JOURNAL F ETHNOBIOLOGY Reconstructing Plateau Socioeconomies from Archaeological Data -Lepofsky et a/. Samburu Pastoralist Medicine and Healing -Fratkin Non-Domesticated Foods in Thai Markets -Moreno-Black et al. “Hallucinogenic” Ant Ingestion in Native California -Groark Pogonomyrmex californicus neared JOURNAL STAFF EDITOR: Eugene S. Hunn, Department of Anthropology, Box 353100, University of Washington, Seattle, WA ’ 8195-3100 (hunn@u.washington.edu) EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Jennifer Sepez, Department of Anthropology, Box 353100, University of Washington, eattle, WA 98195-3100 (jsepez@u.washington.edu) ASSOCIATE EDITOR (Spanish): Alejandro de Avila B., Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (deavila@qal.berkeley.edu) NEWS & COMMENTS EDITOR: Gary J. Martin, 94 Blvd. Flandrin, 75116, Paris, FRANCE. Fax: 33/1/45533001 BOOK REVIEW EDITORS: Nancy J. Turner and Sandra Peacock, Environmental Studies Program, P.O. Box 1700, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 CANADA (njturner@sol.uvic.ca) SOCIETY OFFICERS ; PRESIDENT: Catherine S. Fowler, University of Nevada, Reno, NV PRESIDENT-ELECT: Nancy J. Turner, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA ' SECRETARY/TREASURER: Gayle J. Fritz, Washington University, St. Louis, MO CONFERENCE COORDINATOR: Mollie S. Toll, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM BOARD OF TRUSTEES Karen R. Adams, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Cortez, CO Suzanne K. Fish, Arizona State Museum, Tucson, AZ | Gail Wagner, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC Ex officio Past presidents: Steven A. Weber, Amadeo M. Rea, Elizabeth S. Wing, Paul Minnis, and Cecil Brown. Permanent oard member Steven D. Emslie. The editor, president, president-elect, secretary /treasurer, and conference coordinator. : EDITORIAL BOARD Karen R. Adams, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Cortez, CO: paleoethnobotany. Eugene N. Anderson, University of California, Riverside, CA: ethnobotany, China, Maya. Scott chi CNRS, Paris, FRANCE: ethnobiological classification, cognition, history of science, ec Brent Berlin, University of Georgia, Athens, GA: ethnobiological classification, medical ethnobotany, Maya Robert A. Bye, Jr., Jardin Botanico, Universidad Nacional Aut6énoma de México, México, D.F., MEXICO: ethno- botany, Mexico. H. Sorayya Carr, El Cerrito, California: zooarchaeology. Nina Etkin, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI: medical ethnobotany, the Pacific. Gayle J. Fritz, Washington University, St. Louis, MO: paleoethnobotany. David R. Harris, University College, London, ENGLAND: ethnoecology, subsistence systems, archaeobotany. Chris Healey, Northern Territory University, Darwin, AUSTRALIA: ethnozoology, Australia and New Guinea. Timothy Johns, Macdonald College of McGill University, Quebec, CANADA: chemical ecology, ethnobotany, East Africa Harriet V. icaitenteiiie: McGill University, Quebec, CANADA: ethno/human nutrition, First Nations of Canada Brien A. Meilleur, Center for Plant Conservation, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO: eiicy plant conservation, ethnobotanical gardens. Gary Nabhan, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ: ethnobiology, Sonoran desert cultures. Darrell A. Posey, Oxford Centre for the Environment, Ethics, and Society, Oxford University, Oxford, ENGLAND: natural resource management, ethnoecology, dao saaieie meaigy Amadeo M. Rea, San Diego, CA: cultural ecology, Elizabeth J. Reitz, University of Georgia, Athens, GA: zooarchaeology. Mollie S. Toll, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM: prehistoric and historic ethnobiology. The soaks of Ethnobiology is published semi-annually. Manuscripts for publication, information for the “News an nd Comments” and book review sections should be sent to the appropriate editors as listed on the inside back cover of this issu © Society of Ethnobiology ISSN 0278-0771 FRONT COVER The new si of Ethnobiology cover will feature a figure or photograph from one of the vebieaied in shane issue. The former cover piece will remain as the Journal's logo. It represents a split-twig figurine, made o f squawbush ( willow (Salix). Split-twig neara appeared as a cultural trait in the ncuael Southwest about 2000 B.C. among Archaic said and gathering ios ememnanaate in ng ape and seo baw area of Arizona. T. pit h found in Utah, veniam ae California, and are thought to have F inf g American Antiquity article by Alan R. Schroedl rah = 42(2): 254-265). eiihens Pog lif nomo California harvester ant d hcentral California to induce sfinuhoe sie pe o o states of consciousness. Advertising Information Journal of Ethnobiology published by the Society of Ethnobiology Mailing Instructions: All initial advertising contracts and correspondence should be sent to: Secretary /Treasurer Society of Ethnobiology Gayle J. Fritz Department of Anthropology Campus Box 1114 Washington Universi St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 Phone: (314) 935-8588 Fax: (314) 935-8535 E-mail: gfritz@artsci.wustl.edu Insertion orders and camera ready copy should be sent to: Editor, Journal of Ethnobiology Eugene S. Hunn Department of Anthropology University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3100 Phone: (206) 543-6825 Fax: (206) 543-3285 E-mail: hunn@u.washington.edu MISSOURI BOTANICAL AUG 2 3 1996 CONTENTS INIT A oo oa i vac ba ddedacdeceakecdigedeechecae re On ME IST Bik ps vcs conn nddncahwedewnodaias i RITUAL AND THERAPEUTIC USE OF “HALLUCINOGENIC” HARVESTER ANTS (POGONOMYRMEX) IN NATIVE SOUTH- CENTRAL CALIFORNIA in Beta eg rk Ge ie ae hk wa oe ha ees | RECONSTRUCTING PREHISTORIC SOCIOECONOMIES FROM PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL AND ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE BRITISH COLUMBIA PLATEAU Dana Lepofsky, Karla Kusmer, Brian Hayden, and Kenneth P. Lertzman.......... 31 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND CONCEPTS OF HEALING AMONG SAMBURU PASTORALISTS OF KENYA tr NE eo ect ea ued sso ak Gee ke ek eae eee ee 63 NON-DOMESTICATED FOOD RESOURCES IN THE MARKETPLACE AND MARKETING SYSTEM OF NORTHEASTERN THAILAND Geraldine Moreno-Black, Watana Akanan, Prapimporn Somnasang, Sompong Thamathawan, and Paul Grozv0shy «0 6s csic cece cacisesvaenesasveredanenss 99 ek awh dR nyse oe Rnend Hoo nesennde eee ane ee sa aes 118 ree Be IOI a ie eve v uve h adobe neha eyed Se aad Hewew'e o: 124 BOOK REVIEWS Histoire Illustrée du Caoutchouc, by J.B. Serier, A. Diez and A. Van Dyck ee Te a ee is ick ao eS RE EEE VEE RO 29 The Diversity and Evolution of Plants, by Lorentz C. Pearson PIR ES SONG oa 2s bo wine cn AR eWeek esha eee meer excess esheos 30 Plant Intoxicants. A Classic Text on the Use of Mind-Altering Plants, by Baron Ernst von Bibra PICT ECGS SOOM ioe. d 5 6s 20 bho kee Pen eed Cea doe ee cre eae ne ses 97 La Guia de Incafo de las Plantas Utiles y Venenosas de la Peninsula Ibérica y Baleares (Excluidas Medicinales), by Diego Rivera Nunez and Concepcién Obén RicHaiel FINS SOUS ein ey oem ke eb ach ok oo iow ewan began ne eee ante es 98 Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidance from Prehistory to the Present, by Frederick J. Simoons UM og i, ane ee era eee ae ae ner er rere er ee ee eee eee eee 128 Journal of Ethnobiology VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 SUMMER 1996 Advertising Information Journal of Ethnobiology published by the Society of Ethnobiology Mailing Instructions: All initial advertising contracts and correspondence should be sent to: Secretary / Treasurer Society of sai ayle J. Fri Department of jae Campus Box 1114 Washington University St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 Phone: (314) 935-8588 Fax: (314) 935-8535 E-mail: gfritz@artsci.wustl.edu Insertion orders and camera ready copy should be sent to: Editor, Journal of Ethnobiology Eugene S. Hunn Department of Anthropology University of Washington Box 3531 Fax : (206 ) 543-3285 E-mail: hunn@u.washington.edu MISSOURI BOTANICAL AUG 2 3 1996 CONTENTS PERRANOOI TI Ae vice led v lekacnlevbnittecdeeecSeinagidieat | nm Eee he ea a) ol og) oe o RITUAL AND THERAPEUTIC USE OF “HALLUCINOGENIC” HARVESTER ANTS (POGONOMYRMEX) IN NATIVE SOUTH- CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ee ea hd et eK ie ee ee Ree ees 1 RECONSTRUCTING PREHISTORIC SOCIOECONOMIES FROM PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL AND ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE BRITISH COLUMBIA PLATEAU Dana Lepofsky, Karla Kusmer, Brian Hayden, and Kenneth P. Lertzman.......... 31 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND CONCEPTS OF HEALING AMONG SAMBURU PASTORALISTS OF KENYA ee ee oo rtd ot oneness oe eae bane 63 NON-DOMESTICATED FOOD RESOURCES IN THE MARKETPLACE AND MARKETING SYSTEM OF NORTHEASTERN THAILAND Geraldine Moreno-Black, Watana Akanan, Prapimporn Somnasang, Sompong Thanurtienoan, and Paul Grozagey cia enh aes ec ke aes tase ees peat eee nes 99 DP Dee Sg be en ee eee er 118 ER bo ot ds whe bade Peace hans aa SRK RKO Naw 124 BOOK REVIEWS Histoire Illustrée du Caoutchouc, by J.B. Serier, A. Diez and A. Van Dyck TRAE SRN i ig ae Aa ea WG ee PORWR SNC OE EE ee ORE HR 29 The Diversity and Evolution of Plants, by Lorentz C. Pearson PICOTE EONS SOMES ons cc ky ee cee ne CNM nee Rees ke OS EEE R EERE RS RRS 30 Plant Intoxicants. A Classic Text on the Use of Mind-Altering Plants, by Baron Ernst von Bibra PCH EOGHS BOOS 6cn ss is Sued ee wa capa ews Wine See ogee yee ee eee 97 La Guia de Incafo de las Plantas Utiles y Venenosas de la Peninsula Ibérica y Baleares (Excluidas Medicinales), by Diego Rivera Nunez and Concepcién Obén Paid Fre TE sss cn hs oe et ie San hee hae kde ewe ken eee eee 98 Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidance from Prehistory to the Present, by Frederick J. Simoons ME es Re nt eran orn eee Pee ripen et ee fee ee ee ee ee 128 Earth’s Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Ecological Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback, by J. Baird Callicott Pr er bh a ae ee ah oe oe tek akes cee wes ea ake Os 130 Progress in Old World Palaeoethnobotany: A Retrospective View on the Occasion of 20 Years of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany, edited by Willem van Zeist, Krystyna Wasylikowa, and Karl-Ernst Behre Po el er or ae eee rere rer ee rT te. ee es eer. peal Phytolith Systematics: Emerging Issues, edited by George Rapp, Jr. and Susan Mulholland Diego Ricera-Niiaiex ered Cane pcan (MIM os 2 2 cin’ 0 4ie OME VERE AHEAD ORES 134 Ethnobotany of the California Indians, Volume 1: A Bibliography and Index, by Beatrice M. Beck; Volume 2: Aboriginal Uses of California Indigenous Plants, by Sandra S. Strike Conrad Richter Forestry and Food Security, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations PR EOIN ed ed oes an Ee ge nates, gang wl ge ake ay Ly Forest, Trees and Food, by R. Clarke i ee oo 4-5 0h os we a eed kh ed COLE ae ee A es 137 Stressed Ecosystems and Sustainable Agriculture, edited by S.M. Virmani, J.C. Katyal, H. Eswaran, and IP. Abrol POCO © ONG TOE es aids ZG ak oe eae Soa ele Las 138 Eating on the Wild Side, edited by Nina L. Etkin PRT Woes ta oe on sh ek ee 139 Murder, Magic and Medicine, by John Mann PCPS FR I oie ocr hese a ee ou he 140 Ethnobotany: A Methods Manual, by Gary J. Martin; Techniques and Methods of Ethnobotany, by David R. Given and Warwick Harris BOROLOUGONNS 3505s 35 693s GER OE LL ERS EES he dee Le OF 140 Amazonian Indians From Prehistory to the Present: Anthropological Perspectives, edited by Anna Roosevelt BEG SET ies Sa RSE URES 08 Vee Rka Rae Bee aU EM ees OP EES IN 142 ETHNOBIOTICA Time for some changes. The “new look” involves a brighter cover, glossy white with a touch of color, the traditional logo (see inside our front cover for the story behind it) is reduced to an icon freeing space to highlight the current contents, including a selected graphic image, a rather threatening and out-sized ant. See Groark’s lead article for the ethnographic details. It’s a fascinating story. Another new feature: a photo and bio section highlighting the authors published in the current issue. I’m trying to shake a bit of the dust off the Journal. Volume 16 marks the mid-point of our second decade. I had hoped to have an index included but that must wait for the next issue. This index will bring us up to date since the last, which appeared in Volume 5, Number 2. I want to thank my editorial assistant, Jennifer Sepez for an excellent job (and the University of Wash- ington for chipping in toward her wages). Jennifer will prepare the index on top of handling correspondence and general editorial housekeeping. We have revised the “Guidelines for Authors,” last printed in Volume 10, Number 1, in the era before computers and electronic mail had become common- place. Note the new rules: send your manuscripts on diskette as well as hard copy. This will facilitate the review process, as I will be able to circulate drafts via e-mail in many cases. The editorial board has been expanded and strengthened to better represent the range and complexity of topics we treat here. I would like to welcome Scott Atran, Nina Etkin, Chris Healey, Brien Meilleur, and Gary Nabhan to the board. I hope they will help me to speed the review process and assure the quality of the articles we publish. Once again our contents span the breadth of ethnobiology: hallucinogenic ants ingested by California Indians in a rite of passage; an analysis of macrobotanical remains from a prehistoric village in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia; a comprehensive review of the medicinal ethnobotany of the Samburu, East African pastoralists; and a report on the role of wild plant and animal resources in north- eastern Thai markets. “Notes and Comments” is back and Gary Martin, feature editor, urges you to consider contributing some newsworthy item or provocative comment. Yours, rag Lz y Moon | From A. Miller, The Wall Paintings of Teotihuacan (1973). Drawing by Felipe Davalos G. AUTHORS IN THIS ISSUE ELLIOT FRATKIN Elliot Fratkin teaches anthropology at Smith College. He has written extensively about East African pastoralist peoples and is the author of Surviving Drought and Develop- ment: Ariaal Rendille Pastoralists of Kenya (Westview Press) and co-editor of African Pastoralist Systems (Lynne Rienner Press). Dr. Fratkin is currently researching health and nu- trition effects of pastoral sedentarization with his physi- cian partner Martha Nathan. KEVIN P. GROARK Kevin Groark is a doctoral candidate in sociocultural an- thropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his B.A. from UC Berkeley in 1992 and his M.A. from UCLA in 1996. His research interests focus on Mesoamerican and Amazonian ethnography, particularly medical ethnobotany and ethnomedicine. The present ar- ticle derives from his ongoing research with J.P. Harrington’s Kitanemuk fieldnotes, and is part of a book- length monograph on the ethnography of the Kitanemuk Indians of south-central California. DANA LEPOFSKY, KARLA D. KUSMER, BRIAN HAYDEN, and KENNETH P. LERTZMAN Dana Lepofsky is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. Her research in the Pacific North- west and Polynesia examines the relationships of humans to their environments and the social relations of food pro- duction. Karla Kusmer is a consulting archaeologist spe- cializing in zooarchaeology of the Pacific Northwest. Brian Hayden is a Professor of Archaeology at Simon Fraser Uni- versity. His long-term research includes investigating pre- historic social and economic organization on the Plateau. iy aes is an sieounsionel Professor 1 in the School of Fraser University. He is interested in forest ecosystem dynamics, landscape ecology, and conservation. GERALDINE MORENO-BLACK, WATANA AKANAN, PRAPIMPORN SOMNASANG, SOMPONG THAMATHAWAN, AND PAUL BROZVOSKY Geraldine Moreno-Black, Associate Professor of Anthro- pology of the University of Oregon, researches human nu- trition and human ecology in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Her work in Thailand focused on the use of non- ene hia and halen in the diet and as a source of income de Community Supported pear (CSA) as a social movement involving envi- ronmental activism and conservation; women’s issues in nutrition and health, aman health issues, and Pacific-Rim cuisine. P Associate Professor in the department of Community Medicine at Khon Kaen Uni- versity, is a nutritionist currently working on her doctorate in nutritional anthropology. She has done research on mi- cronutrients, nutritional status of women and children in northeastern Thailand and the consumption of wild food. She is the recipient of the 1994 Margaret Macnamara Award. Watana Akanan (not pictured), at the time of the project, was on the faculty of the Mathayom Wapi Pathum School. Paul Brozvovsky (not pictured), Assistant Director of In- stitutional Research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, specializes in research design and analy- sis. Sompong TI tl (not pictured), Associate Pro- fessor in the School of Biology, Institute of Science at Suranaree University of Technology in Nakornajasima, Thailand is a systematic Botanist. Ben Peat irc hera -1T wes ant eee i E Journal of Ethnobiology 16(1):1-29 Summer 1996 RITUAL AND THERAPEUTIC USE OF “HALLUCINOGENIC” HARVESTER ANTS (POGONOMYRMEX) IN NATIVE SOUTH-CENTRAL CALIFORNIA KEVIN P. GROARK Department of Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90024 ABSTRACT.—Red harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex played a central role as vision-inducing agents in the religious and medical systems of many indig- enous groups in southern and south-central California. The ants were ingested alive in massive quantities in order to induce prolonged catatonic states, during which hallucinogenic visions were reported to manifest. They also played an im- portant role in both curative and preventative medicine, treating a diverse body of natural and supernatural ailments. In this article I present an ethnographic and toxicological overview of the ritual oe therapeutic use of red ants, bringing to- gether both published and li accounts in an attempt to reconstruct this poorly-known facet of indigenous California culture. The data presented in this paper strongly suggest that, through either direct or indirect action on the central nervous system, massive quantities of Pogonomyrmex venom are capable of pro- ducing highly altered metabolic states during which hallucinatory visions are apt to manifest. This topic is of considerable interest, as it is the first well-documented ethnographic example of an hallucinogenic agent of insect origin. RESUMEN.—Las hormigas granivoras rojas del género Pogonomyrmex jugaron un papel central como agentes para inducir visiones en los sistemas religiosos y médicos de varios grupos indigenas en el sur y centro-sur de California. Las hormigas vivas eran ingeridas en cantidades masivas para inducir estados catatonicos prolongados, durante los cuales se reportaba manifestarse visiones alucinégenas. Jugaban también un papel importante en la medicina curativa y preventiva, empledndose en el tratamiento de diversas aflicciones naturales y sobrernaturales. En este articulo presento una resefia etnografica y toxicoldgica del uso ritual y terapéutico de las hormigas rojas, reuniendo informes publicados e inéditos en un intento de Teconstruir sie — poe conocida de la colntire indigena de California. L que las cate ssashens a veneno oe Pegnnginyrine® son capaces de producir, por medi vioso central, estados tabdli It te alterados d te | les tiend ifestarse visiones Aaun Ul Zz GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 RESUME.—Les f du genre Pogonomyrmex ont joué un trés grand réle en tant qu’agents hallucinatoires dans la vie religieuse et la médecine de plusieurs groupes autochtones du Sud et du centre-Sud de la Californie. Les fourmis étaient ingérées vivantes en quantité considérable afin de provoquer des états prolongés de catatonie durant lesquels des visions hallucinatoires se seraient produites. Elles ont aussi joué un réle dans les traitements curatifs et préventifs visant 4 soigner un ensemble de maux d’origine naturelle a —— ve Dans ae article, je présente une vue d’ensemble es usages rituels et thérapeutiques des fourmis rousses a ‘partir de diverses ; descriptions, publiées et non publiées, dans une ten- tative de reconstruction de cet aspect mal connu de la culture autochtone de la Californie. Les données présentées dans cet article suggérent fortement que par une action directe ou indirecte sur le systeme nerveux central, des doses massives de venin de Pogonomyrmex peuvent provoquer de trés grands changements métaboliques créant des états propices a la production de visions hallucinatoires. L’intérét de ce sujet est considérable car il s’agit la du premier exemple ethnographique bien documenté d’un agent hallucinatoire qui provient d’un insecte. INTRODUCTION Dosis sola facit venenum (Only the dose makes the poison) —Paracelsus, 1564 The ethnographic literature on southern California contains many references to the central importance of hallucinogenic plants in curing, shamanism, and the acquisition of supernatural power. Toloache (Datura wrightii Regel) and tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata Torr., N. bigelovii (Torr.) Wats) have received the most attention in this regard, and are considered to have been the primary vehicles for establish- ing personal contact with the supernatural. Over the last few decades, several brief yet provocative mentions have been made regarding the ritual and medici- nal use of “hallucinogenic” red ants in south-central California, but to date little has been written on the subject (cf. Blackburn 1976; Sutton 1988; Walker and Hudson 1993). California anthropologists first became aware of the significance of red ants in the religious/visionary complex of south-central California with the publication of a brief report entitled, A Query Regarding the Possible Hallucinogenic Effects of Ant Ingestion in South-Central California (Blackburn 1976). In this article, a short account of Kitanemuk ant eating culled from the unpublished fieldnotes of John Peabody Harrington was presented along with a published Tubatulabal account, followed by a cursory examination of possible biochemical bases of psychoactivity. Few conclusions were reached, and even today the question of the hallucinogenic ef- fects of red ant ingestion remains largely unexamined. The author’s recent analysis of John Peabody Harrington’s 1916-1917 “Fort Tej6n” Kitanemuk fieldnotes has brought to light the most detailed ethnographic account of medicinal and ritual red ant ingestion known. The discovery of this previously unpublished account prompted a review of the ethnographic litera- Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 3 ture on southern California, as well as a survey of relevant biological and toxico- logical literature in hopes of shedding more light on this wide-spread aboriginal tradition of “myrmecophagy.” In this article I present an overview of the ritual and therapeutic use of red ants in south-central California, bringing together both published and unpublished accounts in an attempt to reconstruct this poorly-known facet of indigenous Cali- fornia culture. A total of 17 indigenous Californian ethnic groups were found to have used red ants as a ritual intoxicant, as a medicine, or both. I balance the ethnographic overview with a detailed discussion of Pogonomyrmex biology and toxicology, suggesting possible empirical bases for the reported psychoactive ef- fects generated by Harvester ant ingestion. IDENTIFICATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND BIOCHEMISTRY The taxonomic status of the red ant species used in aboriginal California is uncertain. All ethnographic accounts describe them merely as “large red ants” — the sole exception being a Tubatulabal account which refers to “yellow ants” (Voegelin 1938:60). The accounts uniformly emphasize their large size, the fact that they build mounded nests, and the excruciating pain of their sting. It has been suggested by several researchers that the species in question may have been the California harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus (Hudson 1979:56; Walker and Hudson 1993:59), or the yellow honey ant, Myrmecocystus testaceus (Blackburn 1976:80). Unfortunately, no voucher specimens were collected when the ethno- graphic accounts were recorded, so the precise taxonomic identity of the ant spe- cies must therefore remain tentative. However, the taxonomic and toxicological literature strongly supports the assertion that a Pogonomyrmex species was indeed the red ant referred to in the ethnographic accounts. Of all the ant genera present in California and the Great Basin, Pogonomyrmex is distinguished by the large size, exceptionally painful sting, and highly biodynamic venom of its representative species. Red harvester ants are common throughout south-central California and the Great Basin. While Pogonomyrmex californicus (Buckley), the California harvester ant, is the most common and conspicuous species, P. subdentatus Mayr, P. salinus Olsen, P. brevispinosus Cole, P. subnitidus Emery, and P. rugosus Emery also occur throughout the region (Cole 1968; J. O. Schmidt and R. Snelling, personal commu- nications 1995).' In keeping with the ethnographic descriptions, these ants are large—the workers of most species average about 5-7 mm in length, while those of P. rugosus are larger in size, averaging about 10 mm (Essig 1958:861-862). Many Harvester ant species build conspicuous mounds (10 to 30 cm high) around the entrance to their nests, and live in colonies numbering in the thousands. Pogonomyrmex stings are exceptionally intense and piercing—often maintaining this high level for up to several hours—and have been characterized as approxi- mating “ripping muscles or tendons” or “turning a screw in the flesh around the sting site” (Schmidt 1986:487). The venom is also reported to cause a nervous, chilling sensation to sweep upward from the sting site (Schmidt 1986:488). 