Files and links (1)
CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Dissertation
Fleshing Out Scales of Precontact Bulb Stewardship and Consumption in the Pend Oreille Valley, Washington State
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005404
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/118977
Abstract
How do people perceive plants and share those observations? In this dissertation, I explore how specific forms of knowledge – epistemologies – have structured archaeological inquiry and interpretation. Human-plant relationships are primarily viewed from strictly evolutionary perspectives, despite the vast body of epistemological and philosophical literature which highlights how Indigenous people engage with and understand plants in very different ways. Here, I focus on the bulbous geophyte plant foods, also sometimes referred to as underground storage organs or root crops, that were and continue to be critical in the subsistence practices and the overall health of Columbia Plateau residents. This dissertation consists of three paleoethnobotanical studies foregrounding Northwest bulbs. The first study establishes baseline paleoethnobotanical identification criteria, key traits, and reference data for eleven of the most ethnographically consumed bulbs of the greater Northwest region. In the second paper, I draw on that botanical knowledge and develop a method of testing for precontact plant stewardship practices using bulb life-history traits. I examine archived camas bulbs from the Pend Oreille Valley, Washington State, to show how these bulbs were selectively harvested and managed for much of the past 3500 years. The third paper takes a closer look at Pend Oreille Valley earth ovens, the features that many of these bulbs were prepared within. Earth ovens are commonly assumed to be representative of bulb or other geophyte processing and have been used as direct proxies for tracking increased camas production in the inland Northwest. My analysis of archived soil samples from the same valley illustrates that these ovens processed and prepared a wide variety of plant taxa, including several species of bulbs, berries, and pine nuts. Throughout, I highlight how an increased awareness of alternative epistemologies can lead to new archaeological insights, as well as foreground Indigenous ways of knowing.
Metrics
37 File views/ downloads
41 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Fleshing Out Scales of Precontact Bulb Stewardship and Consumption in the Pend Oreille Valley, Washington State
- Creators
- Molly Rose Carney
- Contributors
- Shannon Tushingham (Advisor)Jade d'Alpoim Guedes (Committee Member)William Andrefsky (Committee Member)Colin Grier (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Anthropology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 242
- Identifiers
- 99900591956201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation