Flora, Ethnoecology, and Foodways in the Land of the Sky

Author(s): Shanti Morell-Hart

Year: 2017

Summary

Analysis of botanical residues recovered from the Río Verde Valley has yielded a wealth of information about activities of ancient inhabitants. Data from this paper were derived from large-scale excavations at the Terminal Formative urban center of Río Viejo, and the Terminal Formative outlying sites of Cerro de la Virgen and Loma Don Genaro. Evidence of agricultural practices as well as the collection of wild and fallow-dwelling plants have been revealed through charred seeds and other macrobotanical remains. The recovered archaeobotanical specimens indicate the use of several typical economic species, as well as a range of uncommon plants that may have been used for various purposes including fiber, medicine, and ornament. Moreover, the distribution of species across each site informs understandings of spatiality in terms of distinctiveness or overlap of activities taking place at individual loci. The diversity of practices represented by the botanical remains adds nuance to traditional paradigms of Formative Period foodways and ethnoecology in the region.

Cite this Record

Flora, Ethnoecology, and Foodways in the Land of the Sky. Shanti Morell-Hart. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, British Columbia. 2017 ( tDAR id: 431067)

Keywords

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica

Spatial Coverage

min long: -107.271; min lat: 12.383 ; max long: -86.353; max lat: 23.08 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14370