DISCLAIMER:
This website is for educational or entertainment purposes only.
It describes published historical practices and my reckless attempts to replicate them.
Some of the species used have TOXIC, POISONOUS, & DEADLY properties.
Other practices recorded are inherently DANGEROUS & potentially FATAL.
To be safe, DO NOT try anything on this website!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOTE: THIS WEBSITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
Many hundreds of species accounts I have written are being gradually added.
For those concerned with my use of the term “American Indian” or use of past tense regarding their ethnobiology, please see my page here.
ABOUT PALEO FORAGING:
Why I created this:
I could never find a satisfactory foraging guide. No foraging book (I have over 30), website, or other media had satisfactory accounts of usable species. Most had rather few species and relied heavily on repeating uses of extremely common introduced species found in yards. Very few guides back up any of their claims. The species listed often did not seem very practical. (A dandelion is edible, sure, but doesn’t taste great and could never be considered a valuable food resource.) And preparation methods were often lacking.
Historical accounts of American Indian ethnobotany were the first answer for me. They were actually foragers, the ultimate experts. So, I compiled every reference describing how Indigenous peoples living in foraging societies in North America historically used their environment.
How I got information:
I have gone through hundreds of thousands of pages of American Indian ethnobotanies & ethnographies (mostly from 1890 to 1940), early American histories (from 1528 to 1900), and archaeological studies. I have used primary sources whenever practical. And I back up every fact I assert with a reference and page number.
So far, I have checked over 100 ethnobotanies, over 1000 ethnographies, over 600 early histories, and dozens of archaeological studies.
See the “references” tab for many of my sources.
What I’ve found:
I have recorded uses of over 1000 plant species in Texas alone. Many of the uses have never been published outside of old, obscure, or difficult-to-find sources.
I have recorded the uses of about 500 insect species for food.
I focus on plants, especially edible ones in Texas, with a secondary focus on edible insects. But I will include everything, such as minerals and vertebrates, eventually.
I am continually attempting to personally replicate as many uses as possible, starting with local species. I am gradually filming and editing videos of my foraging practices and summaries of my research, which I upload here: Paleo Foraging – YouTube.
I have accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, to which I regularly post short videos as @paleoforaging.
I am editing a manuscript of my research, which I plan to publish in the near future, allowing the public access to most everything I know about Texas ethnobotany.
About me:
I taught my first foraging class in 2013, while studying American Indian ethnobotany and ethnoentomology (use of insects) for my graduate biology research at UC Berkeley. I began casually foraging as a child, but I have been seriously researching plant uses for 20 years.
As a native Austinite and nearly lifelong resident of Texas, I focus on my local species. Fortunately, Austin is in the middle of Texas and Texas is in the middle of North America, so plants in these areas can be found all over the US, especially in the southwest and southeast. I also research interesting species in the same genus as those in my area, with a goal to try to use their local relatives in the same way and report on it.
I have an academic and professional background in ethnobiology, entomology, botany, and ecology (including an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and being named a National Geographic Young Explorer in 2013). I’m a proficient flintknapper and have practice in many other primitive skills such as archery. And I’m an experienced outdoorsman and bibliophile.
– Cyrus Harp
Paleo Foraging LLC
5900 Balcones Drive Suite 100
Austin, TX 78731