4 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 FIGURE 1.—Pogonomyrmex californicus, the California harvester ant (after original line drawing by J. Young) The genus Pogonomyrmex belongs to the subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Myrmicinae), along with other strongly biochemically active genera, including Aphaenogaster and Myrmica. Myrmicinae is the most derived subfamily of stinging ants, characterized by highly complex and potent venoms (Schmidt 1986:430). In fact, Pogonomyrmex maricopa possesses the most toxic insect venom recorded to date—five stings can kill a two pound mammal (J. O. Schmidt, per- sonal communications 1995). Unfortunately, the chemistry of ant venoms is still poorly understood, largely due to the difficulties of collecting the significant quan- tities of highly purified venom needed for toxicological analysis. However, one thing has become clear over the past few years—the ant’s venom gland represents the pinnacle of venom development among the social insects. It is capable of syn- thesizing extremely complex and potent chemical compounds, many of which are highly pharmacologically active, and were previously thought to occur only in higher plant taxa (Schmidt and Blum 1978a; Wheeler et al. 1981; Schmidt 1986). The morphological, behavioral, and biochemical characteristics of the genus strongly suggest that the red ant species reported ethnographically was a ec eta species—probably P. californicus (see Figure 1). No other genus matches the etl as closely as Pogonomyrmex in terms of size, mound characteristics, and the potency of the sting. Most importantly, it appears that Pogonomyrmex is the only ant genus toxic enough to induce the altered physi- ological states described in the ethnographic record—P. subnitidus, the least toxic Pogonomyrmex species in California, is 7 times more lethal than Manica bradleyi, the Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 5 next most toxic stinging ant (and P. californicus is almost 15 times as lethal) (seeTable 1 for comparison of mammalian lethality). The implications of these data will be discussed in a later section. TABLE 1.—Venom quantity, lethality, lethal capacity, and number of stings for an LD;9/kg for Pogonomyrmex harvester ants compared to other California stinging ant genera. Species ug LDs9 iv Lethal Capacity # stings venom/ (mg/kg) (g mammal/sting) or nt LD,)/kg P. maricopa oF dS 208 4.8 P. rugosus 31 .80 39 26 P. californicus 21 .60 35 29 P. brevispinosus 17 .70 24 41 P. montanus 14 .60 23 43 P. subdentatus 22 1.1 20 50 P. subnitidus 18 1.1 16 61 Manica bradleyi 14 6 2.3 430 Odontomachus sp. 65 ~30 aid 460 Pseudomyrmex gracilis 16 8 2 500 f J. O. Schmidt, unpublished data RED ANTS IN THE ETHNOGRAPHIC RECORD Along with toloache (Datura wrightii) and tobacco (Nicotiana spp.), red ants com- pleted the sacred trinity of powerful ritual medicines used in native California, possessing both therapeutic and mind-altering properties. Despite their signifi- cance, the use of red ants in either ritual or medicinal contexts is poorly repre- sented in the published anthropological literature on native California, and is dis- cussed only briefly—if at all—in most recent syntheses of California Indian sha- manism and ethnomedicine (cf. Bean 1975, 1992a,b; Bean and Vane 1978; Applegate 1978; Walker and Hudson 1993). One reason for the paucity of data is that many of the societies which used red ants were extinct or no longer fully functioning by the time ethnographers arrived in the first quarter of this century. This fact alone makes any precise delineation of the use of red ants exceedingly difficult. Brief mentions of red ant swallowing appear irregularly in the ethnographic records of several groups, but the data are often vague, confusing, or incomplete. The most complete descriptions come from the unpublished ethnographic fieldnotes of the late John Peabody Harrington, a prolific ethnographer and gifted linguist from the Bureau of American Ethnology who conducted salvage ethno- graphic research in Southern California during the first quarter of this century. Even at this late date, he was able to locate several individuals who had them- selves taken red ants, and were therefore able to provide detailed first-hand ac- counts of their experiences. Th th hi that | ntities of live red ants were 4 md Bh s. ILiMATL GLO Lite’ o ies | Co t 6 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 swallowed in order to induce visions and thereby acquire supernatural power in the form of a “dream helper.” They were also administered both internally and externally in the treatment of particular physical ailments, such as rheumatism, heavy colds, paralysis, body pain, stomach aches, and various gynecological dis- orders. For purposes of clarity, I have chosen to treat the two facets of use ia rately, structuring each discussion around ref e graphic accounts.” RITUAL SWALLOWING OF RED ANTS The use of red ants as a ritual intoxicant has a far more limited distribution than their use in medicinal contexts. Of the 17 indigenous southern and south- central California ethnic groups known to have utilized red ants medicinally, 7 were reported to swallow them in order to induce visions and acquire supernatu- ral power in the form of dream helpers. The ritual use of red ants appears to have been strongest among the Shos! groups along the southeastern edge of the south-central area—the Kitanemuk (Harrington 1986b:rl.98, frs.449-450), Kawaiisu (Zigmond 1977:62, 1986:405), Tubatulabal (Voegelin 1938:5, 46, 67-68), and the various Hokan-speaking Chumash groups, particularly the Interior Chumash (Harrington 1986b:r1.98, frs.608-609, 648- 652). Some of the neighboring Southern Valley Yokuts (particularly the Yawelmani) and Southern and Central Foothill Yokuts (Wikchamni, Yawdanchi, Bokninwad, Yokod, and Palewyami) also swallowed ants in order to gain dream helpers and shamanic power (Harrington 1986a:rl.94, fr.387; Driver 1937:99), but the practice among these latter groups appears in a somewhat attenuated form and was likely spread to them by the core groups. The Northern Miwok are also reported to have ingested ants “for vision or power” (Aginsky 1943:440). Although the Miwok lived far to the north, they appear to have shared in many of the cosmological beliefs and religious practices typical of the south-central region (Levy 1978:412). The presence of this practice among groups to the south is less well estab- lished. It is based largely on the testimony of one of J. P. Harrington’s Kitanemuk consultants, who indicated that ritual ant swallowing was present among groups to the southeast—probably the Gabrielino and Luisefio-Juanefio—and was inte- grated into the protohistoric Chingichngish Cult—“that religion [in which] you take ants or toloache and they counsel you and teach you everything” (Harrington 1986b:r1.98, fr.443). If visionary ant swallowing did indeed form part of the ritual repertoire of the Chingichngish Cult, it seems odd that the practice is not men- tioned in the ethnographic accounts of the Gabrielino (Harrington 1933; Johnston 1962) or the Luisefo-Juanenio (Du Bois 1908; Sparkman 1908). Exactly where this tradition originated is uncertain. All extant ethnographic accounts were collected from the south-central and coastal core groups mentioned above, among whom ritual ant swallowing was highly elaborated. This distribu- tion suggest that these practices were developed among Shoshonean speakers liv- ing in and around the Tehachapi Mountains and southern Sierra Nevada, then passed on to interior Chumash speakers to the west, and then to various Yokuts groups in the southern half of the San Joaquin Valley. Interestingly, the distribu- tion of this tradition is largely coextensive with the Toloache-Dream Helper Com- Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 7 plex, a generalized, egalitarian religion that stressed individual contact with the supernatural and the acquisition of one or more dream helpers through ecstatic trance and the use of the hallucinogenic plant Datura wrightii (cf. Gayton 1928; Applegate 1975, 1978; Bean and Vane 1978). A survey of the ethnographic literature has revealed striking commonalities in the ritual use of red ants, and although there are some discrepancies in detail, the general features of this use complex are quite clear. I have chosen to organize the following discussion of ritual red ant ingestion around a previously unpub- lished Interior Chumash (or possibly Kitanemuk) account collected at Tej6n Ranch in 1916 by John P. Harrington and his wife, Carobeth.? This account is the most detailed description of ritual ant ingestion known, and appears to be representa- tive of patterns of use for neighboring southern and south-central groups. Purpose of administration —Throughout the southern half of California, the posses- sion of a “dream helper” was considered to be a prerequisite for a long and healthy life. These dream helpers were frequently sought through a “vision quest,” usu- ally mediated by the ingestion of the hallucinogenic plant Datura wrightii (toloache or jimsonweed), which induces vivid visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations. If the vision quest was successful, the aspirant saw an animal spirit, a personified natural force, or the spirit of a dead relative who then acted as a life-long spiritual helper and protector (Applegate 1978). Red ants, like Datura, were used by individuals seeking to acquire supernatu- ral power in the form of a dream helper. Quite apart from any “virtues” or specific skills they might confer, dream helpers (and the power they embody) were criti- cally important in leading a safe, healthy, and prosperous life. Possession of a dream helper represented a direct connection with supernatural power—a source of se- curity in an otherwise unpredictable environment. One of J. P. Harrington’s Kit l ltant phasized import of sup ] aid in the pre- colonial world of native California, saying, “[We] gave the boys red ants to eat. [We] did this to save them from getting killed... for long ago there used to be lots of fighting...” (Harrington 1986b:rl.98, fr.449). In a very real sense, the acquisition of a dream helper was viewed as a basic form of preventative medicine. Those men who sought shamanic power would ingest red ants or toloache re- peatedly over a period of months or years. If they were fortunate, they gradually acquired multiple or specialized dream helpers who bestowed shamanic skills upon them. Most native southern Californians consulted by early anthropologists were quite explicit about the association between red ant ingestion and the acqui- sition of shamanic powers, as illustrated by J. P. Harrington’s Interior Chumash/ Kitanemuk consultant, José Juan Olivas: [These] are the ants that you take if you wish to become an hechicero [curing or bewitching shaman]... You take ants again the following summer and so on every summer till they tell you [that you’ve had] enough... They give you power to injure or cure people and help you to escape when in peril— you always have these powers if you take the ants successfully. Toloache also gives you the power of escaping from danger, but only 2 or 3 times, 8 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 and pespibata [green tobacco powder] gives it only once... [Harrington 1986b:rl.98, frs.595, 608]. The decision to take red ants was never made in haste, for these creatures were regarded as potent manifestations of supernatural power. While providing the above information, José Juan cautioned, “If [you] are going to take red ants, [you] have to keep your promise. You can’t fool this animal. The ant knows you have said it. If you do not fulfill [your promise], you will die soon” (Harrington 1986b:r1.98, fr.489). Administration and the “Coming of the Animals” —The ritual ingestion of red ants, whether aimed at establishing a relationship with a dream helper or gaining more specialized shamanistic power, was always an individual and voluntary matter. Unlike toloache use, it was not tied to boys’ puberty ceremonies, and no change of social status occurred. The ants were taken anytime after puberty—usually dur- ing the winter months—and the experience could be repeated as often as desired. Since red ants were considered to be more powerful than toloache, their ritual use was limited to boys and men. An elderly post-menopausal woman or old man served as the “ant doctor,” and was in charge of the administration. For three days prior to administration the aspirant (and often the ant doctor) observed a regimen of fasting and nightly vomiting to purify the body. Avoidance of meat, grease, blood, and salt was strin- gently observed, as it was felt that these substances diminished the likelihood that a dream helper would appear. These restrictions suggest that red ants, like all representatives of supernatural power, were believed to be “hostile to blood” and would visit harm upon individuals who had consumed flesh or come into contact with blood or sexual fluids prior to ingestion (cf. Applegate 1975:9). This careful avoidance of “contaminating” substances—particularly blood—may explain the universal exclusion of pre-menopausal women from all facets of ritual ant use and vision seeking. The actual ingestion took place during the daytime at an isolated location, away from the village and fully exposed to the elements. After collecting the ants from a nearby anthill, the ant doctor would lay the aspirant down on his back and quasi force-feed him large quantities of live red ants collected on balls of moist eagle down. She regulated the dose by watching the boy’s appearance and behav- ior closely—when his eyes turned red and he began to experience lassitude she knew that he had ingested enough (Voegelin 1938:67).4 The general characteristics of administration are exemplified in the following Interior Chumash or Kitanemuk account provided by José Juan Olivas: An old woman who no longer has monthlies cares for the eater in the hills... an old man can give them if there is no old woman, but an old woman is preferred because she can pound and prepare his food. The old woman wets something—the down-feather of an eagle is good to use—and sticks it into a vessel containing the ants and 4 or 5 ants cling to it and form a ball. She puts the ball in your mouth and you draw your breath in sharply and thus suck the ball down your throat, swallowing both ants and feather. Then the old woman gives you another and another and another—she goes on Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 9 counting until you have taken 50, 60, 80, or 90 balls—just as many as you can stand. Every little while she pauses and asks, “Do you want more?” and if you are brave you say, “Yes, give me more.” As you swallow you have a very painful burning sensation in your throat and when you can stand it no longer you say, “That’s enough,” and she stops giving them to you.. While you are sitting quietly after taking the ants, the old woman who gave them to you says, “Sit here quietly a little while, I am going to get something.” You sit perfectly still with drooping shoulders and hanging head, arms hanging loosely at [your] sides... But she does not have to get anything—just says this to fool you. Then she slips up behind you and grabs you, or rather pokes you with both hands, on ribs at sides, just back of upper arms, crying out or grunting as she does so. She does this to startle you. It is necessary to do this because until you are startled in this way the ants do not bite—they are simply clinging together in balls inside of you. When the old woman startles you the ants all bite all at once and immedi- ately you fall as dead. Then she takes you and puts you in the shade so that you lie face down (informant at first said face-down very positively but later said either face-up or face-down). Then she retires some little distance (about 200 ft. or more) and watches you. If you take the ants in the morning (about 9:00 am) you will come to about noon. When the old woman sees that you are sitting up she comes and asks how you feel and you tell her “all right,” and then she asks if you want more. If you have courage you say yes, and take more, perhaps as many as you did the first time, just as many as you can stand. When you have finished, the old woman startles you again and you fall in a faint and lie until sundown, when you revive. Then she asks you how you feel, and if you say you feel all right she knows you mean to take more tomorrow. At sundown she comes nearer so that she can watch you better during the night. The next day if you are brave you take ants in the morning and at noon, as on the previous day. And so on for 2,3, or 4 days... The ants do not kill you, they give you force to go without food 5 or 6 days... [Harrington 1986b:rl.98, frs.608-609, 648-651]. The focal event in all accounts of ritual red ant use is the dramatic loss of consciousness following ingestion. This deep, death-like sleep was characteristic of all drug-induced visionary experiences in south-central California, and held great symbolic significance. Death, dreaming, and the experiencing of supernatu- ral visions seem to have constituted a single conceptual domain in native Califor- nian thought, and the three experiences were sometimes glossed under a single term.° The catatonic, near-death state was essential to shamanic and visionary prac- tice, and was understood as a sort of small death in which the aspirant was “killed’ by the supernatural agents which he sought to contact. It was during this Timinal death-like state that supernatural visions manifested and a dream helper “chose 10 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 the boy, conferring his virtue upon him. J. P. Harrington provides us with a de- tailed description of the “coming of the animals” and the powers they confer: If you have enough courage you take ants until the ants run out of your mouth as soon as they are swallowed. This gives you a lot of power if you can do it. When this happens the ants speak to you and tell you [that] you have taken enough... The ants talk to you and ask what you want—[they] give [you] any virtud [virtue] that you want. Then come the animals...The lion can give you virtud. Or bear. The coy- ote, the gavilan [sparrow-hawk]. Each can give their virtud—all of these, even the rattlesnake, can come and talk to you. Rattlesnake says, “they are going to bite you.” That night the rattlesnakes come [and bite you], and you open your eyes and you are well. Also the [ghost] gives his virtud, which is that you can become invisible, yell to people who follow to kill you, from [the] distance [issue] challenge and disappear again. The [mountain] lion— very strong, bullets go aside. Gavilan—[gives you the ability to] shoot 2 arrows [at once]. Arrows shot at you go aside. Spit on hawk claw and touch it to bowstring as you shoot when in a hurry. A hawk comes and circles, and if enemy does not kill him when he shoots at you, you are o.k. Bullets go aside. The coyote also [gives the ability] to shoot 2 [arrows]. The bear [makes bullets and arrows go] aside. The horse—wear belt of the mane— jump on horse when in hurry and escape. The dog—dog comes and barks when you are in a hurry, and if [they] don’t kill [the] dog you are o.k... If ants say you will live, you will live 100 years. They give you espiritu [spirit, strength, fortitude]... These are the virtudes [virtues] the ants give you [Harrington 1986b:rl.98, fr.649, 651-2]. While most of the virtues conferred by the dream helpers in this account are purely utilitarian, other reports indicate that they were just as likely to be highly specialized shamanic powers that enabled the recipient to cure, bewitch, make rain, or transform into an animal. Such specialized powers were often conferred by poisonous or dangerous creatures, such as Rattlesnake or Black Widow, who bit the vision seeker and transferred their power to him through the medium of their venom. The relationship between poison, power, and medicine will be ex- plored further in a later section. Although not mentioned in this account, the aspirant always drank hot water after regaining consciousness in order to induce vomiting. The regurgitated ants reportedly came out alive, still clinging together in little balls. It is likely that some form of vision interpretation took place between the ant doctor and the aspirant after he had recovered from this ordeal. Such a practice was reported for the Tubatulabal (Voegelin 1938:68) and Kitanemuk (Harrington 1986b:rl.98, fr.450), and was common following toloache ceremonies, in which an analysis of the aspirant’s visions served to reinterpret idiosyncratic psychic experiences in terms of widely held public beliefs and local cosmology. After coming to mutual agreement on the significance, meaning, and success of the vision experience, the ant doctor would have given the boy instructions for cementing his relationship with the dream Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 11 helper, which usually included a series of prayers and offerings of seeds, shell beads, tobacco, and eagle down. Post-ingestion observances.