**FOOD FROM DESERT PLANTS**

The Salado lived in the Tonto Basin from about AD 1300 -- 1450. They
collected about half of their food from plants growing on the mountain
slopes.

Based on studies of plant remains in their dwellings, archeologists
believe the Salado diet included cactus fruits, mesquite beans, jojoba
nuts, juniper berries, and the flower buds of agave, beargrass, yucca,
and sotol. They also cultivated corn, beans, squash, and grain amaranth.

The people maintained small gardens on the level areas between the
mountains and valley floor. Larger farms thrived along the floodplain.

Although desert plants seem an unlikely food source, an astonishing
variety of edible wild plants grows in this area. Changes in elevation
from the Salt River to the cliff dwellings put the Salado within reach
of several microenvironments. Mesquite and prickly pear are common at
low elevations; saguaro, jojoba, and walnuts grow midway up the slopes,
while juniper and pinyon pine once covered the upper slopes.

While the climate was much the same then as now, a richer environment
existed for plant collecting. Lush grasses and trees covered the slopes
before overgrazing in the late 1880's changed the environment. Water was
also more abundant.

Without modern technology, few of us would survive in the desert. To
imagine doing so helps us appreciate Salado food gathering skills. It
speaks of a high level of intelligence and a long cultural tradition.
The Salado needed to know which of the hundreds of plants were edible.
They had to know when to harvest and how to process plants. Most
important would have been skill in preparing food so it could be stored
against times of scarcity.

Why the Salado left the area still mystifies archeologists; depletion of
resources is one theory. Some archeologists surmise that overpopulation,
evidenced by the number of dwellings in the Tonto Basin, pressured the
people to strip the desert of its resources. Poor farming methods would
have contributed to the damage. If so, the Salado would have been
vulnerable to disease and starvation. They may have fought among
themselves as they competed for scarce food.

**THE SALADO KITCHEN**

**Fire** \-- The Salado rotated a vertical stick in a broader socketed
hearth stick until the sawdust burst into flame.

**Cooking Vessels** \-- Baskets were waterproofed using pine pitch or
lac secreted by insects.

Clay pots sat on rocks or on pot rests of shredded yucca leaves or coils
of bluestem beargrass.

**Utensils** \-- The Salado used a mano and metate to grind corn and
other seeds into flour.

Fine-grained stone, chipped to sharp edges, served as knives.

**COOKING METHODS**

**Parching**: Seeds were put in baskets, which were placed on hot rocks.

**Roasting**: Foods were placed on coals in a shallow, clay-lined pit
and covered with earth and grasses.

**Simmering**: Stones were heated and then dropped in liquid.

**THE SALADO** **SUPERMARKET**

**Mesquite** (*Prosopsis juliflora***)** \-- The beans were eaten raw,
cooked, or ground into flour, and made into bread or mush. Dried pods
could be stored for later use.

**Saguaro** (*Carnegiea gigantea*) \-- The fruits were dried or eaten
raw. They could also be made into jam, syrup, flour, and drinks. The
pulp and seeds were molded into cakes, which may have been Salado trade
items.

**Cholla** (*Opuntia sp*.) \-- Buds were de-spined, dried slightly, and
pit roasted with greens. They could also be thoroughly dried, stored,
and boiled when needed.

**Agave** (*Agave chrysantha*) \-- The hearts were placed in a fire pit,
covered with earth, baked, and eaten like artichokes. The fiber could be
eaten raw, or pressed into cakes to be stored for later use.

**Jojoba** (*Simmondsia chinensis*) \-- Nuts were parched or eaten raw.
They could be ground to the consistency of peanut butter and used as a
spread.

**Palo Verde** (*Cercidium microphyllum*) \-- The seeds were eaten raw
or mixed with mesquite bean meal as an extender and flavor enhancer.

**Yucca** (*Yucca baccata*) \-- The Salado ate buds, flowers, and
fruits. The fruit was eaten raw, or sliced and sun-dried for storage.
Roasted fruits were pressed into cakes and dried.