Cucurbits from Phillips Spring: New Evidence and Interpretations

1980 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 806-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Kay ◽  
Francis B. King ◽  
Christine K. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Cucurbita Pepo ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Lagenaria Siceraria ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Weighted Averages ◽  
Initial Discovery ◽  
Plausible Mechanism ◽  
New Evidence

Excavations conducted since Chomko's initial discovery in 1974 of Cucurbita pepo seeds have clarified their stratigraphic and radiometric context as well as delineated an earlier archaeological unit, the Squash and Gourd Zone, where a second cucurbit, Lagenaria siceraria, was found. The two units are Late Archaic with dates (weighted averages of radiocarbon assays) of 4257 ± 39 and 3928 ± 41 radiocarbon years B.P., respectively, and are beneath stratigraphically superior Late Archaic and Woodland units also containing cucurbits. A comparison of the early Cucurbita pepo with others from later contexts demonstrates an increasing size with time and morphology similar between the early seeds and the historic cultivar "Mandan." Nutritional value of the cucurbits, both cultigens, may have been comparable to that of other wild plant foods consumed. In any event, the cucurbits are artifacts of regional exchange mechanisms operating some 4000 years ago; the most plausible mechanism being down-the-line exchange.

scholarly journals The Role of Horticulture in the Prehistoric Apishapa Region of Southeastern Colorado

2018 ◽  
pp. 11-40
Author(s):  
Christian Zier
Keyword(s):  
Time Pressure ◽  
Arid Environment ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Resource Diversity ◽  
Over Time

At least 40 sites in the Apishapa region of southeastern Colorado and adjacent portions of New Mexico and Oklahoma have produced evidence of prehistoric maize. Firmly dated remains range in age from Late Archaic through Late Prehistoric, with the greatest occurrence between A.D. 550 and 1350. Maize was widespread throughout the region but the remains at individual sites are typically scant. The occurrence of maize increases in frequency over time, a trend that correlates more readily with population increase than climatic variation. The long-standing hunter-gatherer economy of southeastern Colorado persisted into Late Prehistoric times and was supplemented but not replaced by maize horticulture. Over time, pressure on resources resulted in a reduction in mobility and corresponding coalescence of populations into seasonally-occupied sites in canyon areas where resource diversity and availability were greatest. Prolonged drought after A.D. 1000 resulted in abandonment of southeastern Colorado ca. A.D. 1450. A mixed hunter-gatherer and horticultural economy characterized this period, although procurement of wild plant foods and hunting (mostly small mammals) remained prevalent. The failure of maize horticulture to assume a more prominent role in Apishapa subsistence practices may reflect the marginal nature of the semi-arid environment, where even today the growing of food crops is limited both by availability of water and, in some areas, elevation.

Antioxidant Potential of Wild Plant Foods

2016 ◽  
pp. 209-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lillian Barros ◽  
Patricia Morales ◽  
Ana Maria Carvalho ◽  
Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Potential ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Wild Plant Foods

Fire and Ice: New Evidence for the Production and Preservation of Late Archaic Fiber-Tempered Pottery in the Middle-Latitude Lowlands

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Middle Latitude ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Temperate Latitude ◽  
Far North ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Latitude Distribution ◽  
Type Site ◽  
New Evidence

Fiber-tempered potsherds recovered from three sites of the Nebo Hill phase in western Missouri and eastern Kansas date to between 4550 and 3550 radiocarbon years (2600–1600 B.C.) and represent the earliest dated vessels in the midwest. The occurence of fiber-tempered pottery at this time period and this far north and west of the traditionally-defined southeastern hearth for such wares requires a major reappraisal of the assumed distribution and antiquity of Late Archaic ceramics in eastern North America. This report describes the ceramic sherds from the Nebo Hill type site in terms of their method of manufacture and probable use, and identifies factors influencing their survival and preservation in the middle-latitude lowlands. It is proposed that the temperate latitude distribution pattern of shallowly-buried, fiber-tempered potsherds is shaped primarily by the variables of time, ambient moisture and temperature, and ware porosity, and is not necessarily isomorphic with the prehistoric distribution of fiber-tempered vessels.

The Vicchio Stele and Its Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gregory Warden
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Text ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Sacred Texts ◽  
New Evidence

AbstractThe recent discovery of an inscribed stele in the foundations of the Late Archaic temple at the sanctuary of Poggio Colla (Vicchio, FI) sheds new light on the nature of cult at the site. The stele is one of the longest Etruscan sacred texts and is from a secure archaeological context. It is also the earliest extant non-funerary sacred text (excluding simple votive inscriptions). The object, currently undergoing conservation, promises to provide new evidence for Etruscan ritual, literacy, and language.

Nutritional Composition of Some Wild Plant Foods and Honey Used by Hadza Foragers of Tanzania

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn S. Murray ◽  
Margaret J. Schoeninger ◽  
Henry T. Bunn ◽  
Travis R. Pickering ◽  
Judith A. Marlett
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Wild Plant Foods
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