<html>Experimental Re-creation of a Pumpkin (<i>Cucurbita </i>spp.) Leather Mat</html>
Author(s): Arland Wallace
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
The ethnohistoric record from the American Great Plains has indicated that dried pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) strips were frequently woven into mats as a type of food storage. This type of food storage was likely developed over extended geographical areas and deep in time, but archaeological methods being employed for identification regarding their use and production has been wanting. This investigation utilized and followed ethnohistoric records to re-create pumpkin mats using both stone and bone tools, with particular attention to various samples of residue and by-products produced. Two pumpkin mats were manufactured, one had the rind charred and removed before processing and one with a raw rind. The raw rind mat rotted while the charred pumpkin mat has been stable for more than two years. Pumpkin residues were noted on the tools, however, the gourd does not produce starch granules and only the rind, which was discarded in this experiment, contains the needed diagnostic phytoliths. Without a chemical biomarker or ancient DNA methodology, the archaeological identification of this important foodway of pumpkin leather mats may remain elusive that is associated with women’s work.
Cite this Record
Experimental Re-creation of a Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) Leather Mat. Arland Wallace. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510597)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 50625