—For a period of time following the ant eating ritual, the aspirant observed a number of dietary and behavioral restrictions. These restric- tions were designed to ensure that the bonds forged between the individual and his dream helper were not broken. The length and severity of the proscriptions corresponded with the degree and type of power sought—men seeking certain highly-specialized shamanic skills underwent lengthier and more rigorous restric- tions than those who took ants in order to establish a relationship with a single dream helper or to cure themselves. After this period had passed, a small cer- emony was held to formally mark the end of the fast and to reintegrate the indi- vidual with his family and community: [You] must stay alone without speaking to anyone—[the] person who is taking care of you does not talk [for] 4 days... When you take ants for to cure you, you diet 12 days—when you [take them in order to] become [a] medicine man, one month... [You stay for] one month in hills, then [there is a] fiesta. The person who administered [the ants] tells the captain that the month is up, and the captain tells the payaso [ritual announcer] to cry an- nouncing a fiesta [for the next day]. Eater comes in from hills with his head covered and man pays many beadstrings to people—[the ant eater’s] rela- tives pay this for permission [for him] to eat meat again. A ceremony is then held in which [the aspirant] eats a small piece of meat [the size of] last joint of finger. Then [he drinks] warm water—eaglefeather—vomits. That night he eats meat [Harrington 1986b:r1.98, fr.650]. Overall, the ritual use of red ants reported ethnographically exhibits great ho- mogeneity among culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups. However, several minor variations should be noted. The emphasis in this account on mul- tiple administrations over a period of several days appears to be atypical, and may reflect attempts to gain specialized or multiple dream helpers. Among all other groups the aspirant is reported to have taken the ants only once, usually in the morning, then lapsed into an unconscious state from which he recovered later the same day. In addition, Tubatulabal youths are reported to have ingested the ants inside of a sweathouse under the supervision of their grandfather in order to “gain power” (Voegelin 1938:67), while among the Kitanemuk a man who “knew how to pray” administered red ants to the boys either individually or in small groups out in the hills (Blackburn 1976:78). THE THERAPEUTIC USE OF RED ANTS Reported medicinal use of red ants is more widespread than ritual use. While all groups that used red ants in the acquisition of dream helpers also used them as medicines, the majority employed them only in therapeutic contexts. However, inasmuch as indigenous California medicine was integrally connected with reli- gious beliefs and practices, any sharp separation of the two is necessarily artifi- 12 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 cial. As we will see below, the relationship between ritual vision induction and therapeutic vision seeking is quite complex, and distinctions between the two rap- idly begin to blur. The Kawaiisu believe that red ants were one of the four medicines given to people at the beginning of time, along with tobacco, nettles, and toloache (Zigmond 1981:23). When evaluating the efficacy of traditional remedies, J. P. Harrington’s Chumash consultants often declared red ants to be one of the three finest medi- cines: José Juan Olivas felt them to be the most powerful medicine in terms of the supernatural powers they conferred, followed by toloache and tobacco (Harrington 1986b:r1.98, fr.608), while Fernando Librado Kitsepawit ranked them third, sur- passed only by toloache and sea water (Hudson 1979:56). Most of the groups occupying south-central California were reported to use ants both internally and externally in the treatment of unspecified illnesses, in- cluding: the Kitanemuk (Harrington 1986b:rl.98, frs.124, 384, 415), Kawaiisu (Zigmond 1977:77-78, 1981:23, 1986:405), Tubatulabal (Voegelin 1938:5, 60, 73), Chumash (Hudson 1979:73; Walker and Hudson 1993:60, 89-90), Monache (Wobonuch), Southern Valley Yokuts (Nutunutu and Yawelmani), Southern and Central Foothill Yokuts (Palewyami, Wikchamni, Yawdanchi, Bokninwad, Yokod)(Driver 1937:99), and Northern Miwok (Aginsky 1943:440). The Owens Valley Paiute and the Entimbich band of the Monache limited the therapeutic use of red ants to external application, while the Wikchamni band of the Central Foot- hill Yokuts took them only internally (Driver 1937:99). Unfortunately, most ethnographic accounts regarding the therapeutic use of red ants are disappointingly brief, and frequently neglect to specify the conditions that were treated. Despite these lacunae, a survey of the extant literature reveals that they were employed in the treatment of a diverse inventory of conditions, including: paralysis, gastrointestinal ailments, severe colds, pain, arthritis, and gynecological disorders. Red ants were also widely used throughout south-cen- tral California as a general tonic. The ants were either swallowed alive (as in ritual use) or applied in great numbers to the exterior of the body, then aroused to anger so they would sting freely. Many groups practiced both forms of administration, choosing between them depending on the condition being treated and the prefer- ences of the individual. Unlike ritual use, both men and women were allowed to use ants for medicinal purposes. The internal administration of red ants for explicitly therapeutic ends appears to be closely related to their use in visionary contexts. The form of administration is identical, involving various pre-and post-ingestion food proscriptions. Although visions were sometimes sought during medicinal ant ingestion, there was no at- tempt to gain a dream helper or shamanic powers. Frances Philips, an elderly Tubatulabal woman, has left a record of her experience with therapeutic ant inges- tion, which took place between 1875-1885 at the village of uupulap on the South Fork Kern River. This account provides a typical example of the therapeutic use of red ants, and highlights the str | similarity between ritual and medicinal uses: I became sick at uupulap; my arm was bent and I couldn’t straighten it. So I didn’t eat meat for a month, then my aunt gave me red ants. She gave me half a baking-powder can full of little balls of cotton with live red ants Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 13 wrapped up inside them. I hadn’t eaten anything the day before my aunt gave me those ants... I took the ants in the morning and slept all day; then I woke up and everything was clear and bright. The red ants that are all around here now are the ones I took. I didn’t eat any meat for a month; if I had, then when I took the ants they would have killed me. Those ants are good to take for a bad cold too, wrapped up in eagle down. When you take them you burn inside your stomach, just like fire; you get hot inside; they bite you there, I guess. I slept all day the time I took ants; I was unconscious and I slept outside on the ground and rolled over and over in the dirt. My hair got full of dirt; I didn’t know anything. They gave me warm water to drink when I woke up that evening; then I vom- ited, but nothing came up except water. The cotton and the ants had disap- peared. I could straighten out my arm again. After that I just ate acorn gravy and a little bread; no meat or grease for a month [Voegelin 1938: 73]. From this and other accounts, Voegelin was able to reconstruct a normative description of therapeutic red ant ingestion among the Tubatulabal. The similari- ties between the following account and José Juan Olivas’ account of ritual inges- tion are striking: For heavy colds, paralysis, 4-5 yellow ants [or] large red ants [were] wrapped together in eagle down; 15-20 of these balls swallowed with sips of water, one ball at a time, by man, woman who had abstained from meat for month, fasted for 2-3 days and vomited each morning during fast, pre- vious to taking ants. After swallowing the balls [the] patient [was] fright- ened, “so the ants would break out of the balls and sting patient”; later remained in stupor 24 hrs., at end of this time given warm water to induce vomiting...If all ants came up alive, patient would recover completely, if half of them were dead he “wouldn’t live long,” and if all dead he would die shortly... After taking ants patient ate only a little acorn mush for 2-3 days, no meat, grease for month. Live ants also put on sick person’s abdo- men, “if patient didn’t want to drink them” [Voegelin 1938:60]. These accounts illustrate several typical features of therapeutic ant swallow- ing, including pre- and post-ingestion food avoidances, a regimen of purging and fasting for both patient and doctor, the characteristic death-like stupor, and forced post-ingestion vomiting. In the treatment of less serious conditions fewer ants were ingested and no loss of consciousness occurred. A particularly unusual feature of therapeutic ant ingestion is the divinatory or prognostic role accorded to the ants after they have been regurgitated. This trait is also reported for the Kawaiisu (Driver 1937:99) and the Northern Paiute (Steward 1941:331; in Sutton 1988:65). While visions are not reported in either of these accounts, we know that they played a central role in many therapeutic contexts—especially when supernatural etiology was suspected. The Kawaiisu swallowed red ants in order to ward off supernatural threats. After witnessing a bad omen, both men and women would take red ants in an attempt to counteract the impending misfortune: When you are out and see something you haven’t seen before—a big 14 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 rattlesnake or other big animal—it is a bad sign. You will die in two or three days. He will eat you... But if you eat or drink nothing after seeing him and you take red ants the next morning, you will live...[you] swallow red ants in order to be well. After swallowing the ants, you fall into a deep sleep at once like being drunk. The [creature] comes to you in your dream and says, “you will not die” [Zigmond 1977:77-78]. The importance of the manifestation of visions suggests that direct contact with supernatural power was considered necessary in the treatment of particu- larly tenacious, serious, or unusual conditions. J. P. Harrington reports that one of his Central Foothill Yokuts (Wikchamni-Yawdanchi) consultants, Juan Dionisio, “has taken estafiate [Artemisia douglasiana Bess. in Hook.] and also red ants—his child was sick and [Dionisio] took red ants but he did not succeed in dreaming anything, and for this reason the child died” (Harrington 1986a: rl.94, fr.382). Ap- parently, failure to “dream”—to contact dream helpers in a visionary trance—pre- cluded access to the inherently curative powers that reside in the realm of the supernatural, rendering a successful outcome highly unlikely. This account also illustrates the common practice of curing by proxy, in which a parent ingests red ants on behalf of a sick child. This form of therapy was particularly common among the various Yokuts and Monache groups (Driver 1937:99), and has also been re- corded for the Northern Miwok (Aginsky 1943:440). Among the Yokuts, Monache, and Miwok there existed a widespread belief that the ants would “crawl through to the surface of the body” after being swal- lowed in therapeutic contexts (Driver 1937:99; Aginsky 1943:440). This seemingly odd statement may reflect the Yokuts belief that illnesses became visible when diagnosed under the influence of halluci genic agents, ifesting physically as “swarms of insects” or “microcosms” that covered the victim’s body (Gayton 1948:119). These pathogenic microcosms were immediately brushed off into a fire, and the patient was invariably cured. If this interpretation is correct, it would sug- gest that these groups may have taken red ants in order to induce a visionary state in which the same ants were seen to “crawl through” to the surface of the body, presumably carrying the illness from the interior to the exterior of the body, where it was then disposed of. Localized external application of live red ants was common in the treatment of many simple ailments, and appears to have been based on the principle of counter-irritation. The Kitanemuk treated painful or arthritic joints by applying large numbers of red ants to the affected area, then inducing them to sting in the belief that they would “take out all the badness” (Harrington 1986b:rl.98, fr.415).° The Gabrielino, Luisefio, Serrano, Cupefio, and Mountain and Western Diegueno followed a similar procedure to alleviate body pains (Drucker 1937:43; Johnston 1962:66), and the Central Miwok are reported to have treated infants “born with disease” by preparing a mash of red ants and applying the resulting paste to the child’s body (Aginsky 1943:440). The external administration of large numbers of red ants is a typical feature of native California “ant ordeals.” During these painful physical ordeals, a boy was forced to stand or lie in a newly disturbed ant nest and allow the ants to sting his naked body repeatedly, usually until he lost consciousness. While these ant or- Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 15 deals were not directly therapeutic, they were viewed as a form of general preven- tative medicine which imparted strength, fortitude, and endurance—traits neces- sary for a long and healthy life. The practice was common among the Chumash, and appears to have been integrated into the ritual repertoire of the Toloache Com- plex among the Tubatulabal (Driver 1937:98) and possibly the Monache (Driver 1937:99). The Northern Miwok also employed an ant ordeal to “test strength” — four or five men would lay down in a disturbed ant nest, and the one who en- dured the longest was given an award by the chief (Aginsky 1943:440). Fernando Librado Kitsepawit, J. P. Harrington’s principal Chumash consult- ant, related the ant ordeal he underwent as an adolescent. This event took place while constructing an irrigation canal somewhere near Mission San Buenaventura before the secularization of the mission system in 1836: There was a time when I had the red-ant treatment... While [my mother and maternal grandfather] were digging they cut through an ant nest, and a multitude of ants came out and my mother said that if I was going to die [someday], she wanted me to live to a ripe old age. I was naked. My mother stood me right in the midst of the red ants, and they crawled all over me and bit me, after which I fainted. Thereupon...my grandfather came witha lot of green sycamore leaves, and rubbed me all over freely with the leaves. He then chewed some tobacco and rubbed this over my body too. I came to and never suffered any ill effects after that [Hudson 1979:73]. As a rule, no visions were reported, and there was no ritual dimension to the ant ordeal. It was usually supervised by relatives, and as indicated in the previous narrative, the event was often quite informal and spontaneous. No change of sta- tus occurred, except among the Mountain Cahuilla who integrated a collective ant-ordeal into clan initiation rites (Strong 1929:176), the Luisefo-Juaneno, and Cupefio, who closed their Datura ritual with an ant ordeal (Du Bois 1908:91-92; Strong 1929:317, 339), and the Gabrielino, who “tested and hardened” their youths by subjecting them to an ant ordeal involving both internal and external adminis- tration in the final stages of the puberty observance (Heizer 1968:36; Johnston 1962:60-61). In the treatment of particularly serious or tenacious conditions, ants were of- ten swallowed then simultaneously applied to the exterior of the body (usually the abdomen, chest, and/or back). A particularly dramatic example of this dual administration was provided to Carobeth Tucker Harrington by Angela Montes, a Kitanemuk woman who had been given red ants in the treatment of post-partum “cold” (probably referring to uterine hemorrhage, dysmenorrhea, or a similar gy- necological disorder): After Vicente was born, I took cold or for some other reason became very sick. I was suffering great pain in my belly (gesture with both hands to sides of upper part of belly below ribs. ..). They gave me red ants as a medi- cine, both externally and internally. First, they put them all over my belly, from navel down...so you could not see my skin for the ants. It is no trouble to get them to stay on, as they begin to bite and hang on very tightly . minute they touch your skin. The pain was intense. At the same time that 16 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 the external treatment was applied, I also had to swallow a great many live red ants—I don’t not know how many, a lot. They of their own accord cling together in balls and it is these balls of ants that you swallow. This was also very painful. They must surely have bitten me inside, as I felt like some- thing was pricking me between my shoulders. Some days after taking the red ant treatment, a flow of blood came freely from my uterus, and I got well [Harrington 1986b:rl.98, frs.384, 415]. As we have seen, the therapeutic use of red ants appears to have been more widespread and culturally variable than their use in ritual contexts. The few spe- cific accounts we have indicate that red ants were administered internally and/or externally in the treatment of diverse conditions ranging from simple aches and pains to gynecological and obstetric disorders. In addition to these seemingly straightforward, “empirical” therapies, native Californians utilized the visionary potential of red ants in order to harness the power of the supernatural and direct it towards therapeutic ends. These practices reflect a sophisticated understanding of the nature of venom: namely, that poison can often act as a medicine or an hallucinogen, depending on the dose. This quasi-Paracelsan observation largely elides the distinctions between the three concepts, inseparably linking them to- gether under the overarching rubric of supernatural power. POISON AS POWER, POISON AS MEDICINE One of the central conceptual tenets underlying red ant ingestion appears to be the equivalence drawn by native Californians between poison, power, medi- cine, and hallucinogen. In native Californian thought, poison (or venom) was un- derstood to be a sign of potent supernatural power. A defining feature of both poison and power was their dangerously amoral character—poison was power first and foremost, only secondarily was it put to use for either malevolent or ben- eficial ends (Applegate 1978). Accordingly, many venomous creatures were es- teemed as powerful supernatural allies who possessed the ability to confer shamanic powers during the vision quest. Among the Tachi Yokuts, Black Widow was the supreme dream helper of pow- erful shamans. The association between the two was so strong that black widows and shamans were called by the same name, métsa, meaning “true, real, big, and powerful” (Gayton 1948:24). Among the Kitanemuk the equivalence of these con- cepts is even more apparent. The word for poison or venom is pahaviit—this same term is also used to refer to specialized shaman’s dream helpers such as Bear and Rattlesnake (Anderton 1988:452). Given the extraordinary toxicity of Pogonomyrmex venom, and a cultural predisposition to equate poison with supernatural power, it comes as no surprise that this species would become identified as ritually and therapeutically valuable based on the potency of its sting. Voegelin’s (1938:60) Tubatulabal consultants cited the fact that they “could sting hardest and had medi- _ cine” as the primary indicator of therapeutic and supernatural efficacy—less po- tent varieties were thought to be ineffective. It is interesting to note that the three “sacred medicines” used in native Cali- fornia—tobacco, toloache, and red ants—are all extremely toxic. The cultural his- Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 17 tory of these hallucinogenic agents is very old, and it was only through long-term experimentation and use that these potentially deadly substances could be ma- nipulated with impunity for therapeutic or visionary ends. Although not a “true” hallucinogen, tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) is highly psycho- active and is used throughout the Americas in the induction of narcosis and ec- static trance, usually in shamanic or curing contexts (cf. Wilbert 1987, 1991). Nico- tine, the principal alkaloid in tobacco, is highly toxic. The amount of nicotine con- tained in an ordinary cigar—if it were extracted and injected internally—would kill a man twice over (Larson et al. 1961). Visionary trance is induced by carefully managing the toxic effects of the nicotine alkaloid, pushing the aspirant very close to death then bringing him safely back as the toxic tobacco alkaloids are metabo- lized (Wilbert 1987:157). Toloache (Datura wrightii) provides another interesting illustration. This solana- ceous plant owes its psychoactive properties to a group of neurotoxic tropane al- kaloids (including atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine) which acts directly upon the central nervous system. In addition to being highly toxic, these alkaloids are true hallucinogens. Unfortunately, tapping into the plant’s visionary powers is risky—by the time hallucinations manifest, the alkaloids are often at near-fatal levels, making poisoning or death a distinct possibility (Levy and Primack 1984:36; Blackwell 1990:36). The Chumash recognized that the visionary substances in Datura were also potent poisons—in fact, it was commonly held that rattlesnakes derived their venom by sinking their fangs into a toloache root and sucking up the poison before biting a human (Applegate 1975:11) In recent years, toxicologists and phytochemists have shown that the venoms and assorted toxins found in insects, reptiles, and plants are actually complex sec- ondary defensive compounds that have evolved in order to protect the organism from predation. At certain non-lethal dosages, many of these toxins produce side effects” which can be therapeutic and/or psychotropic in humans (and often, in other mammals as well). As Schultes and Hofmann (1992 [1979]) have pointed out, natural substances are useful in medicinal and/or visionary contexts precisely because they are toxic. The difference between a poison, a medicine, and an hallu- cinogen is often merely one of dosage. HALLUCINOGENIC RED ANTS: POSSIBLE BASES OF PSYCHOACTIVITY The ethnographic record is unequivocal—in native south-central California Harvester ants were used to induce altered physiological states during which vi- sions manifested. The question remains—to what do these ants owe their vision producing potential? In this section I examine the ethnographic accounts in light of general pharmacology and toxicology, and propose two possible explanations for the reported psychoactivity. First, I consider the possibility that the ants are “true” hallucinogens, containing endogenously-produced, directly hallucinogenic chemicals. Second, I examine the possibility that the psychoactivity is a toxic side effect” of massive tion combined with non-venom factors such as physi- ological stress and cultural preconditioning. I present data which suggest that cer- tain venom constituents (possibly kinin-like agonists) could interact with neu- 18 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 rotransmitters to trigger a cascade of psychophysiological events, including en- dogenously-produced hallucinations. Previous reports of ial botanical hallucinogens. —The most obvious explanation of y would be to postulate the presence of true chemical ballucinewenia as metabolites or venom components. The occurrence of such en- dogenously-produced psychoactive compounds outside of the plant kingdom is rare, but not unheard of. The only animal with clinically demonstrated hallucino- genic potency is the Sonoran Desert toad (Bufo alvarius), whose venom contains an unusual enzyme, O-methyl transferase, which converts bufotenine (5-OH-DMT) to the potent hallucinogen 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). The activity of this enzyme leads to the production and accumulation of prodigious quantities of 5-MeO-DMT in the toad’s cutaneous, tibial, and parotoid glands (Deulofeu and Rtiveda 1971; Weil and Davis 1994). Remains of this toad have been found in archaeological contexts at Olmec and Maya sites in Mesoamerica, as well as Moche sites in northern coastal Pert, suggesting that these societies may have recognized the unique nature of Bufo secretions and exploited them for visionary purposes (Weil and Davis 1994). Similarly, cutaneous toxins from the skins of neotropical frogs (mostly Phyllobates, Phyllomedusa, and Dendrobates) are reported to produce psychoactive effects when rubbed into self-inflicted burns by the Amahuaca and Matsés Indi- ans of the Peruvian Amazon (Carneiro 1970). Analysis of skin secretions from these frogs has revealed the presence of a number of vasoactive and neuroactive pep- tides (Daly et al. 1992; Erspamer et al. 1993). Interestingly, recent research indicates that a majority of the cutaneous alkaloids found in Dendrobates auratus are not endogenously produced, but are captured from dietary sources, which include alkaloid-rich myrmicine ant species (Daly 1994; Daly et al. 1994).” In addition to these well-documented examples, there have been occasional but unsubstantiated reports of an “hallucinogenic” moth (Myelobia smerintha Huebner) that induces “marvellous dreams” when eaten in the larval stage (Britton 1984), several related fish species known as the Norfolk Island “dream fish” and the Hawaiian “nightmare weke” reputed to possess dream-inducing properties (Ott 1993:410), and a black and red bird called oconenetl from Tlaxcala, México, whose flesh was os eaten for hallucinogenic effect by the Aztecs (La Barre 1981; Ott 1993:416).8 To date, no directly hallucinogenic constituents have been isolated from any arthropod. However, several pl ting compounds have been isolated from the venoms of myrmicine ants. Anabasine, a toxic tobacco alkaloid, was isolated from the venom of Aphaenogaster fulva. Although anabasine is a mi- nor alkaloid in tobacco, this marks the first time it has been found in an insect (Wheeler et al. 1981). Other alkaloids have been isolated from the poison glands of myrmicine ants, including: dialkylpiperidines, pyrrolidines, dialkylpyrrolidines, and an indolizine (Wheeler et al. 1981). Three lactones related to nepetalactone (the principal active agent in catnip, and a possible hallucinogen in humans), and several coniine-related alkaloids have also been reported (Jackson and Reed 1969; Pavan 1959: cited in Blackburn 1976:80).? Although none of these alkaloids is known Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 19 to be directly hallucinogenic in humans, their presence is provocative and under- scores the need for further toxicological research. Given the extreme plasticity of the ant’s venom gland and the preliminary state of our knowledge concerning the chemicals it synthesizes, the possibility remains that a directly psychoactive com- pound awaits our discovery. Venom and visions: A possible toxicological basis.—While direct psychoactivity on the part of Harvester ants remains a possibility, I would like to suggest an alternate toxicological explanation of the practices described in this paper. It is possible that the visionary exp reported etl graphi lly are not due to direct biochemi- cally-based psychoactivity on the part of the ants, but rather represent an endog- enously-produced physiological response to intentional massive envenomation— in short, ant poisoning. There is ample evidence that experiences very similar to hallucinations may be induced by the ingestion of toxic substances which upset the normal metabolism, causing abnormal mental states to develop. Such altered states of consciousness may also be induced without ingesting toxins—long peri- ods of drumming, dancing, fasting, self-induced physical pain, and high fevers have been known to alter normal metabolic functions to such a degree that visions manifest (Schultes and Hofmann 1992 [1979]). e pre-ingestion practices recorded in the ethnographic accounts indicate that native Californians knew how to carefully manipulate diet and behavior in ways that altered basic metabolic processes and rendered the human body maxi- mally susceptible to altered mental states. The three days of fasting and forced purging that preceded ant ingestion would have produced stress on blood physi- ology, generating low glucose levels (thereby stressing the brain), and significantly altering the digestive function. Under starvation, the production of digestive en- zymes decreases significantly, and the avoidance of meat and grease particularly helps decrease degradative enzyme production. This regimen of dieting and purg- ing would set up a benign microenvironment in the stomach, protecting the ants and their venom from digestive degradation. The synergism of these non-venom factors would certainly potentiate the action of venom constituents, and when combined in a ritual setting, may have predisposed the individual to visionary experiences. The ethnographic record stresses the fact that the ants were always swallowed alive and unmasticated. This mode of administration risks not only ant bites, but also envenomation from the sting apparatus left in the skin, mouth, and stomach, as Pogonomyrmex exhibits sting autonomy (Hermann 1971). In fact, many native consultants were aware that the ants “bit the lining of the stomach, and some reported burning or prickling sensations in the throat and/or upper body, and an intense, fire-like burning in the stomach. This form of live oral ingestion relies on a direct gastrointestinal route of ad- ministration and on enteric envenomation from the buccal cavity, the laryngeal tract and the stomach, and possibly the large and small intestines. The buccal cav- ity is the most propitious site for venom absorption, with a thin epithelium anda rich blood supply. Once the venom is injected, it is not diminished by passage through the liver, but gains access directly to the heart and general circulation. 