Volume_5

Page 523

Table 12.1. List of plant seeds or nuts in this pollen wash study that were commonly exploited by native people of the American Southwest. Common Name Taxa Pollen Ecology Seed Characteristics Ethnographic Data Amaranth Amaranthus albus Wind-pollinated Small Seeds winnowed and ground to flour; greens used for food (Castetter et al. 1936:16, 48). Navajos ground threshed seeds to flour (Vestal 1952:25) and used leaves in ceremonial tobacco (Elmore 1944:45). Amaranth Amaranthus gracilis Wind-pollinated Small Careless weed, Amaranth Amaranthus palmeri Wind-pollinated Light, small, cylindrical, dry and tightly encased by spiny bracts, easy to winnow because fluffy chaff blows away Seeds ground to meal (Castetter 1935:23; Elmore 1944:46); leaves cooked as greens (Curtin 1949:47). Goosefoot Chenopodium leptophyllum Wind-pollinated Heavy and dry Navajos used seeds for food (Vestal 1952:25); seeds one of the most important foods for Zunis (Castetter 1935:21), who mixed ground seeds with corn meal, formed into balls and steamed (Stevenson 1915:66). Beeweed Cleome serrulata Insect-pollinated Heavy and dry, easy to winnow Food staple, pottery paint (Adams et al. 2002). Tansy mustard Descurainia pinnata Insect-pollinated Tiny, light, and oily. easy to winnow Navajo ground seeds to meal (Vestal 1952:28). Gila River Pimas made piñole from ground seeds (Rea 1997:223-224); widespread use of seeds and greens (Moerman 1998:197-198). Sunflower Helianthus annuus Insect-pollinated Heavy and oily; hulls ground with seed Seeds winnowed, parched, ground for food (Castetter and Bell 1951:187); widespread use of seeds and oil pressed from seeds for food and medicine (Moerman 1998:257-258). Purslane Portulaca spp. Insect-pollinated Tiny and light but easy to separate from chaff Hopis used seeds for food (Elmore 1944:47); widespread use of greens for food (Moerman 1998:434). Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides (Stipa & Oryzopsis hymenoides) Wind-pollinated Heavy and dry, tightly encased in bracts that were ground along with seed On the Colorado Plateau, seeds common from Archaic archaeological sites (Huckell & Toll 2004:45, 48-49). Hopis ground seeds with corn into fine meal (Nequatewa 1943:20). Navajo ground seeds into cakes (Elmore 1944:26). Dropseed grass Sporobolus airoides Wind-pollinated Light and even after parching; hard to winnow and separate chaff On the Colorado Plateau, seeds common from Archaic archaeological sites (Huckell & Toll 2004:45, 48-49). Dropseed grass Sporobolus giganteus Wind-pollinated Light but easier to separate from chaff than S. airoides Hopis threshed seeds and ground with corn into fine meal for cooked mush (Nequatewa 1943:20). Corn Zea Wind-pollinated Kernel Food staple, important ceremonial plant (Moerman 1998:610-612). Pinyon pine Pinus edulis Wind-pollinated Nut Food staple (Moerman 1998:406-408).