Agriculture and Gathering

Agriculture and Gathering. Aztalan National Historic Landmark. Agriculture is a hallmark of Mississippian food production. The people of Aztalan grew corn, squash and other domesticated plants. These plants were not native to the area, but were introduced by Indian peoples over the millennia (squash as early as 1000 B.C., and corn around A.D. 1000). The earliest Euro-American visitors to Aztalan found remnants of ridged agricultural fields to the north of the outer stockade wall. Evidence of these ridges was later destroyed by plowing., The surrounding areas also provided opportunities for gathering wild plant foods including nuts, fruits and berries, roots, tubers, and more. These gathered plants contributed additional tastes, textures, and nutritional elements to the diet of the community. Intense crop production, supplemented by gathering, hunting and fishing resulted in food surpluses that could be counted on during the lean months of winter., While some foods were stored in pottery vessels for immediate use, larger quantities of food were maintained for later use in specially prepared storage pits, many of which have been identified throughout the site. Food production and the ability to create food surpluses provided the people of Aztalan with the resources necessary to support ritual activities, craft specialization, and construction of mounds, stockades, fish weirs, and houses., Photo caption (right): Aztalan hoe made of Mill Creek chert; not to scale