20 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 The stomach and small intestine also represent favorable sites for rapid absorp- tion, and stings in either location would introduce toxic venom components di- rectly into the bloodstream. In addition, Pogonomyrmex venom contains potent pro-inflammatory agents that speed absorption by increasing vascular dilation and capillary permeability. The fact that ant ingestion (as well as tobacco and toloache use) occurred on an intentionally purged and dieted stomach may have furthered the rapid progress of ants into the small intestine where they could sting the intes- tine wall, potentially inducing toxic reactions. Recent toxicological research has shown Harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex to possess the most toxic insect venom recorded to date. Their venom has the highest known mammalian lethality of any arthropod (LD, = 0.1-1.1 ug venom/g mouse, n = 15 species of Pogonomyrmex), and proved to be 5 times more toxic than the venom of the Oriental hornet and 8-10 times more toxic than that reported for honeybee venom. These two venoms are the most toxic venoms re- ported from insects outside the genus Pogonomyrmex (Schmidt and Blum 1978a,b,c; Schmidt et al. 1989). This extreme toxicity is derived from the presence of rich quantities of direct hemolysins and assorted enzymes (including hyaluronidase, phospholipase A, and B, lipase, acid phosphotase, and esterases), some of which promote the inter- nal spreading of venom components by opening passages through host tissue matrix (Schmidt _— 475). In addition, Pogonomyrmex is one of the few genera for which the p has been physiologically demonstrated (Schmidt and Blum 1978b; Piek et al. 1989; Piek 1991). These peptidal compounds appear to have evolved as deterrents against vertebrate predators, and produce a marked reaction in the mammalian central and peripheral nervous systems. Harrington’s account of Chumash ant ingestion states that as many as 90 eagle down balls (each holding 4-5 ants) were ingested in a single session. Assuming this information is accurate, an individual might swallow as many as 450 ants per day for the duration of the ritual. The venom delivered from this number of Pogonomyrmex stings (assuming total venom delivery) represents approximately 35% of a lethal dose (LD,,) of P. californicus venom in an individual with a 100 Ib. (45.5 kg) body weight (see Table 1 for precise data on venom quantity and lethal- ity for Pogonomyrmex species ants). Such massive sub-lethal doses are clearly in the range of pharmacological activity, and would likely generate a variety of neu- rological and physiological effects. Unfortunately, there are no clinical data on the reactions of human subjects to massive quantities of hymenoptera venom, and the specific nature of the resulting physiological reactions is therefore uncertain.!° It is possible that the visions and catatonia reported ethnographically may be triggered by venom constituents that alter the relative levels of endogenous neu- rotransmitters such as serotonin hrine, and d ine in the brain. These synaptic transmitters and their metabolites are . present throughout the brain at low baseline levels, and even small fluctuations in relative quantity can lead to pronounced physical and psychic effects similar to those induced by tranquilizing or hallucinogenic drugs. Interestingly, tl ft lly simi- lar to plant hallucinogens: norepinephrine is chemically related to the hallucino- gen mescaline, while serotonin is closely related the hallucinogenic indolealkyl- Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 21 amines psilocin, DMT, and LSD (Schultes and Hofmann 1992 [1979]; Ott 1993:195). Recent studies have shown Pogonomyrmex venom to be a veritable chemical cocktail, containing many strongly bioactive compounds (presumably peptides and alkaloids). While most of these constituents remain unidentified, the presence of kinin-like agonists has been established (Piek et al. 1989; Piek 1991). Kinins are endogenously-produced nonapeptides that appear to have potent and profound actions in the mammalian nervous system. They are implicated in pain produc- tion, and are produced by the body in response to trauma or noxious stimuli. Ex- posure to exogenously-produced kinins (such as those found in ant venom) can also trigger a kinin-producing response in the body (Moniuszko-Jakoniuk et al. 1976). The presence of kinins in both frog skin and the venoms of at least nine species of ants and social wasps suggests a toxicological effect in vertebrates, since both groups of animals must defend themselves against vertebrate predators. Although their actions in the mammalian central nervous system are still poorly understood, it appears that kinins can function as neuromodulators, altering the uptake and release of neurotransmitters and producing marked behavioral changes. Moniuszko-Jakoniuk et al. (1976) demonstrated that exposure to bradykinin leads to decreased levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in corpus striatum, an in- creased level of serotonin in corpus striatum and cerebellum, and a higher level of 5-hydroxyindoloacetic acid in corpus striatum and hippocampus. In mammals, these changes in neurotransmission evoke the following behavioral responses: an initial short period (2-5 min.) of excitation, followed by a pronounced depression of activity, shallow respiration, cognitive slowing, the appearance of deep cata- tonic sedation, paralysis, occasional convulsions, and an eventual return to nor- mal functioning (Capek 1962; Moniuszko-Jakoniuk and Wisniewski 1974; Moniuszko-Jakoniuk et al. 1976; Yazaki 1989)."! Pet 4} 4 The critical question remains—d pany these p h i ological responses? Unfortunately, no definitive answer is currently possible. We are only beginning to appreciate the complex role of neurotransmission in altered states of consciousness, hallucinogenic experiences, psychiatric disorders, and delusional conditions such as schizophrenia (cf. Bird 1990; Pearson 1990; Price et al. 1990). However, the toxicological explanation outlined above is at least as plau- sible as that of direct psychoactivity. We know that certain non-hallucinogenic toxins (such as the nicotine alkaloid), when taken in sufficiently large doses, inter- act with neurotransmitter systems to produce a cascade of psychophysiological responses that often includes anxiety, agitation, hypotension, stupor, delirium, an hallucinations (Pearson 1990:316; Wilbert 1987). It is unlikely that the actions of kinins alone can explain the suite of psycho- physiological effects generated by red ant ingestion. The more likely explanation is that kinins are but one of the strongly bioactive compounds that produces the altered states recorded in the ethnographic record. Kinins are known to cause last- ing disruption of the blood-brain barrier (Walker et al. 1995), and may potentiate altered mental and physical states by facilitating access to the brain not only of themselves, but also of all other venom constituents (which may include as-yet unidentified hallucinogenic chemicals). Interestingly, a recent pharmacological study of ritual intoxication induced through the administration of poison frog skin 22 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 secretions concluded that kinins, along with other bioactive peptides, were impli- cated in the resulting intoxication (Erspamer et al. 1993). The purpose of this discussion has been to explore possible bases of psychoactivity for Harvester ants, and thereby stimulate further research into the chemistry of Pogonomyrmex venom and its roles in human pathophysiological and visionary states. It is now clear that the ant’s venom gland is capable of synthesiz- ing peptides and complex alkaloids, some of which may ultimately prove to be directly psychoactive. Recent toxicological research has also demonstrated that Pogonomyrmex species possess a highly toxic venom capable of acting on the mam- malian central nervous system and triggering a wide range of psychophysiologi- cal reactions. Whether the visionary states reported in the ethnographic record are generated by directly psychoactive compounds or complex toxic reactions is a question that will only be answered through future pharmacological and toxico- logical research. Whatever the final conclusions, the ritual ingestion of Harvester ants in aboriginal south-central California represents the first well-documented case of the widespread use of an insect as an hallucinogenic agent. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In this paper I have outlined the distribution and major features of the ritual and therapeutic use of red ants in south-central California. There remains no doubt that red ants (almost certainly a Pogonomyrmex species) played a central role as vision-inducing agents in the ritual, religious, and medical life of Southern Cali- fornia Indians. These “virtuous” creatures were universally esteemed for their ability to put human beings in direct contact supernatural power, and paralleled tobacco and toloache in terms of their social and religious significance. They were used to induce catatonic, death-like states, during which vivid visions of the su- pernatural realm manifested. They also played an important role in both curative and preventative medicine, treating a diverse body of ailments. It appears that these red ants were recognized as therapeutically valuable (and therefore, bio- chemically active) based on the potency of their painful stings. This empirical qual- ity dovetailed with native ideological constructs which equated poison with both curative and supernatural power, potentiating their use in therapeutic and vision- ary contexts. Both published and unpublished ethnographic accounts have been examined in light of general biology, pharmacology, and toxicology in order to assess the pharmacological wisdom that informs this exotic and seemingly bizarre practice. The extant ethnographic sources cited in this paper strongly suggest that, through either direct or indirect action on the central nervous system, massive quantities of Pogonomyrmex venom are capable of producing highly altered metabolic states during which hallucinatory visions are apt to manifest. While it is possible that kinin-like compounds are implicated, the non-specific nature of the ethnographic accounts, combined with the preliminary state of our knowledge concerning ant venom chemistry makes it impossible to identify a specific pharmacological agent or definite mechanism of action. Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 23 NOTES ‘Justin O. Schmidt generously provided taxonomic and toxicological data based on his Pogonomyrmex collections f thern and south-central California. He may be contacted at the following address: Justin O. Schmidt, Research Entomologist/United States Depart- ment of Agriculture/ Agricultural Research Service/Carl Hayden Bee Research Center/ 2000 East Allen Road/Tucson, AZ 85719-1596. Roy Snelling also provided valuable infor- mation on the current nomenclature of Pogonomyrmex species, their distribution, and size. He may be reached at the following address: Roy Snelling /Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History /900 Exposition Blvd./Los Angeles, CA 90007. 2 Due to Harrington’s non-directive interviewing technique, data on a single subject are often scattered across many pages. In preparing Olivas’ account of ritual ant ingestion, several descriptions of the same event (from the same informant) were synthesized to in- crease clarity. The most complete description was used as the basic structure, and details contained on oth : ted wh iate. S h k lightly foo sail anal I edited in order to clarify meaning and to read with more fluidity. 3John P. Harrington was accompanied to Ft. Tején in 1916 by his wife, Carobeth, who car- ried out some ethnographic interviewing among the Kitanemuk and Interior Chumash. Although her notes have been thoroughly mixed with her husband's (and often attributed to him), they are written in a distinctive hand and are easily distinguished. José Juan Olivas was one of the Harringtons’ principal Kitanemuk and Interior Chumash consultants on the Tejon. Although he was born at Saticoy (and was therefore Castac or “Inland” Chumash by both ancestry and language), Olivas came to Tejon Ranch at age twelve and spent most of his life living among the largely Kitanemuk amalgamation of people at Tejon, where he became very familiar with many Kitanemuk cultural practices (Mills and Brickfield 1986:60). In Harrington’s notes it is often impossible to determine whether the data provided by Olivas describes a Kitanemuk or an Interior Chumash prac- tice, so the precise attribution of the ant account must therefore remain uncertain. 4 Interestingly, exopthalmia (protruding eyes) is characteristic of Pogonomyrmex poisoning, and appears to be related to changes in blood pressure behind the eyes (Schmidt 1986:481). The “bloodshot” eyes reported ethnographically might similarly reflect early stages of Pogonomyrmex intoxication. 5 Evidence of the conceptual similarities between these three states is provided by the se- mantic domain encompassed by the Kitanemuk verb -muk. This intransitive verb can be variously glossed as, “to die, to be intoxicated, to dream of something, to see visions of something.” In fact, the incorporated form manimuk “to be drunk with toloache” might also be translated as “to die from toloache.” (c.f. Anderton 1988:411) 6 This practice has received support from Western bi dicine, in which Hymenoptera are being used in experimental treatments for degenerative joint disease. The venom of Pseudomyrmex has been utilized as an efficacious treatment for chronic sreurnaiatd arthri- tis (Schultz and Arnold 1978; Schultz et al. 1978), and there is honey-bee venom alleviates arthritic pain and associated symptoms sonal communication 1995) (Roy Snelling, per- guing possibility that harvester ants, like Dendrobates, 7 Thi j ts the intri Ee ie : e compounds from dietary sources such as plants. may be able to sequester psychoactiv 24 GROARK Vol. 16, No.1 Although there is no direct evidence in support of this hypothesis, it would not be un- usual. Many insects are known to sequester chemicals derived from dietary sources—the moth Eloria noyesi feeds on the leaves of Erythroxylon coca and sequesters cocaine (J. Ott, written communication 1995), and certain bees have been known to produce intoxicating honeys after sequestering alkaloids from the nectar of hallucinogenic plants such as Virola surinamensis and Atropa belladonna (J. Wilbert, personal communication 1995; Ott 1993:404). 8 Both the moth larvae and the Tlaxcala bird examples are based strictly on hearsay—no voucher specimens were collected, the identity of the animals has not been firmly estab- lished, and they were never observed in use. The “dream fish” examples appear to relate to a fairly common phenomenon known as ichthyoallyeinotoxism, accidental hallucino- genic fish poisoning (Weil and Davis 1994:2). The resulting symptoms are often impossible to distinguish from poisoning, and the seasonality of the phenomenon suggests that toxic- ity may be related to unknown environmental factors. Ott (1993:414) classifies most of these examples as “oneirogenic” or dream-inducing substances, and not as true hallucinogens. ° Blackburn (1976) suggests that the possible Foescree of nepetalactone-like compounds may provide the key to unraveling Harvester ant the prin- cipal active agent in catnip, and appears to be psychoactive i in felines. Although catnip has been reported to be psychoactive in humans following smoking of the dried leaves (Jack- son and Reed 1969), it is uncertain whether the catactive ends are soa as cats are normally affected by the mere aroma of the p g vola (Ott 1993:415). Respiratory administration by smoking may involve z an altogether diferent mechanism of action. ” emma there are no clinical Gath on the reactions of human subjects to massive quan- tities of ant venom, tl 1 studies (Brown and Bernton 1970; Chipps et al. 1980; su et al. 1983) focusing on systemic reactions of hypersensitive individuals to various Hymenoptera stings (ants, wasps, and social bees). While the physiological mecha- nisms mediating an allergic reaction are different from those which govern a “normal” reaction to large doses of biymexapicta venom, the symptoms reported in these studies bear a striking to the f effects generated through ritual ant inges- tion, namely: lassitude, dizziness, fainting, 1 unconsciousness, and sometimes vomiting. "Although the kinins present in Hymenoptera venom appear to be closely related to brady- kinin—the most potent kinin in mammals—even slight structural differences may cause significant changes in activity. In addition, ant venoms contain a variety of unidentified agonists that may alter (or even negate) the effects of kinins. There is very little informa- tion on the function and mode of action of whole ant venom—let alone these kinin-like constituents—in the mammalian central nervous system, so this d ion must be viewed as highly speculative. Since most of these experimental results were obtained through di- rect intracerebral administration of enormous quantities of bradykinin (4 ug/rat), their relevance to human pathophysiological events is uncertain. However, the similarities be- tween the effects generated by kinins in laboratory settings and those reported ethnographi- cally for red ant ingestion are striking and extremely provocative, and warrant further investigation. 12A potential argument against this “toxic side-effects” explanation is the observation that toxins often produce a range of severe primary effects (e.g., memory loss, cognitive slow- ing, convulsions, etc.) that could preclude or overwhelm the hallucinogenic “side effects.” Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 25 In addition, — oon (as well as certain psychoactive compounds) tend to induce hal- lucinations t , disjointed, and poorly remembered upon awakening. One could argue that such substances are not likely to be used in shamanic or visionary practice be- cause the visions they generate do not lend themselves to meaningful interpretation—there- fore, the experience would not likely be repeated, and would certainly not be instituted as a widespread ritual practice. However, the ethnographic facts do not entirely support such observations. Certain substances (such as tobacco), are useful as visionary agents precisely because of their toxic constituents, and severe physiological “primary effects” are considered part and parcel of the “hallucinogenic” shamanic experience generated by these substances (c.f. Wilbert 1987, 1991). Also, it should be remembered that—in addition to the use of red ants—aboriginal southern and south-central California shamanism was based upon the use of two exceed- ingly toxic substances: tobacco (Nicotiana spp.), and the highly toxic hallucinogen toloache (Datura wrightii). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper is dedicated to Roger Robinson, who encouraged my work with the Harrington notes, and Brent Berlin, who introduced me to ethnobiology and the rewards of interdisciplinary research. I thank everyone who read early drafts of this paper and helped develop my thinking on the subject, particularly: Carole Browner, Allen Johnson, Eloy Rodriguez, Jill Shapira, Johannes Wilbert, and Dr. Jeff Wilkins. Special thanks go to Jonathan Ott, Darrell Posey, Justin Schmidt, Roy Snelling, and Jan Timbrook, all of whom reviewed this paper for publication and improved it y through their cor Thanks to Carolina Izquierdo and Marina Smith for translating the Spanish and French abstracts. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Justin Schmidt, who kindly provided his unpublished toxicity data for use in this article, and Roy Snelling, for his assistance on taxonomy and geographical distribution. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge John P. Harrington, Carobeth Tucker Harrington, and the native consultants whose words appear on these pages—without their detailed accounts, this important facet of indigenous Californian culture would have been forgotten. Thank you all. LITERATURE CITED 1992a. California Indian AGINSKY, BURT W. 1943. Culture element distributions: XXIV Central Sierra. University of California Anthropo- logical Records 8:393-468. ANDERTON, ALICE JEANNE. 1988. The language of the kitanemuks of California. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. APPLEGATE, RICHARD. 1975. The datura cult among the Chumash. Journal of helper in south-central California. Ballena Press, Socorro, BEAN, LOWELL JOHN. 1975. ‘Power and its application in native California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 2:25-33 shamanism and folk curing. Pp. 53-66 In California Indian rel Ballena Press, Menlo Park, CA. 1992b. soa ia Indian Shamanism. 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Pp. 425-508 in Venoms of the Hymenoptera: Biochemical, Pharmacological, and Behavioural Aspects (T. Piek, editor). Academic Press, New York. SCHMIDT, JUSTIN O. and MURRAY S. BLUM. 1978a. A harvester ant venom: Chemistry and pharmacology. Science 200:1064-1066. ‘ _1978b. Pharmacological and Pogonomyrme badius, venom. Toxicon 16: 645-65 a ite The biochemical constituents of the venom of the Harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 61C: 239-247. SCHMIDT, PATRICIA J., WADE C. SHERBROOKE, and JUSTIN O. SCHMIDT. 1989. The detoxification of ant (Pogonomyrmex) venom by a blood factor in horned lizards (Phrynosoma). Copeia 3:603-607. SCHULTES, RICHARD E. and ALBERT HOFMANN. 1992 [1979]. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT. SCHULTZ, D. R. and P. I. ARNOLD. 1978. Ant venom (Pseudomyrmex sp.) as an activator of Cl and an inactivator of the C3b inactivator: Its use in rheumatoid arthritis. Pp. 172-186 in Clinical Aspects of the Complement System (W. Opferkuch, K. Rother and D. R. Schultz, editors). P.S.G. Publishers, Massachusetts. SCHULTZ, D. R., J. J. BYRNES, and H. E. BROWN. 1978. Response of mixed cryoglobulinemia to treatment with ant venom. Clinical Research 26:56A. SPARKMAN, PHILIP S. 1908. The culture of the Luisefio Indians. University of California Publications in American Vol. 16, No.1 Archaeology and Ethnology 8:187-234. STEWARD, JULIAN H. 1941. Culture element distribution: XIII Nevada Shoshoni. University of California Anthropological Records 4:209-360. STRONG, WILLIAM D. 1929. Aboriginal society in southern California. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 26:1-358. SUTTON, MARK Q. 1988. Insects as food: Aboriginal entomophagy in the Great Basin. Ballena Press Anthropological Papers No. 33. Ballena Press, Novato, VOEGELIN, ERMINIE W. 1938. Tiibatulabal ethnography. University of California Anthropological Records 2:1- WALKER, KATHARINE, MARTIN PERKINS, and ANDY DRAY. 1995. Kinins and kinin receptors in the nervous system. Neurochemistry International 26:1-16. WALKER, PHILLIP L. and TRAVIS HUDSON. 1993. Chumash Healing: Changing Health and Medical Practices in an American Indian Society. Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation, Banning, CA. WEIL, ANDREW T. and WADE DAVIS. 1994. Bufo alvarius: A _ potent hallucinogen of animal eure Journal of Ethnopharmacology 41: WHEELER, J. W., O. OL UBAIO, and C. B. STORM. 1981. Anabaseine [sic]: Venom alkaloid of aphaenogaster ants. Science 211:1051-1052. WILBERT, JOHANNES. 1987. Tobacco and Shamanism in South America. Yale University Press, New Haven and ondon. —__—— 91. Does pharmacology corroborate the nicotine therapy and practices of ou American shamanism? Journal of Ethnopharma- cology 32:179-186. YAZAKI, K. 1989. Studies on the mechanism of the sedational state; “tranquilization” evoked by bradykinin or kallikrein in rats. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 247B:595-600. ZIGMOND, MAURICE. 1977. The supernatural world of the kawaiisu. Pp. 59-95 in Flowers of the Wind: Papers on Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY a Ritual, Myth and Symbolism in . 1986. Kawaiisu. Pp. 398-411 in California and the Southwest (T. C. Handbook of North American Indians, Blackburn, editor). Ballena Press, Vol. 11, Great Basin (W. D’Azevedo, Socorro, NM. editor). Smithsonian Institution Press, Bape, 81. Kawaiisu Ethnobotany. Washington, D.C. