Tuba Receiving Gourd "Balcita"
date: label: Accession Date
content: 15 Jul 1891
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. Edward Palmer
notes: label: Notes
content: The gourd was included in the NMNH Constitution Ave. Lobby Case exhibit featuring the ethnobotanical collections of Dr. Edward Palmer, Dec. 2006 - Jan. 2008. See also NMNH Department of Botany Edward Palmer collections web exhibit page on this artifact: http://botany.si.edu/colls/palmer/narrative_page.cfm?Narr=6&locality= . Identified there: "This gourd (Lagenaria sp.) vessel was used collect a sweet sap that dripped from unopened coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) inflorescences (a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a main stem). The gourd was hung on the side of a palm tree until full of sap. Palm sap is the main ingredient in a palm wine produced in the Mexican state of Colima. The wine, called tuba or vino de cocos is still sold in markets today. Palmer researched tuba production in Colima and acquired the tools and other accoutrements for collecting raw ingredients, making tuba, and for selling it in the market."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Colima, Mexico, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 024600
label: USNM Number
content: E152725-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Container