Staples of Prehistoric Indians
Corn, Beans & Squash

The prehistoric people of Raven Site were very resourceful. The utilization of a multiplicity of different plant species occurred in their surrounding ecosystem. They gathered the seeds and fruits of the plants that naturally thrive in this rich valley and also cultivated and irrigated hundreds of acres of land with domesticated crops. Miles of irrigation ditches were painstakingly built by hand nearly a thousand years ago. This prehistoric irrigation system is still being utilized today by the modern ranchers in the valley. The life-giving water still flows from the Little Colorado River to the gardens just as it did prehistorically.

Both the gathering of wild plants and the cultivation of domestic plants were important resources. The gathering of wild plant fruits and seeds continued even at the height of the prehistoric domestic plant cultivation.

The three staples of the prehistoric Indians were: corn, beans and squash. The 'Native Seed Search Catalogue' lists many varieties of these essentials - there are also other wonderful things in the catalogue to try.

• AMARANTHUS was grown by the Aztec and the Indians of the Southwest for thousands of years. Every part of this plant for the entire growing season can be utilized. The leaves, stems and flowers are rich in calcium and iron, and have a flavor that is unique and savory. They make a colorful and original salad. The seeds and flour are full of lysine. Amaranthus flour can be purchased from the Native Seed Search people. You can cook the seeds whole and eat them like hot cereal, or you can pop them like popcorn. Early anthropologists observed the Indians of the Southwest on all fours browsing on the tops of the young plants. Amaranthus will outperform wheat on the same acreage. You may have been weeding the plant out of your garden for years. Amaranthus is commonly known as pigweed.

• COTTON has been used throughout the southwest in frost-free areas by the prehistoric peoples. The lint was spun into fine fabrics. The prehistoric Hohokam Indians, who migrated around 300 BC to the valley where the city of Phoenix is presently located, irrigated and grew cotton. They traded this valuable commodity with their neighbors: the Anasazi to the north, the Mogollon to the northeast, and the Salado Indians to the east. Early Spanish conquistadors reported back to Spain that the Indians in South America grew wool on bushes. This caused quite a stir. Artists drew pictures of sheep hanging from the branches of trees. What is interesting is that these early reports indicate that the wool or native cotton grew in different colors. If this is true, the technology has been lost over the centuries.

• DEVIL'S CLAW is an interesting plant that was utilized in many ways by the prehistoric inhabitants of the Southwest. This bony fruit has been found in caves in the Southwest dating as early as AD 300. The seeds are rich in oil and protein. A black fiber stripped from the fruit or claw was used in basketry. The darker lines woven into the baskets of the Pima and Papago Indians are often Devil's Claw strands. The dark, dried seeds can be eaten, and they are often used in pottery-making to polish the surface of the new clay during the construction of the vessel. The claws (or pods) can be cooked and eaten like okra. The plants are beautiful. The flowers are lavender and orchid-shaped. The Hopi say that the long spines of the fruit draw lightning and rain.

• SUNFLOWERS were domesticated by the prehistoric Southwest Indians. The seeds were eaten roasted and raw and the pollen was used for ceremonies and facial coloration. Hopi women ground the dried petals and mixed them with cornmeal to use as powder to decorate their faces for the basket dance. Sunflowers were semi-domesticated even before the introduction of corn, beans and squash from Mexico. The seeds were ground on the stone metates and eaten as mush. The black-seeded variety is used by the Hopi for basketry dye, and the seeds are also pressed for oil. Sunflowers are a wonderful addition to any garden. It's amazing that so much growth could occur in a few short months. Some of the plants that I've grown got so big that at the end of the growing season I had to cut the stalks down with a chain saw.

• TOBACCO was used prehistorically for ceremonies and as a medicinal herb. During the excavations at Raven Site pipes were discovered with the residues of prehistoric tobacco (and marijuana). The tobacco that the Indians grew is much different from the smoother throat-fooling varieties that are marketed today. The original tobacco was so strong that it was used as a hallucinogen and as a test of endurance in right-of-passage ceremonies. In the early American colonies, tobacco was used much differently than it is abused today. People would sit down on Saturday night, light up their pipes and smoke until they fell down. It was used as a recreational drug. It wasn't until the southern colonies needed another cash crop other than cotton that tobacco was really brainwashed into our culture. Varieties were bred that were milder and that could be smoked without the immediate harsh effects.

• GOURDS are the earliest domesticated plants and they were used prehistorically for containers. They were dried and carved into canteens and musical instruments, including flutes and rattles. When Carol and I were living with the Maya in the interior of Mexico, my friend Don Pepe supplied me with a beautiful gourd canteen to use while exploring the caves. At the archaeological site, a wild gourd known as coyote gourd clutters the ground from early in the spring until late in the fall. The gourds are small and perfectly round. The vines and leaves reek with an aroma that could knock a buzzard off a manure wagon. The prehistoric Indians at Raven Site used the juice of this gourd as an astringent to discourage infants from nursing. This stuff could discourage anyone from anything. The seeds are high in oil content. The Papago use the bitter white flesh as a laundry whitener. On the Navajo Reservation experiments are being conducted to determine if the large pulp roots of this gourd might serve as a low-smoke firewood.

As the garden grew and the plants matured I could not help but try the squash blossoms fried and the corn ground into pasty molina. Many of the authentic Native American plants were unpalatable to our Anglo tongues and many were a treat to discover. I found that I'm particularly fond of the Amaranth because it has a unique flavor that adds another dimension to my salad. Others, like the devil's claw, I could do without. It's fun to experiment with these new varieties. I invite the gardeners among you to call The Native Seed Search and grow some experiments of your own!

James Cunkle