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. BOOK REVIEW Histoire Illustrée du Caoutchouc. J. B. Serier, A. Diez, and A. Van Dyck. Montpellier, France (Cirad-CP, BP5035, 34032 Montpellier Cedex 1): Editiones Desjonqueres, 1993. Pp. 96. (Price and ISBN not found). A most remarkable book has appeared: a pictorial history of rubber. It will be of interest to specialists in the production of this most important economic plant, to teachers, to students and, in fact to the general reader. The illustrated history begins with the dinosaur age. It then proceeds to: the Aztec use of rubber and the European encounter with the product; the 18th cen- tury with the uses in Europe of this new substance; the early French interest in rubber; the Humboldt and Bonpland period, followed by the discovery by Goodyear of vulcanization; the ensuing proliferation of commercial and indus- trial uses; the effect of rubber on bicycle and motor car transport; the rubber boom and mistreatment of rubber tappers in Africa and South America; the several at- tempts to procure seed to domesticate Hevea; and many later commercial and scientific events, including such historically significant aspects as the influence on the British and Dutch plantations of Asia from the Japanese occupation in 1945, plus an innumerable series of exceedingly interesting and important aspects of the history of rubber. As a botanist who has devoted nearly half a century in field work on rubber in the Amazon (taxonomic studies of the sources of rubber) and has published many scientific papers on Hevea rubber, I applaud the authors of this unusual way of presenting the full history of rubber-producing plants and their effect on the cre- ation of our modern world. It is with great pleasure that I recommend this contri- bution wah no reservations as a — step in explaining the history of rubber to a wide without recourse to many books, most of them unavailable in many libraries. Richard Evans Schultes Botanical Museum of Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 30 BOOK REVIEWS Vol. 16, No.1 The Diversity and Evolution of Plants. Lorentz C. Pearson. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. 1995. Pp. viii; 646. $59.95 (Outside United States, $72.00 U.S.). ISBN 0-8493-2483-1. There can be no other word to describe this book than the term “encyclopaedic .” Its 640 pages, 86 tables and 182 well chosen illustrations pro- vide a veritable mine of information and from an interdisciplinary point of view. It can, without any reservation, be recommended for its unexcelled presentation of material valuable for environmental conservation specialists even though it is basically a textbook for advanced students in its method of presentation of the technical contents. Each part contains suggested readings, student exercises, spe- cial interest essays and often other topics for student guidance. It is much more than a student guide however, and it can be used as an excellent source of easily obtainable information. The author, Lorenz C. Pearson, is Professor of Botany and Curator of the Cryp- togamic Herbarium at Ricks College, Roxbury, Idaho, and Adjunct Associate Pro- fessor in Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, and has written several other books and more than 40 technical articles. The Diversity and Evolution of Plants is divided into four parts: I. Introduction. Il. The Red Line. Prokaryotes, Red Seaweeds; Terrestrial Fungi (Molds and Mush- rooms); Lichens and other Symbiotic Plants); III. The Brown Line. Fire Plants and Cryptophytes; Slime Molds; The Ubiquitous Algae (Diatoms and other Chrysophytes); Flagellated Fungi; Kelps and other Brown Seaweeds. IV. The Green Line. Euglenids; The Pond “Mosses” (Siphonophytes and Stoneworts); Mosses and Liverworts; Fern Allies and Origin of Vascular Plants; Ferns; Gymnosperms, and Flowering Plants. There follow: a Glossary of 319 technical terms, 19 pages of very useful biblio- graphic entries, and a most exhaustive index occupying 39 pages. The author rightly said: “Knowledge about plant diversity is important to everyone, not only to an ecologist-geneticist like me or to the tropical taxonomist, daily awed by how meagre our knowledge of diversity really is, but to every soul who eats and breathes... Human life, and indeed all life, is unthinkable without the food and oxygen which only green plants can produce.” He has done a mas- terful job in presenting the significance of this diversity. Richard Evans Schultes Botanical Museum of Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Journal of Ethnobiology 16(1):31-62 RECONSTRUCTING PREHISTORIC SOCIOECONOMIES FROM PALEOETHNOBOTANICAL AND ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE BRITISH COLUMBIA PLATEAU DANA LEPOFSKY Department of Archaeology Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. V5A 186 KARLA D. KUSMER 4683 Cheatgrass Lane Sparks, NV 89436 BRIAN HAYDEN Department of Archaeology Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. V5A 156 KENNETH P. LERTZMAN School of Resource and Environmental Management Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. V5A 156 ABSTRACT.—The Keatley Creek site, located on the British Columbia Plateau, is tigate the position of resi- ires y at Keatley Creek, we com- pare the density, diversity, and distribution of the plant and animal remains re- covered from the living floors of a small, medium-sized, and large housepit. In particular, we investigate whether differences in these residential structures cor- relate with differences in housepit socioeconomic status, and whether the larger which themselves dif- of remains do vary with housepit size. Taxo- nomic richness of both plants and animals suggest that more diverse activities took place in the largest structure. The faunal remains, but not the floral remains, support the hypothesis that the large housepit was divided into distinct domestic subgroups, possibly of unequal socioeconomic status. The distribution of floral and faunal remains from the medium-sized and small houses suggests that inter- nal domestic subgroups were less pronounced and activities were undertaken more communally. A larger, more diverse sample is needed before we can make indicate that density and diversity Summer 1996 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 more definitive statements about the prehistoric socioeconomy at Keatley Creek, but this study demonstrates the value of combining paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses in studies of prehistoric social and economic organi- zation. RESUMEN.—EI sitio arqueolégico de Keatley Creek, ubicado en la region de la Meseta en Columbia Briténica, Canada, esta compuesto de 119 depresiones habitacionales. Con el fin de investigar la posicion de estructuras residenciales de diferente tamafio en la socioeconomia de Keatley Creek, comparamos la densidad, diversidad y distribucién de los restos de plantas y animales recuperados de los pisos de una vivienda pequefia, una mediana y una grande. En particular, investigamos si las diferencias en estas estructuras residenciales se correlacionan con diferencias en estatus socioeconémico, y si los fosos habitacionales mayores muestran evidencia de subgrupos domésticos distintos que difieran entre si en estatus socioeconémico. Esto requiere de un ntimero de aproximaciones metodolégicas que no son comunmente empleadas. Los resultados tanto de los analisis faunisticos como floristicos indican que la densidad y la diversidad de los restos si varian en relacién al tamafio del foso habitacional. La riqueza taxonomica de ambos, plantas y animales, sugiere que en la estructura mayor se llevaban a cabo actividades mds diversas. Los restos de animales, mas no de 4 igo a £ 1 lit . me tak plantas, apoyan la hipétesis mas gr dividido n 1, a Z : % se 4 , si ieee dietintnc sh1 4 | Lion he Oo fr iY desigual. La distribucién de los restos floristicos y faunisticos de las viviendas medianas y pequefias sugiere que los subgrupos domésticos internos eran menos pronunciados l tividades eran did orma mas comunitaria. paleoetnobotanicos y zooarqueolégicos en los estudios de la organizacion social y econémica prehistérica. RESUME.—Le site de Keatly Creek, situé sur le Plateau de la Colombie britannique, est composé de vestiges de 119 maisons. Pour connaitre le réle de chacune des différentes structures résidentielles dans la vie économique et sociale de Keatly Creek, nous avons comparé la quantité, la diversité et la répartition des débris d’espéces végétales et animales trouvés dans les parties habitées d’une petite, d’une moyenne et d’une grande maison. Plus spécifi 1 t, nous cherché a savoir s’il y avait une relation entre la quantité, la diversité et la répartition de ces débris dans les différentes maisons et les différents statuts sociaux et économiques des occupants des maisons excavées et, dans le cas des grandes maisons, si des sous-groupes domestiques distincts avec des statuts sociaux et économiques différents ont pu coexister. Une telle recherche a nécessité l'emploi de plusieurs méthodes généralement peu utilisées. Les résultats des analyses des débris d’espéces végétales et animal trent que la quantité et la diversité des mémes débris varient effectivement en fonction de la taille des maisons. L’abond taxi ique des débris a la fois floraux et fauniques suggeére qu’il se tenait plus d’activités variées dans la grande maison. L’analyse des débris d’espéces animales, ce qui n’est pas corroboré par celle des débris d’espéces végétales, vient étayer l’hypothése de la pré d groupes d tiques distincts, a statuts sociaux et économiques probablement inégaux, dans la grande maison. La répartition des débris floraux et fauniques dans les deux autres maisons porte a atranc Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 33 1 Be LF a a | is dee coniic-on 1 o zr 1 r et que les activités qui s’y tenaient étaient plus communautaires. II faudra exam- iner un échantillon plus important et diversifié avant de se prononcer de facon définitive sur la vie économique et sociale préhistorique de Keatley Creek. Toutefois, la présente étude montre l’intérét d’utiliser ensemble des méthodes d’analyse paléoethnobotaniques et zooarchéologiques dans l'étude de l’organisation de la vie sociale et économique des sociétés préhistoriques. INTRODUCTION Differential access and control over resources are fundamental charactersitics of complex societies which are reflected in the archaeological record. To examine the archaeological correlates of socioeconomic complexity, we focus on the remains of a large winter village located along the Fraser River in southwestern British Columbia (Figure 1). Ethnographic and archaeological evidence suggests that the hunter-gatherer subgroups occupying these pithouse villages were socially and economically complex (Hayden and Ryder 1991; Hayden and Spafford 1993; Hayden et al. 1985). The wide variation in size and apparent complexity of the pithouses led us to develop hyp about social and ic diff both among and within pithouses, and to postulate that these differences would be reflected in the organic remains within the houses. In 1986, an excavation program began at the Keatley Creek site, the largest remaining pithouse village in the region, to reconstruct the prehistoric social and economic organization at the site, and in particular to investigate the position of the vastly different sized residential structures in the socioeconomy. There are a total of 119 house depressions at the site, ranging in size from 5-21 meters in diam- eter measured from rim crest to rim crest. In order to understand the nature of the different sized structures, a detailed comparison of the economic and social orga- nization of various sized residences was undertaken. In this paper we discuss the socioeconomy of the Keatley Creek site as reflected in species composition, spe- cies richness, and spatial distributions of paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological remains recovered from the living floors of a small, medium- sized, and large housepit. In developing the overall goal of the project, Hayden et al. (1985) hypothesized that the housepit village at Keatley Creek was occupied by residential corporate groups of differing economic and social status. They posited that differences in housepit size were dependent upon socioeconomic differentiation and control. The larger houses, they predicted, housed groups of relatively greater wealth and status, and should exhibit greater internal socioeconomic differentiation than smaller structures. These hypotheses generate the following predictions: . . 1) Differences in residence structure size generally correlate with differences in socio- economic status, such that the largest houses contained the most privileged indi- viduals, and the proportionally smaller structures the less privileged ones. As- suming that more affluent groups produce more refuse in a greater variety of con- 41 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 FIGURE 1.—Location of Keatley Creek site and other housepit village sites in the study area. sae Site | 50°50' + 2 Keatley Site ne oe — ie) vs Oo wie oo oO ° o 0 ii 1) Bell o are ° — re) Site Oo small and medium villages Po Oo *& large village vt destroyed large village ° 8 Oo 2km 12) i.e) e. ° o ¢ Lillooet Site re) Pe fo) a oOo Oo Seton Site - o O° : 2 50°40! - °o (9) ° 122°00' 121°50' | Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 35 texts, the larger housepits should contain the greatest density and diversity of remains (after sample size has been taken into account), and the greatest number of special or restricted items. The pattern should hold despite the fact that the ethnographies suggest that smaller houses contained a higher density of people than larger structures, and therefore are more likely to produce more remains, all other things being equal (Hayden et al. 1992). The pattern will not apply to spe- cial, nonresidence structures, such as feasting or sweat lodges. 2) The larger residence housepits should exhibit greater internal differentiation than the smaller structures, indicating the relatively more varied socioeconomy within those structures. The larger, more privileged residential groups will tend to have a wider range of individuals and domestic subgroups with differing wealth, occu- pation, and status. This would be expressed in two ways: a) by the delineation of the housepit floor space into areas used by distinct domestic subgroups; and b) by differences in status, wealth and/or occupation between these distinct domestic subgroups. A “domestic subgroup” may be composed of a single nuclear family, an ex- tended family, or several unrelated individuals or families. The delineation of dis- tinct domestic subgroups is distinguished archaeologically by the regular, repeated patterning of food processing and consumption remains across the floor, with each set of remains being associated with a different subgroup. Differences in status, wealth, and/or occupation among domestic subgroups would be expressed by the presence of special or restricted items associated with only some of the distinct domestic subgroups. The absence of regular, repeated patterning of all remains would suggest that internal domestic subgroups were less pronounced and that housepit activities were undertaken more communally. Initially, 24 housepits were tested to determine their suitability for more ex- tensive excavation and to test these hypotheses. Because of the goals of the project, all large and many small housepits were tested, particularly those in areas less likely to have undergone disturbance by subsequent building events. Almost all of the large and medium-sized housepits tested were first occupied during the Shuswap horizon (3,500-2,400 b.p.), continued to be used during the Plateau hori- zon (2,400-1,200 b.p.), and were abandoned at the beginning of the Kamloops ho- rizon (1,200-200 b.p.). Refuse inside the house was periodically gathered together and dumped outside at the base of the roof forming stratified rim middens sur- rounding the house depressions. Houses had to be re-roofed periodically, prob- ably every 1-3 years. It appears that all the accumulated living floor debris and sediment were removed, and a clean till floor re-established with each re-roofing event. In most houses tested, there was no remaining evidence of multiple house floors. Thus the floor sediments that we excavated represent the accumulated de- bris of the residents from the last re-roofing event until final abandonment of the house. We completely excavated the floors of a small (HP 12), medium-sized (HP 3), and large housepit (HP 7). These housepits were chosen because of the ease of defining their floor deposits and because the floor deposits in these pits were approximately contemporaneous. Clearly defined floor and roof deposits were identified in the selected small, medium-sized, and large housepits on the basis of field criteria such as charcoal remains of roofs, color changes, textual changes, and 36 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 artifact orientations. The botanical and faunal material comprising the analyses reported here resulted from these excavations. The specific goals of the analyses were to delineate patterning of remains across the floors of the three houses, and to make comparisons between the structures which could provide insights into socioeconomic differences. The three housepits are ideally suited for such a study. All three houses were clearly residences rather than special function structures. This is most strongly indicated by the lithic assemblages in all three strucutres which displays a basic underlying similarity including artifacts likely to have been used by both women (hide scrapers, abrading stones, fire-cracked rocks) and men (projectile points, bifaces; Spafford 1991). The large and medium-sized housepit floors (HPs 7 and 3) yielded radiocarbon dates that were indistinguishable (c. 1100 bp). The smaller housepit appears to have been occupied a few hundred years earlier, but we feel it is representative of the social and economic organization of smaller housepits.? The persistent association of a different type of lithic material with each major housepit from Shuswap times until final abandonment indicates that a single cor- - porate group retained ownership of each large house site over this time period (Hayden 1996). Presumably, each large residential corporate group controlled a separate hunting and gathering area in the mountains and different types of chert were located in these different resource areas. Each corporate group brought back their distinctive chert type to their winter residence. The persistant association of a given lithic type with a particular house implies that the large and medium- sized housepits were continuously occupied over more than 1,000 years by a single, identifiable social group with periodic re-roofing and excavation of prior living floor accumulations. During this time, the larger structures do not appear to have changed fundamentally in size or internal organization based on the relatively close clustering of main post holes and the constant position of storage pits in relation to the edge of the floors. All houses seem to have been systematically abandoned, with no useful or valuable material being left on the floors. Roofs in all three structures were burned soon after abandonment, thereby sealing the floor deposits from subsequent dis- turbance and providing a charcoal layer useful in distinguishing the floor from the roof deposits. The burning of all three structures after abandonment resulted in the preservation of a wide variety of floral remains. The non-random distributions of botanical, faunal, and lithic remains associ- ated with hearths and walls suggest little disturbance or mixing of floor sediments. Further, there is little evidence for contamination or confounding taphonomic fac- tors, such as carnivore damage (Kusmer 1993a; Lepofsky 1993a). The discrete dis- tributions of seeds and fish remains, in particular, are convincing since small re- mains appear to be those most likely to reflect original primary refuse patterns (Bartram et al. 1991; Gifford 1980; Miksicek 1987; O’Connell 1987; Stahl and Zeidler 1990). Nor was there any accumulation of refuse in the center of any of the housepits as one might expect from post abandonment dumping. Moreover, the depositional environment of the three housepits seem to have been similar, suggesting that differences in the preservation of organic remains should be largely due to cul- tural rather than environmental factors. The Keatley Creek remains, then, are ideal for examining the archaeological correlates of socioeconomic behavior in the Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY a7 pithouses. The usable floor of the largest excavated housepit (HP 7), which covered an area approximately 113 m? (not including wall slopes), had a series of well devel- oped fire-reddened areas close to the west perimeter of the floor (Figure 2). These were associated with large storage pits, concentrations of fire-cracked rock, tools, debitage, abrading stones, and anvil stones. The eastern part of the floor had a number of less well defined hearths associated with fire-cracked rock, anvils, tools, debitage, and abrading stones, but no large storage pits, and a narrow earthen bench or shelf along the perimeter. Based on lithic analyses, the fire-reddened ar- eas appear to correspond to individual domestic subgroups within this large house (Spafford 1991). We are interested in determining whether the distribution of or- ganic remains supports this supposition. The floor plans of the medium-sized and small housepits are less complex than the large structure (Figures 3 and 4). The medium-sized housepit (HP 3) cov- ered approximately 78 m? in area. A wooden bench is suggested by carbonized planks remains recovered along the eastern and northeastern walls. One large stor- age pit in the northwest floor and three additional more shallow depressions are located on the floor of the medium-sized structure. There are also three fire-red- dened areas on this floor. The small housepit (HP 12), which covers only 38 m?in area, had only one fire-reddened area and several shallow depressions. It is difficult to determine whether floors in the three structures were occu- pied for the same length of time. However, the debris and discoloration on each of the floors were substantial enough to indicate that all had been used for a number of years. We do not expect any of the floor accumulations to represent more than 60 (and probably far fewer) consecutive years since the last re-roofing event of the structure. The smaller housepit does not appear to have been occupied long enough for a significant amount of debris to have accumulated on the housepit rim. In the other housepits, the rim debris deposits are very thick and begin their deposi- tional sequences prior to 2400 bp. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING The Keatley Creek site is situated about 25 km upstream along the Fraser River from the modern community of Lillooet, British Columbia. The village site is lo- cated on a terrace of morainal origin, about 370 m above and 1.5 km distant from the Fraser River. The vegetation on the site today is characteristic of disturbed grasslands in the region and is dominated by various grasses and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Forested slopes rise steeply to the east of the village and, near the site, are dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). These forests extend from the site up to where they grade into sub-alpine meadows. They represent a characteristic elevational sequence of biogeoclimatic zones from the Ponderosa Pine zone, through the Interior Dou- glas-Fir zone, to a mix of montane and subalpine forest types (Meidinger and Pojar 1991). The location of the Keatley Creek site on benchlands above the Fraser River gorge allowed access to a variety of animal and plant resources due to the range of biotic zones available within a short distance of the site. Principal food species FIGURE 2.—Maps showing features and distribution of floral and faunal remains on floor of large housepit (HP 7). Boxes on floral maps indicate 50 x 50 cm sampling subsquares for flotation. ® fire-reddening O pits 7 ~*+.. edge of bench fish bone frequencies range from 0 to 59 non-fish bone frequencies range from 0 to 159 “TV LA ANSAOdTT TON “9T “TOA FIGURE 3.—Maps showing features and distribution of floral and faunal remains on floor of medium-sized housepit (HP 3). Boxes on floral maps indicate 50 x 50 cm sampling subsquares for flotation. . iN = © >5 food seeds © > 5 non-food seeds & © > 5g charcoal N fish bone non-fish bone frequencies range from 0 to 36 frequencies range from 0 to 31 fire-reddening O pits ~ planks a 9661 JauTWNS AKDOTOISONHLA JO TVNUNO[ FIGURE 4.