Ancient use and long-distance transport of the Four Corners Potato (Solanum jamesii) across the Colorado Plateau: Implications for early stages of domestication

Authors:

Lisbeth A. Louderback , Cynthia Wilson, Stefania L. Wilks, Kaley Joyce, Sara Rickett, John Bamberg, Alfonso del Rio, Bruce M. Pavlik.

Abstract:

Despite its long history, utilitarian value, and cultural significance to several Indigenous Tribes in the Southwest USA, the extent to which the Four Corners potato (Solanum jamesii Torr.) has been domesticated requires circumscription. Establishing the temporal and spatial dimensions of intentional cultivation would provide an essential component of the domestication argument. This project tests the hypothesis that S. jamesii tubers were processed with ground stone tools from archaeological sites located beyond the natural range of the species, especially where genetic evidence has previously indicated human transport and establishment in gardens. Microbotanical evidence, in the form of starch granules from 401 ground stone tools at 14 archaeological sites, is examined. More than 6,600 starch granules were recovered from the tools; 163 of which were assigned to S. jamesii. Four sites (North Creek Shelter, Long House/Mesa Verde, Pueblo Bonito/Chaco Canyon, and Point of Pines) show consistent use of S. jamesii (ubiquity >18%), as early as 10,900 cal BP, and well into Puebloan times. Three of these sites are located far north of the species’ center of distribution in the Mogollon region, across hundreds of kilometers of the Colorado Plateau, and still support an extant population nearby. This suggests an anthropogenic distribution of S. jamesii across the Four Corners region and a unique cultural identity around the use of this native potato. These findings, combined with ethnographic interviews and nutritional data, provide clear evidence of use in relation to natural and anthropogenic distributions, thereby allowing an assessment of the degree to which these energy-rich, nutritious, and compact tubers were purposely used and transported.

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