Ardeith writes:
Native tribes in the Eastern US carried little tubers called
Apios americana along on their travels....to eat, and to
plant in suitable areas along travel routes near creeks and
other water sources......these "groundnuts" are tasty and
nutritious and would grow from Maine to Florida......
The tribe could be sure of finding something to eat....raw
or cooked...along with the pemmican they used for
travel food......they also planted maize, beans, and
squashes in season.....and collected a vast array of
'wild' plants.......and hunted, of course.......

In Florida, the native tribes used every kind of
seafood available.....while at USF I worked in the
archaeology lab sifting midden-heap samples from
different areas of the state......huge quantities of
oyster shell and clam shell along with every other
sort of shelled creature.....as well as bones and
other remains of turtles, sharks, other fish and
birds......some animal bone - deer, squirrel,
possum, raccoon, lizards, alligators, and eggs
of all sorts, and snakes......also lots of pieces
of clay pots.....plant matter did not last to be
found in these middens, but we have a pretty
good idea what plants the natives were eating
as they were still eating the same things a
couple of hundred years ago......the native
tribes in Florida didn't plant as agressively as
the Northern tribes........you can find edible
plants year round in Florida..... but there was
some cultivation of favored plant types.....the
tribes moved around to hunt, fish, collect sea
products, and garden.....there are not many
native plants in Florida that produce a lot of
oils and fats....in some areas hickory trees grow
and pecans....but much of Florida is too hot...
animal fats would have to be used pretty quick
before they became rancid.....Florida natives
didn't rely on animal fats to the same extent that
Northern tribes did, but then they didn't need
to....they didn't have those freezing winters to
survive.....in some areas maize was planted...
in other areas....not.  And it was a race to get
to acorns before the bugs did......
Clay pots were used to cook up a stew containing
every sort of plant and animal they had collected...
...a little plant called "coontie" was the source of a
thickener much like arrowroot...I imagine they knew
how to use hide "pots" before they learned how to
make clay pots....but the hides would not have
survived to leave any evidence.............

And they did it all with pointed sticks and chipped
rocks and clam shells.............

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Walk The Path With Practical Feet!

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