—Maps showing features and distribution of floral and faunal remains on floor of small housepit (HP 12). Boxes indicate 50 x 50 cm sampling subsquares. Numbers in the subsquares are the total numbers of seeds or bones recovered from each subsquare. © > 200needies © >Sacharcoal ~5- +—- 3 3 6/1/8} {1 7 {2 /9}2 2 1/1 2 1 2/1 1 1 1 1 2| 2/130 1 1 2 2 Pia 1 8 non-fish bone fish bone “IV LI AASAOdYT TON ‘9T “TOA Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 41 include anadromous salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), deer (Odocoileus spp.), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), a variety of berry crops such as rosehips (Rosa spp.), cur- rants (Ribes spp.) and saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia), and several edible “roots” including balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), various members of the lily family, and several Lomatium species. See Alexander (1992) for a more detailed discussion of fauna available in the various vegetation zones around the site and Turner (1992) for a detailed ethnobotanical discussion of plant use by the St’at’ime (Upper Lillooet) of the Keatley Creek area. METHODS 1 1 a1 1 lanalvsis 7 Excavators collected bulk flotati ples for the f from designated 50 x 50 cm sampling subsquares (Figures 2-4). All samples were measured to a standardized volume of one liter and then floated using the “gar- bage can” technique (Watson 1976). The bucket mesh was 1.0 mm and the scoop mesh was 0.45mm. The light fraction provided the material for the paleoethnobotanical analysis (Lepofsky 1993a, 1993b) and the heavy fraction the material for the microfaunal and microdebitage analyses (Handley 1990; Kusmer 1993a, 1993b). The heavy fraction was also checked for charred botanical remains. A total of 123 flotation samples from pithouse floor contexts was examined for archaeobotanical remains, which was comprised of 69 samples from the large housepit (HP 7), 38 from the medium-sized housepit (HP 3), and 16 from the small structure (HP 12). In the large and medium-sized housepits roughly 15% of the floor subsquares were examined for archaeobotanical remains; approximately 12% of the floor subsquares of the small housepit were examined. Faunal remains were recovered from 6.35 mm mesh dry screening of the exca- vated floor deposits and from the heavy fraction of flotation samples, which al- lowed recovery of bones down to 1 mm in size. All the faunal remains recovered from the 6.35 mm screens from the three housepit floor deposits were examined. In the large and medium-sized housepits faunal remains from flotation samples were examined from ca. 25% of the floor subsquares, while ca. 16% of the remains from the small housepit were examined. Faunal remains from the examined flota- tion samples consist of salmon fragments and tiny, unidentifiable mammal frag- ments. These data largely proved to be redundant with data from the larger mesh screens; the few exceptions are discussed below. Our analyses and discussion of relative frequencies of taxa, taxonomic richness, and eveness are based on data from the 6.35 mm screens. RESULTS The results of the paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses for the large, medium-sized, and small housepits are discussed in turn below, followed by comparisons of remains among the three structures. The frequency and distri- bution of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains across the floors of the housepits are represented in Figures 2-4. High concentrations of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains are distinguished on the maps. Lists of the plant 42 LEPOFSEY EF Al. Vol. 16, No.1 and animal taxa recovered, their frequencies, and uses are presented in Tables 1 an TABLE 1.—Archaeobotanical remains recovered from the floor of the three housepits.* Scientific Name Part requency Primary (common name) found' Large HP “atom HP Small HP Uset (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Alnus cf. sinuata (alder) .. 5 T Amelanchier alnifolia a 40 27 2 F (saskatoon) Arctostaphylos uva-ursi S 9 11 r innikinnik) Betula papyrifera © 1 T (paper birch) ?Boraginaceae S 1 ? (Borage Family) Carex sp. (sedge) S 1 : 4 Chenopodium sp. S 148 36 10 ? (chenopod)** Cornus sericea S 3 li (red-osier dogwood) Ericaceae S 62 44 2 4 (Heather Family) Graminae (grass) ** S 7 9 1 — O 79 115 - Opuntia sp. (prickly pear) S 2 i2 F Phacelia sp. (phacelia) S 20 V4 O Pinus ponderosa N 10078 7521 T (ponderosa pine) emer a 67 25 T Populus sp. (cottonwood) a as 20 T Prunus sp. (cher S - F Pseudotsuga menziesii N 18129 835 i (Douglas-fir) — Gj 218 88 T — S 5 ? Rosa cf. woodsii (rose) s 9 1 F Scirpus sp. (rush)S 1 T Silene s S 1 O Smilacina stellata 2 F Solomon’s seal) Unidentified ai 14 7 — Unidentified S 94 16 2 a (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Total N** C 349 140 — Total N S 472 172 16 —_ *Miscellaneous plant parts, such as buds, bark, se other plant tissues are not included here. See Lepofsky (1993a) for complete presentation of dat: tC = charcoal; S = seed; N = needle; O = other Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 43 $F = Food; T = technology; O = other; see Lepofsky (1993a) for more detailed ethnobotanical descriptions. **There is no ethnobotanical or paleoethnobotanical evidence that either chenopods or grass seeds were ever eaten in the Interior Plateau. +t Charcoal from only a small number of the total flotation samples were identified. No charcoal specimens from HP 12 were identified. TABLE 2.—Faunal remains recovered from the three housepits floors. Scientific Name Frequency Primary (common name) Large HP Medium HP Small HP Uset (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Uniden. freshwater shellfish a 2 7 Dentalium sp. (dentalium) 3 T Hinnites giganteus 1 T (purple-hinged rock scallop) Margaritifera falcata 2 - Ms (freshwater shellfish) Nucella sp. (dogwinkle) 1 Ff Oncorhynchus sp. (salmon) 1344 314 31 F Accipiter sp. (hawk) Pd T Tetraoninae (grouse) 4 F Bird 1 Lepus americanus (snowshoe hare) 19 BT Castor canadensis (beaver 16 4 2 ET Peromyscus sp. (deermouse) 1 Microtus sp. (vole) 9 Canis familiaris (domestic dog) 1 41 (MNI = 1) Vulpes vulpes (red fox) 1 T Ursus arctos (grizzly) 1 T 8 12 3 ET Cervus elaphus (elk) 2 FT Odocoileus sp. (deer) 42 5 1 ET Ovis canadensis (bighorn sheep) 1 ET Unidentified large mammal 176 35 10 Unidentified mammal 751 147 71 Total NISP 2407 561 121 t F = Food; T = Technology; see Kusmer 1993a for more detailed accounts of taxa. The paleoethnobotanical remains were divided into the three major plant cat- egories recovered on the floor: charcoal, needles, and seeds. Seeds were divided further in the large (HP 7) and medium-sized (HP 3) structures into food seeds, non-food seeds, and unidentified seeds (see Table 1 and Lepofsky 1993a for ethno- botanical descriptions). The category “unidentified seeds” is largely composed of single specimens of each unidentified taxon. In each of the housepits, floral re- mains were quantified by determining the number of specimens per one liter flo- tation sample collected from each sampling subsquare. These numbers were used to determine the concentrations of remains on the floors. Distinguishing archaeobotanical patterning across the floor of the small a LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 housepit is somewhat more problematic than in the two larger housepits. Because the small housepit has such limited floor space, clusters of remains may be more spatially restricted than in the other housepits. Thus, although roughly the same percent of surface area in the three structures has been analyzed for archaeobotanical remains, we may be missing relatively more information in the unsampled subsquares of the small structure. Given the nature of the paleoethnobotanical sampling strategy in the small housepit, any concentration of remains is likely to be defined by very few subsquares. The zooarchaeological analysis was divided into fish and non-fish (mammal, bird, and shellfish) remains. Within the mammal category, it is difficult to inter- pret activities with respect to artiodactyls because of the nature of the bone frag- ments. The high degree of bone fragmentation and loss due to marrow extraction, burning, tool making, the clearing of the floor of large debris, and trampling, re- sulted in few identifiable fragments. Because of the low numbers, it is difficult to compare identifiable elements on a hearth to hearth basis, but it is useful to com- pare frequencies of unidentifiable bones. The identifiable fragments reflect most clearly their resistance to the above processes and their relative identifiability as small fragments. The rather extensive bone and antler tool industry reflected in the bone artifacts would also have affected the presence/absence of specific ele- ments of artiodactyls. The large housepit.—Archaeobotany. Charcoal, needles, and seeds are distributed non-randomly on the floor of the large housepit (Figure 2). Relatively denser con- centrations of charcoal fragments are located in six discrete clusters on the floor of the large structure. The charcoal clusters correspond well with the hearths on the western perimeter of the floor. On the eastern side, charcoal concentrations and the less well defined fire-reddened areas do not correspond. This may be due to the fact that the eastern hearths were not used frequently enough to have accumu- lated or retained large amounts of charcoal debris. Conversely, the presence of charcoal and no hearths may be contamination from the burnt roof. Conifer needles in the large housepit are clustered along much of the periph- ery of the floor, and are almost entirely absent from the center of the structure. The concentration of conifer needles around the periphery of the floor likely indicates the deliberate covering of the floor and sleeping platform with boughs for bed- ding or floor covering, as was documented in ethnographic times (Teit 1900:199). This in turn implies that there were sleeping or domestic areas behind the hearths around most or all of the house perimeter. There are three discrete trations of food seeds across the large housepit floor, all of which correspond closely to charcoal concentrations. The area in and around the hearth in the north-central area is the largest cluster. If the unidentified seeds are included (each representing a single taxon; see fn. 8), this area of the floor also contains the greatest diversity of taxa. The extent and diversity of seeds in and around this hearth suggests that the hearth was repeatedly used for plant processing, or (less likely) was the regular discard area for all plant foods used in the pithouse. This hearth area is therefore a good candidate for a special activity area. The other two clusters are iderably smaller in extent and diversity of seeds Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 45 than the large concentration. Their limited occurrence suggests that they were ei- lant processing areas, or accidental, or unique events. The analysis of additional subsquares in the large housepit adjacent to these smaller food seed clusters would help to better define their nature. Plant processing which did not involve fire (and the accidental charring of plants) may have occurred elsewhere on the floor, but the residues from these events are not likely to show up in the archaeobotanical record. Non-food seeds occur in clusters in five discrete areas on the floor of the large housepit. Although we have separated the concentrations on the periphery of the floor into four discrete clusters, we suspect that the gaps between the clusters have more to do with gaps in our sampling than actual breaks in the distribution. The concentration of non-food seeds along the south and east periphery of the pithouse corresponds well with the zone of highest needle concentration. The non- food seed category is predominantly composed of charred chenopod and grass seeds. The grass and needles are likely the remains of a covering for bedding or floor covering composed of grass stems and conifer boughs. Why the charred che- nopods are also associated is not clear, but they may have been accidentally col- lected along with the grasses. A pollen study (Vance n.d. in Lepofsky 1993a) indi- cates that chenopods were a major component of the local prehistoric flora at Keatley Creek. 4} uler a 1 1 gy. Apt tely 2400 bones were recovered from floor depos- its of the large housepit (Figure 2). About 60% of these are fish bones, about 5% are identifiable mammal bones (primarily artiodactyl/deer), and about 35% are small, unidentifiable mammal bone fragments (probably mostly deer).* The distribution of different size categories of bones, with larger bones occurring primarily towards the periphery of the floor, suggests that housecleaning activities kept the activity areas clear of large debris. Burned bone fragments are scattered in low amounts over the floor, with concentrations associated with hearths and fire-reddened ar- eas. The percentage of burned mammal bones is higher in the west and south (73%) than in the east (44%), suggesting differential use of fire and mammal bone processing or consumption practices between the west and east. Four areas on the floor contain high frequencies of fish, along with less dis- tinct concentrations of mammal bone (primarily artiodactyl). These fish concen- trations are also well represented in the flotation samples. The only difference is a cluster of fish bones along the wall in the southwest which shows up in the flota- tion sample, but not the larger bone sample. This area also had many tiny, uniden- tifiable fragments and may have been an area of heavy trampling or extreme bone reduction. Fish bone concentrations in the northwest, southeast, and south/southwest are associated with hearths and storage pits. In the south/southwest there is also a concentration of mammal remains. In the northwest, in addition to the fish and artiodactyl, are the remains of grizzly bear, red fox, and bighorn sheep, found only in this area. Also, the large pits in this area contain unusual remains such as a dog burial, hawk wing bones, and trade shells (dentalium and dogwinkle). In the southeast, the artiodactyl concentration is relatively high, as is the fish 46 LEPOPSEY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 density. Hare and grouse are limited to this area of the floor. The presence of more types of artiodactyl skeletal elements here than on the rest of the floor suggests this may have been an important area for reduction of large artiodactyl parts prior to cooking. The relatively high frequency of small bone fragments here compared to other areas of the floor further suggests processing for marrow and grease ex- traction in this area. Scattered fish are present in the northeast and artiodactyl bones here are near a small hearth. An abundance of beaver incisors also in the northeast may indicate a locus for woodworking. Each of these four areas, in the northwest, northeast, southeast, and south/ southwest, likely represents a discrete activity area for animal consumption and/ or processing. This repeated patterning of remains also suggests the presence of independent domestic subgroups within this structure. Based on the presence of rare faunal remains and major storage pits and hearths, the group occupying the northwest may have held relatively higher status. The medium-sized housepit—Archaeobotany. Charcoal, needles, and seeds are dis- tributed non-randomly across the floor of the medium-sized housepit (Figure 3). There are three distinct charcoal concentrations on the floor of the medium-sized housepit. There is generally a close relationship between fire-reddened areas and charcoal frequencies. The concentration of needles along the southern periphery of the floor likely distinguished this area for sleeping or sitting, as in the largest structure. As in the large house, this implies the use of most or all of the periphery of the house as domestic or sleeping areas. There are three concentrations of food seeds on the floor of the medium-sized housepit: one large and two smaller clusters. Each of the three clusters is associ- ated with charcoal concentrations and nearby fire-reddened areas and likely func- tioned for food plant processing. The extent and number of plant remains in the large concentration in the northwest of the floor suggests that this area was used repeatedly for plant processing. The two small ti may represent sit igle events. As in the large housepit, the non-food seed clusters on the floor of the me- dium-sized housepit are located along the periphery of the structure. In each case, the bulk of the non-food seeds are comprised of charred chenopods. This differs from the large housepit where the category was comprised primarily of chenopod and grass seeds. Without the presence of grass seeds, we cannot think of a parsi- monious cultural explanation for the chenopods along the periphery of the floor of the medium-sized housepit. We cannot rule out the possibility that the distribu- tion of charred chenopods along the periphery of the structure may be due to post-occupation depositional processes, but this does not account for their con- centration only around the peripheral areas under the deepest accumulations of —— roof deposits (Lepofsky 1993a). There is no recorded evidence that che- nopods were eaten lly, and their absence from hearth areas makes it unlikely that they were used as food prehistorically. Zooarchaeology. Approximately 560 bones were recovered from floor depos- its in the medium-sized housepit. Fifty-six percent of these are fish bones, 32% are Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 47 unidentifiable mammal, and 12% are identifiable mammal (Figure 3). As in the large housepit, most of the remains on the floor are small, suggesting the inhabit- ants of the medium-sized structure were keeping the activity areas clear of larger debris. The largest bones occur most often near the periphery, except for an imma- ture, largely articulated post-cranial canid skeleton found on the floor in the west- center area. Fish bones occur around the perimeter of the floor, except for the southeast. Articulated salmon remains occur near the walls in the east and in the north, sug- gesting these were areas of little trampling, perhaps under benches. This distribu- tion is similar to the fish distribution from the flotation samples, except that more fish were recovered from the flotation samples in the northeast. The presence of tiny fish fragments here may be due to heavy trampling. Fish concentrations in the north and in the southwest are associated with fire-reddened areas. The two largest non-fish concentrations near the west/center are portions of the i ture canid skeleton. Other non-fish bones (primarily artiodactyl) are found in the highest frequencies in the north and east/center of the floor, with lightly scattered remains across much of the floor. The concentration of artiodactyl (and fish) in the east is associated with a small storage pit and fire-cracked rock and may be a food processing area. The concentration of bones in the north is associ- ated with a storage pit and fire-reddened areas and may also represent a food processing area. However, a number of bones in this area, including artiodactyl bones, are larger than other floor bones. Their size and location against the house wall ts tl from | l i tiviti laced 1 ei fe les May represent Litoc OO Oo : ead ina “provisional discard” location (Hayden and Cannon 1983). Surprisingly, there are few faunal remains near the large hearth in the southeast. The patterning of faunal remains across the floor of the medium-sized house is more indicative of communal food preparation, rather than of distinct social subgroups performing the same animal food-related activities. The fish concen- trations associated with fire reddened areas may represent two discrete fish con- sumption/ processing areas in the north and southwest. The small housepit—Archaeobotany. Concentrations of charcoal and needles, but not seeds, can be distinguished on the floor of the small housepit (Figure 4). The three charcoal concentrations roughly correspond to the concentrations of needles. The charcoal and needle concentrations in the north correspond to the fire-red- dened area. Seed densities are strikingly low in all areas across the floor of the small housepit, and no area appears to have a greater or lesser concentration than an- other. Even the areas which have a concentration of both charcoal and needles, have almost no seeds. Indeed, only 16 seeds were found across the floor, repre- senting only 5 taxa. The most ubiquitous seed remains are chenopods, which are of uncertain ethnobotanical significance, and even its total number is low. Zooarchaeology. About 120 bones were recovered from floor deposits in the small housepit (Figure 4). Twenty-six percent of the floor bones are fish and these are clustered in the northeast corner of the floor. The majority of the remaining floor bones are small, unidentifiable fragments. They are found primarily in the 48 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 north half of the floor near a fire-reddened area. The presence of a single concen- tration of faunal remains on the floor, corresponding to a hearth and fire-cracked rock concentration, suggests animal food processing activities took place commu- nally in this small house. Comparisons between housepits.—Archaeobotany. A common pattern displayed in all three structures is the relative absence of all three categories of archaeobotanical remains in the center of the floors. This pattern, however, is less marked in the small housepit than in the medium-sized and large housepits, probably owing to greater constraints on the use of space. Since charcoal can be easily displaced and is difficult to remove, it seems clear that considerable care was taken to keep housepit centers clear of debris. The center may have been a communal use area for the inhabitants of each structure. TABLE 3. Abundance of charcoal, needles, and seeds recovered from the three housepit floors.* Large HP Medium HP Small HP (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Charcoal total (g) 44+ 3.9 2.8 + 2.0 29+28 Douglas-fir (N) 62.5 + 20.3 62.5 + 21.6 — Ponderosa pine (N) 18.0 + 13.7 19.3 £ 20.6 —_ Populus (N) 14.5 + 19.7 147 +7.1 — Needles total (N) 444.7 + 971.8 235.5 + 463.2 278.1 + 536.6 Seeds total (N) 6.8 + 9.2 4.7+ 5.0 1.0+ 0.9 * Means and standard deviations, calculated per 1 liter flotation sample.* The average amounts of charcoal recovered per liter flotation sample can be compared for the three housepit floors (Table 3). Charcoal abundances on the three floors are statistically different from one another (ANOVA, p = 0.04), but in a post hoc 2-way comparison only the large and the medium-sized floor charcoal are significantly different (Tukey HSD, p = 0.07).° Thus, the large structure has signifi- cantly more charcoal on the floor than the medium-sized structure, but not more than the small structure. From this, we can conclude that on average more fires may have been burned in the large than medium-sized structure, but there was no difference in fire intensity in the large structure versus the small one, nor in the medium-sized housepit versus the small housepit. In terms of species, on average, the three most common wood species (Dou- glas-fir, pine, Populus) are found in almost exactly the same proportions on the floor of the large and medium-sized housepits (Table 3; D-fir: Mann Whitney U test, p = 0.92; Pine: Mann Whitney U test, p = 0.80; Pop: Mann Whitney U test, p = 0.16). In fact, these taxa have almost identical abundances and standard devia- tions across the two housepit floors. Identifications of charcoal from the small housepit were not carried out. Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 49 We can conclude from this that the same kinds of fuel wood were generally burned in the large and medium-sized structures, but that more fires were burned on average in the largest structure than the medium-sized structure. This result is supported by a greater degree of fire-reddening underlying the hearths of the large structure compared to the medium-sized structure. Whether the burning of more fires has more to do with differential access to fuel, the intensity which the large housepit as a whole was used, or perhaps length of use of the last floor, cannot be determined at present. Although the three structures do not differ from one another in average needle abundance per liter flotation sample (ANOVA, p = 0.2), the distributions of needles on the three floors are quite distinct. The nearly continuous peripheral concentra- tions in the large and medium-sized structures but not the small housepit indicate that the needles may have been used differently in the latter structure. The con- centration of conifer needles around the periphery of the larger twoh pit floors likely indicates the deliberate covering of pole or plank platforms with boughs for bedding or floor covering. While these platforms are described and illustrated ethnographically, they are more difficult to identify archaeologically. Only the pres- ence of small post holes near the wall of the large house, an earthen bench along the wall of the same structure, and a fortuitously preserved bench plank along one wall of the medium-sized house, indicate use of sleeping platforms at Keatley Creek. The inhabitants of the small housepit slept either directly on the pithouse floor or on mats that were not preserved. The source of the sporadic high concen- trations of needles on the floor of the small housepit cannot be determined at this point. The three housepits differ from one another in the average number of seeds recovered per liter flotation sample (Table 3; ANOVA, p = 0.005). In a post hoc 2- way comparison the large structure is significantly different from the small housepit (Tukey HSD, p = 0.003), and the medium-sized housepit significantly differs from the small structure (Tukey HSD, p = 0.04). If seed density can be taken to represent intensity of use, these results suggest more intensive use of seed plants in the large and medium-sized housepits than in the small. The medium-sized and large housepits cannot be distinguished statistically. Differences in species richness in the housepits can be evaluated by compar- ing the number of seed taxa on the floors of the three structures. Richness is the number of species present in a given assemblage. Although we were only able to identify a limited number of taxa, far more taxa are represented by the unidenti- fied category. When number of taxa represented in the unidentified category are taken into account, it is clear that the floor of the large housepit has far more taxa represented by seeds than either of the other two housepits (Table 1; HP 7 = 108, HP 3 = 28, HP 12 =5).8 In order to assess these differences in richness, we need to consider the effect of sample size. When the logarithm of the total number of seed is plotted against the logarithm of the number of specimens (not shown) in the three housepits, the three structures fall on the same line, indicating that total number of taxa can be accounted for by sample size. However, a plot of the number of taxa against num- ber of specimens recovered (Figure 5) illustrates that the slope is beginning to 50 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 level off in the two larger structures and that the number of taxa is approaching the true maximum number of taxa. From this we can conclude that these housepits have been adequately sampled to assess relative richness, and that the differences in species richness may represent real behavioral differences between the struc- tures. FIGURE 5.