Near Oroville in Butte County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Native Food Preparation
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2014
1. Native Food Preparation Marker
Inscription.
Native Food Preparation. . As you rest under the shade of this oak tree, you may notice several bowl shaped depressions in the rocks. These depressions, called mortars, were created over the last 2000 years by Maidu Indians. Each mortar was created for a specific purpose, such as grinding acorns or other nuts. Acorns are readily accessible in the California foothills, they can be stored for long periods, and they have a high fat content. These factors contributed to making acorns one of the most important foods for Native Californians. Before acorns were ready to be used for food, they were collected, dried, ground up and leached with water to remove the bitter tanic acid. ,
Please help protect your American Heritage.. On lands administered by the Forest Service, it is unlawful to excavate, remove, disturb, deface, or destroy any historic building, ruin, site, artifact, or object, or to collect, appropriate, excavate, damage, disturb, or destroy historic artifacts. Violators are subject to arrest. Conviction can carry criminal penalties of up to two years in prison and/or $500,000 in fines. …Archaelogical Resources Protection Act of 1979
As you rest under the shade of this oak tree, you may notice several bowl shaped depressions in the rocks. These depressions, called mortars, were created over the last 2000 years by Maidu Indians. Each mortar was created for a specific purpose, such as grinding acorns or other nuts. Acorns are readily accessible in the California foothills, they can be stored for long periods, and they have a high fat content. These factors contributed to making acorns one of the most important foods for Native Californians. Before acorns were ready to be used for food, they were collected, dried, ground up and leached with water to remove the bitter tanic acid.
Please help protect your American Heritage.
On lands administered by the Forest Service, it is unlawful to excavate, remove, disturb, deface, or destroy any historic building, ruin, site, artifact, or object, or to collect, appropriate, excavate, damage, disturb, or destroy historic artifacts. Violators are subject to arrest. Conviction can carry criminal penalties of up to two years in prison and/or $500,000 in fines. …Archaelogical Resources Protection Act of 1979
37.185′ N, 121° 15.943′ W. Marker is near Oroville, California, in Butte County. Marker can be reached from Bryant Ravine Road (Forest Road 21N35Y) 1.6 miles north of Lumpkin Road when traveling north. Marker is located along the Feather Falls Trail, about 1.5 miles north of the Bryant Ravine Road Trailhead and parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oroville CA 95966, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . The Maidu Tribe. The Maidu tribe were a California tribe of Native American Indians who were hunter-gatherers and fishers. The Maidu tribe inhabited the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valleys of northern California. A staple food of the Maidu were the acorns from the oak trees that provided an abundance of these nuts. The acorns were gathered from the Californian white, black and tan oak trees and the huckleberry
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2014
2. Native Food Preparation Marker (wide view)
oak and the bush chinquapin that grow in the northeastern mountain region. The acorns were roasted and eaten whole or ground into acorn meal which was used to make bread. (Submitted on March 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
5. Feather Falls Trailhead (park here to access trail)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 7, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 209 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
