Driving Us Nuts: Acorn Processing Experiments and the Impact of Mentorship and Yooper Wisdom

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeological Method and Theory: Papers in Honor of James M. Skibo, Part II" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Jim Skibo has undeniably had a profound impact in archaeological method and theory, but he has had an even greater role in teaching and student mentorship, providing his students with a robust foundation infused with Yooper wisdom. In an homage to the theoretical and methodological foundations provided by Jim, this paper reviews an experimental archaeology project spearheaded by Jim and carried out by a team of his graduate students. Inspired by the results of lipid residue analyses that demonstrated the presence of nut lipids in early pottery, we developed an experimental protocol to evaluate the performance characteristics of processing acorns in ceramic vessels. Our results indicate that acorn oil can be effectively rendered at simmering temperatures like those afforded by low-fired ceramic vessels. In contrast, no oil is rendered when acorns are subjected to boiling temperatures. This paper outlines the results of these experiments, highlighting the importance of Jim’s methodological and theoretical training and unwavering support in shaping research and career trajectories, especially my own.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeological Method and Theory: Papers in Honor of James M. Skibo, Part II   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23841