Food Plants
Zea
mays
subsp.
mexicana
Zea
mays
subsp.
mays
Cross section of corn leaf
Cross section of corn
leaf showing C-4
pathway
The One Food Problem
Cliff House at Mesa Verde – circa 1200
AD
Beginnings of the Anasazi
• During their so-called Archaic Period (5500 - 100
BCE) the Anasazi were hunter-gatherers - they
lived mostly on roasted seeds of Indian grass
(Oryzopsis sp.), cattails (Typha lattifolia), salt
bush (Atriplex canescens - Chenopodiaceae), and
sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella - Polygonaceae);
Rabbits and a few deer provided the bulk of the
animal protein in the diet - they lived mostly in
caves or in depressions with simple coverings
made of juniper branches (Juniperus scopulorum Cupressaceae)
Oryzopsis sp. – Indian ricegrass
Atriplex canescens - saltbush
Typha latifolia - cattail
Rumex acetosella – sheep sorrel
Changes to Anasazi life
• About 100 BCE, maize plants arrived and Anasazi
life began to change - at first the Anasazi did not
adopt maize except as a novelty
• About 100 BCE, Anasazi made a change to the so
called Basket Maker II lifestyle in which they
made baskets, sandals, and nets woven from yucca
fibers (Yucca baccata - Agavaceae)
Yucca baccata
Anasazi yucca products
Basket Maker III
• Basket maker III was from about 400 - 700 AD here they became much more agricultural probably due to the arrival of beans Phaseolus
vulgaris (pinto and kidney beans) and P.
acutifolius (tepary or pavi beans)
• The Anasazi began to select maize varieties with
larger ears and more productivity
• They also begin to experiment with irrigation and
developed or acquired bows and arrows
Phaseolus vulgaris – pinto, kidney beans
Phaseolus acutifolius – tepary
or pavi bean
Pueblo I
• Pueblo I lasted from 700-900 AD - here the
Anasazi adopted an increasingly sedentary
lifestyle with advances in basketry and pottery,
cotton was used for cloth, dwellings were made of
stone above ground with pit houses transformed
into ceremonial kivas
• Large stores of grain made higher populations
possible and also led to warfare and raiding for
grain
Anasazi Runi
Pueblo II and III
• Pueblo II (900 - 1100 AD) and Pueblo III ( 1100 - 1300
AD) saw the development of even larger towns and cities,
dwellings were built in cliffs for protection - made very
sophisticated baskets and pottery, had highly developed
irrigation systems - may have used captive turkeys for
meat, feeding them on grain
• Then from 1276 to 1299 there was 23 years of continuous
drought - the Anasazi ultimately abandoned their cities and
moved south to better drainage areas - today their
descendents survive as the Zuni, Hopi, and Rio Grande
Pueblo tribes
Timeline of Anasazi culture
What the Anasazi Left
For Love of the Potato
The Potato Comes to Europe
• The potato came to Europe about 1565 - at
first, most people in Europe, including the
Irish, used the potato as a back up for grain
production, but by the end of the 17th
century, it had become an important winter
food; by the mid-eighteenth century it was a
general field crop and provided the staple
diet of small farmers during most of the
year
Benefits of the Potato
Van Gogh – The Potato Eaters
Ukrainian Food
Potato Pancakes
Borsch
Potato Vodka
Severity of blight and famine
Cartoon of Irish “Bogtrotters”
circa 1840’s
Young potato plant with early
stage of late blight
Dried potato leaf infected with late
blight – Phytophthora infestans
Potato tubers with Late blight
Potato field infected with late blight –
Infection started in center of field
Irish family digging
Potatoes - 1847
Irish family potato dinner - 1846
Irish food riots - 1847
Irish food sent to England
– 1847 or 1848
Lessons learned?
“Whatever may be the misfortunes of Ireland,
the potato is not implicated. It, on the
contrary, has more than done its duty, in
giving them bones and sinew cheap ... There
is no other crop equal to the potato in the
power of sustaining life and health.”
- Bain 1848