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The Big Picture versus Minutiae: Geophytes, Plant Foods, and Ancient Human Economies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2022

Jon M. Erlandson ,
Kristina M. Gill Open the ORCID record for Kristina M. Gill [Opens in a new window]  and
Todd J. Braje
Jon M. Erlandson
Affiliation:
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
Kristina M. Gill*
Affiliation:
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
Todd J. Braje
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
*
(kristinamariegill@gmail.com, corresponding author)
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Abstract

In a rejoinder to Gill et alia (2021), Martin (2022) accuses us of perpetuating misconceptions about human nutrition and erroneously describing geophytes as a dietary staple. We provide authoritative definitions for the terms “essential” and “dietary staple” to show that it is Martin who mischaracterizes and misunderstands the foundational role of geophytes and other plant foods to human diets and subsistence economies in Native North America outside of the Arctic. Recent data demonstrate that carbohydrate-rich geophytes were abundant, regularly utilized, and essential resources on the Northern Channel Islands, a dietary staple that was a rich source of calories and complemented the protein-rich shellfish and finfish that were also staple foods for the Island Chumash.

En una réplica a Gill y colegas (2021), Martin (2022) nos acusa de perpetuar conceptos errados sobre la nutrición humana y de describir erróneamente los geófitos como un alimento básico en la dieta. Proporcionamos definiciones acreditadas de los términos “esencial” y “alimento básico” para demostrar que es Martin quien caracteriza erróneamente y malinterpreta el rol fundamental de los geófitos y otros alimentos vegetales en la dieta humana y en las economías de subsistencia de los nativos de Norteamérica fuera del Ártico. Los datos recientes demuestran que los geófitos ricos en carbohidratos eran recursos abundantes, utilizados regularmente y esenciales en las Channel Islands del Norte, constituyendo un alimento básico rico en calorías y que complementaba los mariscos y peces abundantes en proteínas que también eran alimentos básicos para los Chumash de las islas.

Keywords

geophytesstaple foodsubsistencegeófitosalimento básicosubsistencia
Type
Comment
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 87 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 614 - 616
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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References

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