—Number of identifiable taxa (NIT) of seeds plotted against number of identifiable specimens (NISP) recovered from three housepit floors. The lines are distance weighted least squares smoothings (DWLS; Wilkinson et al. 1992). 6 T i 5 4 = a 2 1 O J | a ae O _ 8 12 16 | l 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 125 1 T T T 100 F a 75 + ; Bey ts 0 HP 7 : 25 F ‘ , os | 0 80 160 240 320 400 480 Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 51 Although we have no basis to argue that the number of taxa represented in the small structure approaches its true maximum number of species, there appear to be real differences in taxon abundance in the three structures. The larger struc- tures have already accumulated more taxa than the small house when we com- pare them at the point they have each accumulated a number of identifiable speci- mens equal to the total accumulated in the small structure (i.e., at NISP = 16, HP 7 = 12 taxa, HP 3 = 13 taxa [interpolated], HP 12 = 5 taxa). This indicates that the patterns observed in the small house are not merely an artifact of sample size. FIGURE 6.—Log number of identifiable taxa (LNIT) of seeds plotted against log number of identifiable specimens (LNISP) recovered from three housepit floors, illustrating accumulation rates of seed taxa per specimens. 2.9 came 2 | ae: LNIT LNISP To further examine the differences in species diversity, we compare the rate of accumulation of species relative to the addition of new specimens (Figure 6). In biological samples, th ber of species observed cl teristically increases with the size of the sample, the area sampled, or the number of specimens examined (Krebs 1989; Magurran 1988). The rate at which species accumulate with sample size, as well as the eventual asymptote of species richness, can both be used to characterize an ecological community. We take the logarithm of the number of seed taxa and of the number of seed specimens and fit regression lines to charac- a2 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 terize their relationship within each housepit. When the slopes of the three lines are compared, the large housepit is significantly different than the medium-sized and small housepits (ANOVA f-test for homogeneity of slope; p < 0.0001 in both cases), but the medium-sized and small housepits are statistically similar (p = 0.89). rom this we can conclude that the large housepit is accumulating number of spe- cies /specimens at a significantly higher rate than in the other two housepits. Finally, we compare the three housepits in terms of species evenness. Even- ness is a measure of the equability of the relative abundances of the species in an assemblage. For example, an assemblage with low evenness would be dominated by many individuals of a few taxa, with other taxa poorly represented. The small housepit appears to nave Ss the least even distribution of species (Figure 7) and the medium-sized and | appear similar in evenness. However, the shapes of the frequency distributions in Figure 7 cannot be distinguished statistically (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, HP 7 and 3: p = 0.70; HP 7 and 12: p = 0.37; HP 3 and 12: p = 0.43 There are some notable differences in the seed species composition of each of the houses, especially among the less common species. The three most abundant species in the medium-sized and large structures (not including the unidentifieds) make up approximately 65% and 60%, respectively, of the entire distribution. In the case of the large housepit, the total includes chenopods, grasses, and Ericaceae. In the medium-sized structure the three most common taxa are Ericaceae, cheno- pods, and saskatoons. Of the seven most rare species in each distribution, only two are shared between the two structures. This may be a result of sample size or may represent actual differences in species use in the two housepits. Chenopods dominate the small housepit assemblage. TABLE 4. Relative frequencies of select faunal taxa from the three housepit floors. Large HP Medium HP Small HP (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Total (N) 2,401 561 121 Fish 56 56 .26 Canid <.01 <.01 .00 Artiodactyl* .03 .03 05 Large mammal .07 .06 .06 Other a 34 63 *“Artiodactyl” includes deer, sheep, elk, and unidentified artiodactyl remains.* Zooarchaeology. The relative frequencies of important taxa from the three housepits are listed in Table 4. The large (HP 7) and medium-sized (HP 3) housepits contain similar proportions of fish, canids, artiodactyls, and large mammal bones on the floor, while the small housepit contains less fish. In terms of average abun- dance per square meter of floor, the three housepits are significantly different in total number of bones, number of fish bones, and number of mammal bones Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY FIGURE 7.—Abundance of seed taxa recovered from three housepit floors. OT ee - -_ ne 10. & 05 + e 04 HP 12 e OS-h N=16 O02 - 2 3 3 0.1 1 D paar ona ee oO) ee ED | A meecnes wean: Se oe Ce on AF ven” enor wor woe 0.3 T T T T T T Fi ae RS | T T ia | 44 | 36 eS U2 > ines Pd “ a HP 3 Mg, b =172 ; a oe | 0.0 —L ! | FA ee a a ne 0.4 a T 3 ae 9 a T T T T T T 148 oa br i 3 o> 02+ 94 HP / im N = 474 E- o1 Fb i ; Se. a a ee ee ee 0.0 1 l L oF DEO Sa IE Oe ee a Al Ga gn ger SPECIES 54 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 (ANOVA, p < 0.0001 in all cases; Table 5). However, in post-hoc 2-way compari- sons the only significant differences are between the large housepit and the other two (Tukey HSD, p < 0.01). The large housepit has significantly greater density of animal remains than the medium and small structures, but the medium and small structures do not differ in terms of average density of remains. TABLE 5. Abundance of selected faunal taxa on the three housepit floors.* Large HP Medium HP Small HP (HP 7) (HP 3) (HP 12) Fish Ne mae sO 4.9+ 10.0 Lites Mammal 9.5+ 16.4 3.6+8.5 2126.1 Total bones 21.6 + 28.3 S52155 4.1+7.2 *Means and standard deviations, calculated per square meter of floor. Numbers are based on numbers of identified specimens.* Differences in the species of salmon present between the large housepit and the medium and small housepits imply differential access to salmon resources (Berry 1992). All of the fish in the small housepit and over 90% in the medium- sized housepit were found to be pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), while in the large housepit, a broader range of age-categories of salmon, including mostly pink salmon, but also three year-old salmon and a few four and five year-olds were present. The three year-olds probably represent sockeye salmon (O. nerka), although the possibility that some of them may be spring salmon (“Chinook salmon” or “king salmon”; O. tshawytscha) cannot be ruled out (Berry 1992). When species richness between the three structures is examined (using taxa from floor and non-floor deposits), the large housepit has far more taxa than the medium-sized or small structures (HP 7 = 18, HP 3 = 6, HP 12 = 3; Table 2 and Figure 8).” As with the floral data, the logarithm of the total number of specimens (LNISP) plotted against that for each housepit (not shown) falls on the same line, indicating a correlation between assemblage size and number of taxa. While a larger number of rare faunal items is found in the large housepit, we expect more taxa simply because of the relative size of the assemblage. However, since the faunal assemblages from these houses are virtually 100% samples of identifiable remains, sample size is not a major issue (Plog and Hegmon 1993:490). Thus the presence of more taxa in the large house probably is due to the more diverse ac- tivities involving animal remains of its inhabitants (i.e., hunting, trade, ritual) com- pared to the smaller houses. As with the plant data, it is informative to compare the rates at which animal taxa are added per specimens in each housepit (Figure 9). Comparing the slopes of the three lines in Figure 9 we see that the medium-sized housepit differs signifi- cantly from the other two (ANOVA f-test for homogeneity of slope; p < 0.0001), but the large and small houses have similar slopes (ANOVA f-test for homogene- ity of slope; p = 0.374). Based on the steepness of the slope, we conclude that the small and large housepits are accumulating species/specimens at a significantly Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 55 FIGURE 8.—Abundance of faunal taxa recovered from three housepits. “Artio- dactyl” includes deer, sheep, elk, and unidentified artiodactyl remains. 80 .or 1 70 27 ‘ PERCENT fs Oo T a “U anak NO ! 20 L 6 N = 35 i 40 F | | 2 0 N \ ‘ico artlodactyl beaver elk 70 T T T qT q 60 46 » PERCENT o>) © T aa as CO | 20 F 11 N = 69 a 10 F 2 1 1 ma 1 i t artiodactyl shelifish beaver hawk hare —_ redsaquirrel sat HP 7 : 20 F 63 58 N = 479 4 : A 10 le oe eee ee Qo eH : | oe! See Se re 50 gh igaht veh ye FS ggg age SPECIES PERCENT 56 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 FIGURE 9.—Log number of identifiable faunal taxa (LNIT) plotted against log number of identifiable specimens (LNISP) recovered from three housepits, illustrating accumulation rates of animal taxa per specimens. 1.5 l T LNIT 0.6 + 0.0 LNISP higher rate than the medium-sized housepit. In terms of species evenness, the three housepits have similar distributions (Figure 8), and the shapes of the slopes of the three housepits cannot be distin- guished statistically (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, all P values approaching 1.0). The relatively high frequencies of artiodactyl and beaver in the three housepits is no- table, as is the absence of shellfish and relative abundance of elk in the small housepit. With the exception of hare, sheep and grouse in the large housepit, the large and medium-sized housepits have similar distributions of remains. DISCUSSION Archaeobotany.—The results of the archaeobotanical analyses indicate that inten- sity of plant use is correlated with housepit size. The large structure stands out Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY oF clearly as having the greatest density of remains, the greatest number of taxa rela- tive to the density of remains, and the most rapid accumulation of taxa relative to the number of specimens. Conversely, the small housepit has few remains, few taxa, and low accumulation rates of species. The medium-sized housepit is inter- mediate in species density, richness, and species accumulation rate. These archaeobotanical data support our first hypothesis that differences in the size of residence structures should correlate with differences in socioeconomic status, as indicated by greater density and diversity of remains. Our second hypothesis asserts that larger residences should exhibit greater internal differentiation than smaller structures, corresponding to distinct domes- tic subgroups with differential socioeconomic status. This hypothesis would be supported by the presence of regular, repeated patterning of remains and the pres- ence of special or restricted items associated with some of these patterned remains. We examined three sources of archaeobotanical evidence which could support or reject this hypothesis: the distribution of food-plant processing areas, the distribu- tion of the remains of non-food plants, and the pattern of areas with no plant remains Distinct plant food processing areas can be identified on the floors of the large and medium-sized housepits, but not the small one. In the large housepit, we iden- tified one primary food plant processing area, associated with a hearth, and two additional minor processing areas. In the medium-sized housepit, one primary and two smaller plant food concentrations, each associated with hearth areas, were also identified. The spatial extent and species diversity of the larger concentra- tions suggest that these areas were used repeatedly for plant processing. The smaller concentrations may have been unique events. Similarly, the distribution of non-food plant remains indicates that the floors in the large and medium-sized housepits were partitioned in a similar manner, and were distinct from the small housepit. The placement of floor or bench cover- ings along the edge of the large and medium-sized housepits delineates the pe- riphery of those structures from the remainder of the housepit. The remains of conifer boughs (and grass in the large housepit) distinguish the peripheral areas as places where people regularly sat and/or lay down. No such area was identi- fied in the small structure. The only archaeobotanical pattern which is istent among all three |] is the relative paucity of remains in the center of the floors. The center of each structure may have been used equally by all members of each pithouse 7“ com- munal events or activities. Given that the clear space is only about three m? in the small structure, these activities—at least in the case of the smaller structure—could not have required much room. Thus, in contrast to the predictions of our second hypothesis, there is no evi- dence of regular, repeated patterning of archaeobotanical remains which would indicate distinct domestic subgroups in any of the housepits. The presence of only one major plant processing area in the large and medium-sized structures sug- pests that plant processing may have been a epsilon activity. Further, the rela- tively : heries of the larger houses does not support the presence of distinct dodnsctie at, a The archaeobotanical 58 LEPOFSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 remains in the small structure indicate limited plant processing and suggest that plant processing activities there were communal. Zooarchaeology.—Consistent with our conclusions from the archaeobotanical re- mains, and in support of our first hypothesis, the density and diversity of faunal remains correlate well with housepit size. The largest structure has the greatest density of faunal remains, followed by the medium-sized housepit. Similarly, fau- nal species richness was correlated with structure size. However, rates of species accumulation provided ambiguous results with regard to the first hypothesis, with the large and small housepits having higher rates than the medium-sized housepit. Notably, a number of special types of faunal remains were found only in the large housepit. For example, fox, grizzly, bighorn sheep, and rock scallop (a trade item) were found on the floor, while hawk wing bones, dentalium, dogwinkle, and rock scallop (trade items) were found in the storage pits. In support of the second hypothesis, and in contrast to the evidence from the archaeobotanical remains, the largest house exhibits regular, repeated patterning of faunal remains. Faunal remains in the large housepit are associated with a num- ber of storage pits and fire-reddened areas, and artiodactyls and fish seem to have been processed and consumed in four distinct areas of the house. In contrast, fau- nal remains in the medium-sized structure are less discrete, although concentra- tions of fish associated with fire-reddened areas and storage pits suggest two ani- mal consumption/ processing areas within the house. This suggests that activities related to the processing and consumption of animals were more communal than in the large house. The small housepit has the simplest patterning, with a single, diffuse concentration of remains, suggesting that animal processing activities were communal in this structure as well. Based on the predictions of our second hypothesis, the four distinct consump- tion/processing areas associated with storage pits and hearths indicate the pres- ence of four domestic subgroups in the large housepit. These faunal consump- tion/ processing areas are distinguished from each other by the presence of special faunal items or evidence for distinct types of activities, such as woodworking. This suggests socioeconomic differences among the four domestic subgroups in the large house. CONCLUSIONS Together, the paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses offer some support for the hypothesis that housepit size correlates with socioeconomic sta- tus. Based on the density and diversity of both the plant and animal remains, the large housepit was used more intensively and was the site of more diverse activi- ties than the smaller housepits. The presence of rare faunal items in the large housepit also sets it apart from the other structures. However, whether this pat- terning of plant and animal remains can ultimately be related to status differences, to a larger work force having access to a more diverse resource base, or to differ- ences in the length of use of the floor before abandonment cannot be answered with the present data alone. Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY a The zooarchaeological analyses alone support the hypothesis that larger resi- dential housepits exhibit greater internal soci ic differenti than smaller structures. The regular, repeated patterning of faunal remains in the large housepit indicates that the large structure was divided into distinct domestic subgroups which may have been of unequal socioeconomic status. The presence of a number of distinct domestic subgroups in the large structure is further supported by the repeated occurrence of hearths around the perimeter of the house, and by storage pits, clusters of fire-cracked rocks, debitage, stone tools, anvils, and abrading stones associated with those hearths. How do we reconcile the varying pictures that emerge from the faunal versus botanical data concerning internal socioeconomic differentiation within the housepits? The patterning of plant remains suggests that internal domestic sub- groups within the three structures were not distinct and that housepit activities involving plants were undertaken communally. However, it may be that the pres- ence of a single, major plant processing area in the largest structure represents the specialized use of plants by one d tic subgroup within that house, rather than communal use by all inhabitants. This plant processing area is associated with a domestic subgroup which, based on the faunal data, appears to have held rela- tively high status. Future research should test hypotheses which distinguish be- tween these scenarios. The distributions of both plant and animal remains among the houses suggest that internal domestic subgroups were less pronounced and activities were un- dertaken more communally in the smaller structures. Finally, the absence of both plant and animal remains in the centers of all three housepit floors suggests that the center of each structure was used equally by all members of each pithouse for various communal events or activities. In this study we examined not only overall species richness from our samples, but the pattern of accumulation of species with sample size. This allowed us to make inferences regarding taxonomic diversity in each housepit beyond simply estimating the total number of species present. Our analyses support the conclu- sions of Plog and Hegmon (1993) that species richness in archaeological samples should not be treated merely as an artifact of sample size, but as a consequence of the combined effects of behavioral processes and sample size. By examining in detail the relationship between number of taxa and number of specimens, we are able to evaluate better the effects of sample size on our data. Despite the differ- ences in sample size among the housepits, we are able to draw conclusions re- garding the role of behavior in generating patterns of species diversity. This study demonstrates a useful role for combined paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses in studies of prehistoric social and economic organi- zation. Separately, the analyses provide independent lines of evidence which can be used to test our hypotheses. Combining the two sets of data allows us to re- evaluate and modify our original conclusions. Our analyses of both plant and ani- mal remains support the notion that Keatley Creek was occupied by residential corporate groups of differing economic and social status. However, the three housepits examined here represent less than 3% of the housepits in the village of Keatley Creek. A much larger sample of housepits, representative of the range of 60 LEPOPSKY ET AL. Vol. 16, No.1 housepit sizes, is needed before we can draw more definitive conclusions about the prehistoric socioeconomy at Keatley Creek. NOTES 1 Analyses of ia? Tenens from housepit rim and roof deposits, details of faunal and floral taphonomy and processes, and a discussion of plant and animal use at Keatley Creek as a whole are presented elsewhere (Kusmer 1993a, 1993b; Lepofsky 1993a, 1993b). Refer to these studies for detailed presentations of the raw data. ? Based on modern observations of wood decay. 3 Based on modern observations of wood decay and ethnographic statements (Wilson 1934:372; McGuire and Schiffer 1983:291; Condrashoff 1980:5). 4 All identified fish remains at the site are salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), thus all fish in all analyses are assumed to be salmon. 5 This is supported by Hastorf’s (1991) observation that charred seeds in houses are less dense in areas where many activities occur. 6 All data for archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological ANOVAs were transformed before analysis using square root transformation for normalizing poisson distributed data. Zooarchaeological data for the small and medium housepit remained skewed even after transformation. 7 We recognize that density is a complex issue and may be related to other factors (e.g. length of occupation, differential discard patterns) in addition to intensity of use. Despite this, it can be a useful measure of difference between the structures. 8 The number of taxa in the large (HP 7) and medium housepit (HP 3) are inflated because we are unable to go back to many of the original samples and group the unidentifiable seeds into like taxa. Since the majority of taxa are represented by only a single specimen, this will not aD alter the analysis. Any biases that are introduced should be par- allel in both housepits * Since we feel the analyzed faunal remains represent well the actual distribution of re- mains, we do not need to graphically examine the distribution of bones as we did for the plants in Figure 5. Further, the plots in Figure 5 are not well resi to the faunal data. The faunal data are represented by many more specimens than taxa, whereas the situation is reversed with the floral data. Because of this, the oaeire a aneenye a step Ranchion dis- tribution when NISP are plotted against NIT. The step f bly more difficult to determine when the graph has leveled off. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Jim Spafford eases the distribution maps for both sets of data and provided much help with lyses. Funding for the Keatley Creek project was provided Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 61 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada, the SSHRC Small Grants Committee at Simon Fr University Special Research Projects Fund. aser University, the B.C. Heritage Trust, and the Simon Fraser LITERATURE CITED ALEXANDER, DIANA. 1992. Environ- mental units. Pp. 47-98 in A Complex Culture of the British Columbia Plateau. Brian Hayden (editor). University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver. BARTRAM, LAURENCE E., ELLEN M. KROLL, and HENRY T. BUNN. 1991. 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Brian Hayden (editor). oe of British Columbia Press, Vancouve WATSON, PATTY 10. 