Experimental Earth Oven Agave Bakes with the Southern Paiute in Nevada

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part II" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Beginning in 2018, I have been working with the Southern Paiute to host annual agave bakes using experimental earth ovens at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada. Our events have gradually grown as we experiment with various aspects of earth oven cooking, including the use and quantity of different fuel types, introduction of modern materials, and processing methods. Once a commonly used technology as evidenced by hundreds of earth ovens documented throughout the refuge, access to traditional baking areas were restricted to Indigenous peoples following decades of emigration and the establishment of federal lands. As a result, the ability to practice traditional lifeways, such as baking agave in earth ovens, was irrevocably changed. We hope that as interest continues to grow, this event may be expanded to include the participation of additional southern Paiute bands, as well as opening the event up to the public to share this traditional cooking method.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part II

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39118.0