Microscopic examination of pollen discovered at the site showed that principal crops were the famous “Three Sisters” originating in Mexico and Central America - maize, beans and squash. The villagers relied heavily on hunting bison and their vegetable diet, which consisted mostly of crops grown in the valley near the creek, wild berries, roots and other native foodstuffs. The culture included elements carried from further south in the Valley of Mexico. The people who inhabited the Mitchell site 1,000 years ago were influenced by the Mississippian culture, which had its center at Cahokia, near what is now St. Some scholars think amaranth may have antedated all other grains and gave way to them only as the new grains were bred to greater size and bulk. Other crops, including amaranth, were grown as well. The main crops of the Hidatsa and other Native Americans were the "three sisters" of maize, beans and squash. Since I was highly qualified as a layman, and not lacking in curiosity or guts, I gladly took the job. Hannus told me he wanted an informative layman’s view of the site. Adrien Hannus, director of the Archeology Laboratory at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. The book, Village on the Bluff: Prehistoric Farmers/Hunters of the James River Valley, was commissioned by Dr. I embarked on my personal voyage of discovery while writing a book about the Prehistoric Indian Village on the shore of Lake Mitchell, which was inhabited before there was a lake. And, it is increasingly popular with gardeners who find it fascinating for its ease of cultivation, colorful appearance and diverse uses in the kitchen. If you’ve heard the word before but have only a sketchy idea of what it is, you may be surprised to know that it is a product on the market right now, appearing on health food shelves and in mainstream items like bread and cereal. Could a plant grown as a food crop 1,000 years ago in what is now South Dakota be one of the state’s answers to coming dry seasons? That is the question I arrived at after a yearlong probe into the peculiar properties, mysterious origins and current development of the plant called amaranth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |