source of food in the low deserts
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Making a living: subsistence strategies of southwestern peoples. Anther way to obtain drinking water in old pueblo towns was to roll giant snowballs when snow was available, then break off chunks of snow or catch the runoff from the melting snowball. Made with the use of a wooden drill rubbed rapidly between two hands against a base made of wood. Friction would create glowing embers which would then be rapidly transferred to tinder and blown upon until a flame was produced. Natives obtained salt by traveling great distances to obtain it directly, or traded with their neighbors for it. Ancient salt mines are known from many places: ex: extensive salt mine near camp verde, arizona, ex: areas at the bottom of the grand canyon important commodity, and special rituals were observed when it was gathered. All people hunted wild animals and gathered wild plants: before agriculture this was the only means to survive.
