Chapter 2. Insect Foods of North American Indigenous Populations ...

Chapter 260 of 68 9/20/2012 1:34 PMDigging for roots, bulbs, and tubers exposed angleworms that were collected and added to thesoup pot. The underground nests of the yellowjacket wasp were sought and exposed so that thelarvae could be procured for eating. The larvae of ants, bees, and hornets were also eaten.Crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and salmonflies were also used as food. The periodic plaguesof Mormon crickets were remembered as times of plenty, for the crickets were roasted andformed into cakes for storage. Fields might be encircled with fire to drive grasshoppers togetherand be roasted in the process of capture. They were then ready for winter when placed in sacksof vegetable fiber.The authors note, citing others (p. 225), that: "The Indians burned fields and forests to drive game, stimulategrowth of seed and berry plants, collect insects, and, at times, as an aid in warfare."Orcutt, C.R. 1887. A lemonade and sugar tree. West Am. Scientist, 3: 45-47. (Aphididae)Orr, P.C. 1952. Preliminary excavation of Pershing County Caves. Bull. 1, Nevada St. Mus., Carson City.*(Acrididae)Osborne, P.J. 1973. Insects in archaeological deposits. Sci. and Archaeol. 10: 4-6.In archaeological deposits, assessment of the use of insects as human food apparently depends on thefinding of coprolites containing their remains. In humid climates, faecal masses do not preserve well, but Osbornecites Callen (1963) regarding coprolites from Peru and Mexico found to contain insects and other invertebrates.Palmer, E. 1871. Food products of the North American Indians. In Rpt. Commissioner Agric. for 1870,Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off., pp. 404-428. (Ephydridae, Aphididae, Apidae, Formicidae, Sphingidae,Acrididae and Tettigoniidae)Parkman, F. 1873. The Oregon Trail. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., pp. 208-209. (Tettigoniidae)Pattie, J.O. 1831. The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie, of Kentucky. Cincinnati: John H. Wood, p. 100.(Acrididae)Peigler, R.S. 1994. Non-sericultural uses of moth cocoons in diverse cultures. Proc. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist. Ser.3, No. 5: 1-20. (Saturniidae)Powell, J.W. 1875 [1957 reprint]. Exploration of the Colorado River of the West. Washington: Smithson.Inst., p. 133. [The reprint deletes some parts of the original.] (Acrididae and Tettigoniidae)Powell, J.W. 1881. Sketch of the mythology of the North American Indians. Smithson. Inst., Bur. Ethnol. FirstAnn. Rpt., pp. 19-56. (Aphididae)Powers, S. 1877a. Tribes of California. Contributions to North American Ethnology, Vol. III. U.S. Geograph.& Geol. Surv. of Rocky Mtn. Region, Dept. Interior, pp. 379, 430-431.Powers (p. 379) says of the Yokuts of California:In the mountains they used to fire the forests, and thereby catch great quantities of grasshoppersand caterpillars already roasted, which they devoured with relish, and this practice kept theunderbrush burned out, and the woods much more open and park-like than at present. This wasthe case all along the Sierra. But since about 1862, for some reason or other, the yield ofgrasshoppers has been limited. They are fond of a huge succulent worm, resembling thetobacco-worm, which is roasted; also the larvae of yellow-jackets, which they pick out and eatraw.Powers lists (pp. 430-431) a number of insects among the animal foods of the Nishinam of Pacer County,California: Shek (Saturnia caeanothi [Hyalophora euryalis =]), caterpillar; Shek (two species of Arctia),caterpillar; Hol'-lih, crickets, roasted (formerly they were often roasted in large numbers by firing the woods);Pan'-nak, grubs found in decayed oak trees; Kut (Sphinx ludoviciana), a horned black worm (the Indian namedenotes "a buck," so-called because of the horn). En'neh, or grasshoppers, are eaten by the Konkau. They catch