<html>Re-evaluating the Dietary Significance of Gambel Oak Acorns (<i>Quercus gambelii</i>) in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest: Evidence from Experimental Foraging, Direct Bomb Calorimetry, and Tannin Extraction</html>
Author(s): Hayley Kievman
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "*Behavioral Ecology in the Mountain West" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Ethnographic evidence documents the exploitation of Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) acorns as a food resource in the Great Basin, Southwest, and Colorado Plateau. However, a paucity of identified macro- and micro- botanical acorn remains in the archaeological record has resulted in a critical underestimation of the significance of the resource for Indigenous groups in these regions. This paper reports data from 18 hours of experimental Gambel oak acorn foraging, direct bomb calorimetry, and tannin extraction, to evaluate whether Gambel oak acorns would have been profitable for Holocene foragers and incipient maize agriculturalists. Results show that Gambel oak acorns have a low tannin concentration and return a substantial amount of calories at 5,711.12 kcal per hour foraging. The high caloric returns combined with potentially low handling costs associated with decreased tannin content, suggest that Gambel oak acorns were likely a significant resource for early- and middle Holocene hunter-gatherers and an important fallback resource for late Holocene maize agriculturalists in the region.
Cite this Record
Re-evaluating the Dietary Significance of Gambel Oak Acorns (Quercus gambelii) in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest: Evidence from Experimental Foraging, Direct Bomb Calorimetry, and Tannin Extraction. Hayley Kievman. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510171)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 51887