Paleo Foraging

The process of making primitive arrows: Texas species used in paleolithic arrow manufacture: Arrow shafts (whole): Note: species most commonly used are in bold. Agave spp. / Century plant (flowering stalk) Amelanchier spp. / Serviceberry Amorpha fruticosa / False indigo bush Baccharis salicifolia / Mule-fat Baccharis sarothroides / Desert broom Carya spp. / Hickory Cornus…

Typha latifolia L. = Massula latifolia Broadleaf cattail, tule Apache: tel (Castetter and Opler 1936:59) Cahuilla: ku’ut (Bean and Saubel 1972:143) Comanche: p̥isbuːni (Carlson and Jones 1939:524) Cree: otawăsk (Leighton 1985:63) Dakota: wihuta-hu (Gilmore 1977:12) Gosiute: to’ĭmp (Chamberlin 1911:341) Klamath: pō‘-päs (Coville 1897:89) Lakota: wihuta hu – “tent bottom plant” / hiŋtkaŋ – “fuzz, scraped…

Typha domingensis Pers. = T. angustata, T. angustifolia var. dominguensis, T. bracteata, T. truxillensis Southern cattail, tule Northern Paiute: tahúnadzi (Fowler 1990:69) Seri: pat (Felger and Moser 1985:373) Location in Texas: all TX; not uncommon in Travis Co.; water habitat. Form: grass-like, up to 12 ft. tall; perennial. Flowers: Mar-Aug (white, yellow, brown). Typha spp.…

Typha spp. Cattail Location in Texas: all TX; not uncommon in Travis Co.; 2 spp. in TX: water habitat. Form: grass-like, up to 12 ft. tall; perennial. The two principal species in North America (see specific range maps below): Typha domingensis / Southern cattail Typha latifolia / Broadleaf cattail Both of these are also called…

Neltuma glandulosa (Torr.) Britton & Rose = Algarobia glandulosa, Neltuma glandulosa, Prosopis chilensis, Prosopis glandulosa, Prosopis juliflora, Prosopis odorata, Mimosa pseudo-echinus Honey mesquite, glandular mesquite, mesquite bush, algarroba, mezquite, mizquiqui, mezquite blanco, mezquite amarillo, mezquite colorado, chachacha, tahi, algaroba Aztec / Nahuatl: mizquitl (Bell and Castetter 1937:3, Vogel 1970) Akwa’ala: enal (Gifford and Lowie 1928:352)…

Sideroxylon lanuginosum Michx. = Bumelia lanuginosa, Lyciodes lanuginosum Gum bumelia, gum bully, coma, chittamwood, woolly buckthorn, black-haw, false buckthorn Kiowa: ‘ko-la – “gum” (Vestal and Schultes 1939:46) Location in Texas: all TX except NW; very common in Travis Co.; only Sideroxylon species in TX. Form: shrub, tree, up to 50 ft. tall; perennial. Flowers: June-July…

Fire-starting methods Fire drill: The fire-drill is the most common and reliable primitive technology for fire-starting among American Indians. This generally consisted of a straight, round stick about a foot tall, the drill, and the board against which it was spun, the hearth. The hearth has a cylindrical hole bored into it, and at the…

Populus deltoides W. Barton ex Marshall = Aigeiros deltoides, Monilistus monilifera, Populus sargentii, Populus texana, Populus wislizeni Eastern cottonwood, common cottonwood, alamo Apache: tis (Castetter and Opler 1936:45) Northern Cheyenne: xamáa-hoohtsėtse (large tree) / métse(oʔo) (young tree) (Hart 1981:36) Choctaw: ête hesha kaklahashe – “tree leaf noisy” (Bushnell 1909:23) Dakota: wága chan (Gilmore 1977:20) Gosiute:…

Phytolacca americana L. = P. decandra Pokeweed, poke, poke berry, inkberry, redweed Cherokee: dzayitagɑ́ / dzaidɑgɑ́ / dja·yɑdEhí (Banks 1953:42)Haudenosaunee: o‘’sheä oně˙’taʼ – “crimson leaves” (Parker 1910:93)Kiowa: (name translates to) “pink flower plant” (Vestal and Schultes 1939:26) Osage: gðebe moŋkoŋ – “vomit medicine” (Munson 1981:237) Location in Texas: E, C, & sparse W TX; common…