Mesquite Bean Flour
date: label: Accession Date
content: 14 Feb 1895
name: label: Collector
content: William J. McGee
label: Donor Name
content: Bureau Of American Ethnology
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "MESQUITE-BEAN FLOUR IS ONE OF THE CHIEF FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE PAPAGO INDIANS. THE TREES PROLIFIC BEARERS OF BEAN PODS, SOMEWHAT LIKE THOSE OF OUR YELLOW LOCUST IN APPEARANCE. THE FRUIT MATURES IN THE LATE FALL. THE MESQUITE HARVEST IS A SCENE OF GREAT ACTIVITY AMONG THE INDIANS. THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN ROAM FAR AND WIDE, GATHERING HUGE BASKETS OF BEANS, WHICH ARE TRANSPORTED TO THE VILLLAGE AND STORED. THE FLOUR IS OBTAINED BY POUNDING THE BEANS IN STONE MORTARS WITH HEAVY PESTLES, AND SEPARATING THE POD SHELLS AND SEEDS FROM THE YELLOW FLOUR. THE TASTE OF THE FLOUR IS A PECULIAR GLUCOSE SWEET. IT IS USED FOR FOOD BY STIRRING INTO WATER TO THE CONSISTENCY OF GRUEL, OR BY MIXING IT WITH OTHER ARTICLES OF DIET. A COMBINATION OF WHEAT FLOUR AND MESQUITE FLOUR, COOKED AS TORTILLAS, IS QUITE PALATABLE."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Not Given, Pima County, Arizona, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Papago (Tohono O'odham)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 029025
label: USNM Number
content: E174429-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Botanical