1976. In pursuit of prehistoric subsistence: a “i tion techniques. Mid-Continental sao of Archaeology 1:77- WILKINSON, L., M. HILL, S. MICELI, G. BIRKENBEOL, and E. VANG. 1992. SYSTAT for Windows: Graphics, Version 5 Edition. SYSTAT, Inc., Evanston, Illinois. WILSON, G. 1934. The Hidatsa earthlodge. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 33:339-420. Journal of Ethnobiology 16(1):63-97 Summer 1996 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND CONCEPTS OF HEALING AMONG SAMBURU PASTORALISTS OF KENYA ELLIOT FRATKIN Department of Anthropology Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 ABSTRACT.—Samburu pastoralists of Kenya, who are closely related to Maasai, attribute many illnesses to polluting influences that block internal digestion and blood circulation. These pollutants include eating the “wrong” foods, the intro- duction of contagious substances from ill people, and the action of sorcery at- tacks. Treatment of these health problems is aimed at relieving blockages through herbal purgatives and laxatives or, in the case of sorcery, consulting diviners (loibonok) who dispense ritually protective medicines. In addition to purgatives and ritual medicines, Samburu also use herbal preparations to treat wounds and burns, relieve aches, and kill parasites. Samburu treatment of illnesses is pluralis- tic. An individual and his or her family may seek the services of herbalists, divin- ers, or Western health care providers, depending on proximity, costs, and beliefs in causation of the health problem. This article describes Samburu concepts of illness, the practices of healing specialists including laibon ritual curers, herbal- ists, and midwives, and lists Samburu medicinal plants and their uses. RESUMEN.—Los grupos pastoriles samk y i de Kenia atribuyen muchas enfermedades a influencias contaminantes que obstruyen internamente la digestion y la circulacién de la sangre. Estos contaminantes incluyen el comer alimentos “indebidos,” la introduccién de sustancias contagiosas de personas enfermas, y la accién de ataques de brujeria. El tratamiento de estos problemas de salud esta dirigido a remediar las obstrucciones mediante purgantes y laxantes vegetales, o, en el caso de brujeria, mediante la consulta de adivinos (loibonok) quienes administran medicinas ritualmente protectoras. Ademias de los purgantes y las medici ituales, | buru usan también preparaciones de plantas para tratar heridas y quemaduras, aliviar dolores y matar pardsitos. E] tratamiento samburu de las enfermedades es pluralista, donde un individuo y su familia puedan buscar los servicios de esf ialistas en herbolaria, adivinos, o proveedores fs fr 3 L : : incluyendo los curanderos rituales laibon, los herbolarios y las parteras, y lista las plantas medicinales samburus y sus usos. RESUME.—Les Samburu et les Masai, peuples pasteurs du Kenya, attribuent plusieurs maladies a des influences polluantes qui viennent bloquer la digestion interne et la circulation sanguine. Ces agents pollueurs comprennent l’ingestion de « mauvais » aliments, l’introduction de substances contaminées provenant de 64 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 personnes malades et les actions maléfiques des sorciers. Les traitements de ces problémes de santé visent 4 dégager les obstructions a l’aide de médicaments laxatifs et purgatifs 4 base d’herbes ou, dans les cas de sorcellerie, en consultant les devins (libonok) qui dispensent les médicaments rituels protecteurs. En plus de médicaments purgatifs et rituels, les Samburu utilisent aussi des préparations d’herbes pour soigner les blessures et les bralures, pour soulager la douleur et tuer les parasites. Le traitement samk d ladi t pluraliste d ou un individu et sa famille peuvent recourir aux services d’herboristes, et de devins autant que de dispensateurs de soins de santé occidentaux, selon la dis- tance a parcourir pour obtenir les services, les coiits et les croyances concernant la cause de la maladie. Dans cet article, nous décrivons les concepts samburu relatifs aux maladies et les pratiques des spécialistes thérapeutes y compris les guérisseurs rituels laibon, les herboristes et les sages-femmes. Une liste des plantes médicinales samburu avec leurs usages complete cet article. la mesure INTRODUCTION The Samburu are livestock-keeping pastoralists of northern Kenya related to both Maasai (Nilotic-speakers of the Sudanic language family) and Rendille (Cushitic-speakers of the Afro-Asiatic family). The Samburu share with the Maasai a healing tradition that combines knowledge of herbal medicines (ol-chani; il- keek, “trees” in Maa) which are used as gatives, emetics, analgesics, and salves. They also share with the Maasai beliefs and practices in ritual medicines (entasim; intasimi in Maa) which are prepared and dispensed by diviner-prophets known as laibons (ol-oiboni, il-oibonok). In a recent treatment of Maasai conceptions of health and illness, Westerlund (1989:179) argues that there is no sharp distinction in African healing between religious beliefs and empirical knowledge, and that most curing activities operate along a continuum distinguishing “natural” from “supernatural” causation, com- bining naturalistic healing with ritual activities. In this same volume, Arhem (1989:75) argues that Maasai make no conceptual difference between “supernatu- ral” and “natural” illnesses, as both “tree medicine” and ritual medicine “derive their power from God.” However, Samburu, as well as Maasai, do distinguish those illnesses caused “by God alone” (nkai openy) from those due to the mali- cious forces of sorcery sent by a human enemy (nkuruporen in Samburu; esayet in Maasai), a distinction George Foster (1976) contrasted as “naturalistic” versus “per sonalistic” etiology of illness. Determination of an illness’ origin is essential to prescribe the most appropriate treatment. If an illness is thought to derive from “God alone,” one seeks treatment from local herbalists or Western health clinics. If an illness or misfortune is believed to result from sorcery—infertility, insanity, or death by unusual causes—Samburu will consult a laibon diviner/healer to pro- tect themselves with ritual medicines. The spread of Western health care has not greatly affected traditional beliefs about illness among Samburu. While the government of Kenya has expanded medical services including vaccination programs and the use of anti-malarials and antibiotics, many rural and pastoralist regions remain underserved. The seekin of health care by Samburu remains pluralistic, where health providers are selected Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 65 based on availability, location, cost, and beliefs in the effectiveness of treatments. I have studied Samburu and Samburu-speaking Ariaal Rendille pastoralists since 1975 mainly exploring topics of ecology and economy (e.g. Fratkin 1986, 1991a, Fratkin and Roth 1990; Fratkin and Smith 1994, 1995). During my earlier fieldwork, I collected and identified Samburu herbal medicines (Fratkin 1975), and developed friendships with several Samburu healers including the laibon Lekati Leaduma who adopted me into his family (Fratkin 1979, 1991b). This paper is an opportunity to discuss Samburu traditional medicine as a whole, integrating a discussion of Samburu concepts of health and illness with a description of their indigenous practices and medical knowledge. Recently there have appeared important discussions of Maasai identity (Galaty 1982; Spear and Waller 1993; Spencer 1988) as well as studies of Maasai beliefs about pollution, healing, and divination (Arhem 1989; Berntsen 1979; Galaty 1979; Hurskainen 1989; Spencer 1991). Moreover, there are now published inventories of Samburu plants (Heine et al. 1988) building on the earlier work of colonial eth- nographers (Hollis 1905; Merker 1910) who collected and discussed Maasai uses of shrubs and trees. Following a brief description of health problems experienced by the Samburu, I discuss Saml concepts of health and illness, traditional cures employing “tree medicine” and ritual medicine, and the role of the traditional healers: the herbal- ist, midwife, and laibon. A concluding discussion places Samburu medical beliefs and practices in the wider context of African systems of healing. HEALTH AND ILLNESS IN SAMBURU Most of northern Kenya is too dry for extensive agriculture, and the majority of its small populations subsist as pastoralists on the milk, meat, blood, and trade of their domestic cattle, camels, goats and sheep. The Samburu (population 80,000), who live in the arid plains and highlands of Samburu District, keep mainly cattle and small stock (goats and sheep), while their allies and neighbors the Rendille (pop. 20,000), keep camels and small stock in the arid lowlands of Marsabit Dis- trict (see Figure 1). The Ariaal Rendille (population 7000), with whom I lived for most of my fieldwork, are a mixed group of Samburu and Rendille living along the Ndoto Mountains separating Marsabit and Samburu Districts and on Mt. Marsabit in Marsabit District. The Ariaal are bilingual in both Samburu and Rendille but are incorporated in the Samburu age-set and descent-group systems. Although they follow certain Rendille customs associated with camel production, they hold many Samburu and Maasai beliefs including beliefs in the laibon diviners and shared knowledge of plant medicines. Closely related to Maasai pastoralists of southern Kenya and Tanzania (popu- lation 500,000), Samburu speak a northern dialect of Maa and follow Maasai cus- toms of named age-set organization (with distinct age-grades of boys, warriors, and male elders), marriage practices (including female circumcision, polygyny, and levirate inheritance of widows), acephalous and autonomous village struc- ture, and shared religious beliefs which includes a distant creator god (en’gai in 66 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 FIGURE 1.— Location of Samburu in Kenya. Ue < yer alee Nie ETHIOPIA . ae . - =“ _ \ ae) : : Mi, an? GABRA i ee | TURKANA ea oF % BORAN / 7 ra \ 4 4 SOMALI ( RENDILLE |. marsasit | ——_—<— Saree : ss® | < . = - ie Me, | . 2) Nie ” F ~ | | 0 100 300km ————————— Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 67 Maasai; nkai in Samburu) without defined ancestors or spirits. However Samburu do have strong beliefs in the power of living elders’ curses, as well as traditions of divination, prophesy, and beliefs in sorcery (Spencer 1965, 1973, 1988). Samburu, Maasai, Rendille, and other pastoralist groups, do not share the ngoma healing tradition widespread among Bantu-speaking farmers (e.g. Kongo, BaGanda, Zulu), in which illnesses are believed to result from the punishing pow- ers of deceased ancestors and in which cures are effected through human spirit mediums (m’ganga, wa’ganga) who combine herbal medicines with songs, drum- ming, and dance performances (Janzen 1992). However, Samburu and Maasai possess an elaborate healing tradition based on the use of herbal medicines. Among Samburu, over one hundred and twenty species of trees and shrubs are employed as purgatives, emetics, analgesics, poul- tices, and salves (see Table 1). Many plants used by the Samburu are toxic and are used as emetics and diarrhetics, as Samburu medicinal cures are aimed at cleans- ing the body of polluting influences. Access to Western health care is not widely available in the underpopulated regions of northern Kenya where the Samburu live. The government maintains a hospital in the capital of Maralal, and the Catholic Diocese a hospital in Wamba, while most towns have small clinics maintained by Catholic and Protestant mis- sions which are staffed by missionary and local nurses. Because the majority of Samburu live in semi-nomadic settlements distant from these towns, visits to clin- ics and hospitals are rare and usually only for serious and life threatening illnesses (Nathan et al. 1996). The major health problems experienced by Samburu, as with most rural Afri- can populations, are infectious diseases including malaria, pneumonia, gastroen- teritis, diarrhea, measles, and whooping cough. Gonorrhea and other sexually trans- mitted diseases are widespread. While the incidence of HIV infection and AIDS have not been reported, they are known to exist in Samburu and Marsabit Dis- tricts. Samburu also carry a specific health burden associated with the hazards of livestock herding. Internal and external parasites (mites, ticks, scabies), fungal skin rashes, eye and ear infections, anthrax and brucellosis combine with frequent ac- cidents including lacerations, burns, embedded thorns, animal and snake bites, fractures and dislocations (Nathan et al. 1996). The health problems of Samburu are compounded by nutritional stresses, particularly during periods of extensive droughts when milk supplies are low and animals are too emaciated or decimated to trade for grains (Galvin et al. 1994). Milk is the main food in both Samburu and Rendille diets, providing 70% of the daily calories in the wet season. In the dry seasons people rely on meat, blood, and grains, with tea and sugar acquired from trading livestock. Poor families are the most vulnerable to prolonged drought and may move (temporarily or permanently) to towns to receive famine-relief foods. Settled pastoralists face increased malnutrition due to the reduced consumption of milk, meat and blood and reliance on maize meal as the only food source. While medical care is improving, particularly with immunization campaigns against measles, polio, and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT), these services are still ir- regular and distantly based in the rural pastoral regions. For many ailments, rural Samburu depend on their local healers and traditional medicines (see Table 2). TABLE 1.-Samburu Medicinal Plants and Their Uses. Samburu Name _ Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification Family l-aarami Cistanche tubulosa OROBANCHACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:133 childbirth (Schenk.) Hook. l-abaai Psiadia arabica ee COMPOSITAE KNMUS/H133/75:39 burns, ticks and Spach l-aishimi Commiphora la (A. BURSERACEAE Heine et al. 1988:55 diarrhea Rich) Engl. l-aimuronyai Maytenus senegalensis CELASTRACEAE Heine et al. 1988:56 arthritis (Lam.) Exell l-akirding’ai Croton dichogamus Pax EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:25 malaria, chest, stomach l-amai Ximenia caffra Son OLEACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:47 stomac l-ampurrorri Commiphora sp BURSERACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:1! liver, stomach l-amuriei Carissa edulis (Forsk. ) APOCYNACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:37 polio, gonorrhea Vahl l-aramirami Senecio petitianus A. COMPOSITAE KNMUS/H250/59:152 strength for baby Rich larasoro Cadaba farinosa Forsk. CAPPARIDACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:72 fever, ritual l-asaremai Harrisonia abyssinica SIMAROUBACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:46 gonorrhea, malaria, chest congestion l-aturdei Capparis elaegnoides CAPPARIDACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:32 wounds, burns (Gilg.) de Wolf lauragi Sansevieria sp. AGAVACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:53 gonorrhea I-bolan Plectranthus forskholii LABIATAE Heine et al. 1988:68 childbirth oir.) Briq. l-bukoi Kaan spinosa (Gilg) CUCURBITACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:168 headaches, Chio hepatitis I-cheni ng’iro Commiphora on (A. BURSERACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:122 diarrhea, stomach ch.) En I-ching’ei Euclea ei Hiern. EBENACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:36 diarrhea, stomach I-dalampoi Entada leptostachya Harms MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:34 polio, back pain NIALVUA LON ‘9T ‘1OA Samburu Name _ Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification Family I-dawa lenkop Melhania ovata (cav.) STERCULIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:114 wounds, burns Spreng. I-depe Acacia nubica Benth. MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:58 women’s stomach pain, hepatitis, fever, gonorrhea I-dupai Sansevieria robusta N.E. Br. AGAVACEAE Heine et al. 1988:75 gonorrhea, arthritis lekule Euphorbia systyloides EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:163 wounds lekuru Withania somnifera (L.) SOLANACEAE Heine et al. 1988:81 eyes, burns, wounds Dunal leminshiria Combretum aculeatum Vent. COMBRETACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & malaria, gonorrhea, 56/75-4 stomach, back pains lepurana Jatropha dictar Macbr. EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:41 stomach, chest lerai Acacia hockii de Wild. MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:43 stomach, childbirth lesayyet Withania somnifera (L.) SOLANACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:27 ritual fires Dunal letuala Crotalaria incana L. PAPILIONACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:105 chest, coughs l-gweita Cordia sinensis Lam. BORAGINACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & fractures, ritual 5-2 |-jipilikua Strychnos sp LOGANIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:38 malaria, wounds I-karasha Stericulia africana STERCULIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:66 children’s stomach r.) Fiori l-kaukawa Oxyanthus speciosus DC. RUBIACEAE Heine et al. 1988:96 sore throat l-kelelit Euphorbia heterochroma EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:138 malaria, gonorrhea ax l-kerdeedi Acacia senegal (L.) MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:169 abortion, stomach (l-terikesi) Willd. I-kiloriti Acacia nilotica (L.) Del. MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:64 stomach I-kimanshoi Hibiscus greenwayi Bak. f. MALVACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:2 colds I-kinoi Lannea alota (Eng].) Engl. ANACARDIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:115 wounds, burns, stomach 966L JOWUTUNS ADO IOISONHLA JO IVNUNOL 69 Samburu Name Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification amily I-kinyil Rhamnus prinoides RHAMNACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:224 fever, malaria, L’Herit. snakebites I-kiriantus Plumbago zeylanica L. PLUMBAGINACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:69 stomach, malaria I-kitalaswa Myrica salicifolia A. Rich. MYRICACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:207 strengt I-kukulai Rhamnus staddo A. Rich. RHAMNACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:49 polio, gonorrhea, malaria, colds, ritual protection I-maim Commiphora sp. BURSERACEAE KNU/H200/83:585 polio, gonorrhea, arthritis I-makutukuti Clerodendrum myricoides VERBENACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:44 gonorrhea, malaria polio, abortions, colds, headache l-mang’wei Sclerocarya birrea (A. ANACARDIACEAE Heine ef al. 1988:113 stomach, colds ich.) Hochst. Il-marag Blepharis lineariifolia Pers. ACANTHACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:141 malaria I-margweet Croton megalocarpus EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:25 stomach, malaria, ; Hutch. fever, chest I-masikirai Heliotropium steudneri BORAGINACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & fleas Vatke 56/75:5 a’a Catha edulis (Vahl) Endl. CELASTRACEAE Heine et al. 1988:118 stimulant I-miskiyei Rhus natalensis Krauss ANACARDIACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:38 children’s stomach l-momo Kigelia aethiopica Decne BIGNONIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:81 stomach I-morijioi Acokanthera longiflora APOCYNACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:65 arrow poison apf. l-mugutan ee anthelmintica MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:5 malaria, tapeworms, ongn. i stomach Il-murgusyan Cantante we sag RUBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:107 malari (Welw. I-ng’alayoi Possibly Chen sp.” VITACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:89 strength, gonorrhea, cough, headache I-ng’erriyei Olea africana Mill. OLEACEAE Heine et al. 1988:123 tapeworms I-ng’iriai Lawsonia inermis L. LYTHRACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:60 stomach OZ NIALVas TON ‘9T ‘TOA Samburu Name _ Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification Family loduaporoo Commicarpus plumbagineus NYCTAGINACEAE Heine et al. 1988:127 malaria, earache, (Cav.) Standl. headache loimugi Newtonia hildebrandtii COMPOSITAE KNMUS/H250/59:42 stomach atke. loisugi Fagara chalybea (Engl.) RUTACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:67 chest congestion, ngl. sore throat loitaakine Maerua triphylla A. Rich. CAPPARIDACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:34 wounds, burn loitokutok Commiphora sp BURSERACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:120 hepatitis, fractures lokildia Tinnea aethiopica Kotschy LABIATAE KNMUS/H133/75:28 ritual eyr. lokii Lycium europaeum L. SOLANACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:4 malaria, rheumatism, swelling of breast lokumaati Vernonia brachycalyx O. COMPOSITAE KNMUS/H133/75:68 eye infections Hoffm lokiteng’i Ipomoea spathulata Hall f. CONVOLVULACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:33 eyes loliontoi Olea hochstetteri Baker OLEACEAE Heine et al. 1988:141 tapeworms, stomach lolsesyai ie Piiaiien sg A. SANTALACEAE Heine et al. 1988:154 pregnan swollen breasts lororai Boscia ‘angustifolia A. CAPPARIDACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & malaria Rich. 56/75: lordo Cyphostemma adenocaule VITACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:47 tuberculosis, arthritis (A.Rich.) Willd. & Drum. lowwai Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) BALANITACEAE KNU/H200/83:873 wounds, burns, Del. eyes, ribs, chest I-paraa Euphorbia sp. EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:55 wounds, burns, laria I-perentai Adenium obesum (Forsk.) APOCYNACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & poison Roe ult 56/75:9 |-paramunyo Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. RUTACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:50 strength, ritual ntasim I-tarakwai Juniperus procera Hochst. CUPRESSACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:156 sore * Heine et al. (1988:122) identify this as Cucumis sp. (CUCURBITACEAE). 9661 JouUINS ADOIOIVONHLA JO TYNUNO! LZ Samburu Name _ Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification Family I-tepes Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) MIMOSACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & malaria, fever, Hayne 56/75:18 polio, colds l-terikesi Acacia senegal (L.) MIMOSACEAE Heine et al. 1988:123 stomach (I-kerdedi) Willd. I-teroi Commiphora s BURSERACEAE Heine et al. 1988:167 polio, rheumatism I-tigomi Cardiospermum corindum L. SAPINDACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:62 malaria, polio, snakebites I-tulelei Solanum incanum L. SOLANACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & sore throat, polio, a fever, wounds l-turkan Sericocompsis pallida (S. AMARANTHACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:42 malaria M chinz n-aiba layyok Solanum renschii Vatke. SOLANACEAE Heine et al. 1988:180 stomach n-dupai Sansevieria robusta N.E. Br. AGAVACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:92 gonorrhea, rheumatism Euphorbia uhligiana Pax EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:94 malaria, chest colds, stomach ng’aing’aipiapi (unidentified) warrior’s strength nemuny1 ng’elai orok Vepris eugenifolia RUTACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:70 hepatitis (Engl.) Verdoorn n-kaiteteyyai Commelina imberbis COMMELINACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:57 children’s coughs n-keju nkitejo Portulaca sp. PORTULACACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:117 burns ng’ilai orok Vepris eugeniifolia RUTACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:84 sore throat, hepatitis (Engl.) Verdoorn n-kilenyei Syzgium cordatum Hochst. MYRTACEAE Heine et al. 1988:195 strength n-kunee Cissus s VITACEAE Heine et al. 1988:198 eyes, arthritis nyiriman Hildebrantia sepalosa CONVOLVULACEAE Heine et al. 1988:201 stomac raraiti Kalanchoe diesiflorum CRASSULACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:25 wounds, stomach olfe. reteti Ficus wakefieldii Hutch. MORACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:29 iain women’s ntas sakurdumi Kedrostis gijef CUCURBITACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:61 ee stomach (J.F.Gmel) C. Jeffrey CZ NIALVas LON ‘91 ‘TOA Samburu Name _ Scientific Name and Scientific Specimen Numbers Medicinal Uses Identification Family Balanites sp. BALANITACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:131 eyes, stomach seketeti Myrsine africana L. MYRSINACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:153 tapeworms, malaria, tuberculosis senatoi Cassia longiracemosa CAESALPINIACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & malaria, stomach, Vatke. 56/75:12 headache serai Euphorbia candelabrum EUPHORBIACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:75 chest, bronchitis, Kotsch headache, barrenness serijioi Boscia coriacea Pax CAPPARIDACEAE Heine et al. 1988:215 malaria, burns silalei Boswellia hildebrandtii BURSERACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:127 chest, headache, ribs, ngl. diarrhea silipani Cordia sinensis Lam. BORAGINACEAE Heine et al. 1988:219 chest, pneumonia simalelei unidentified women’s stomach sinandei Cassia longiracemosa Vatke. CAESALPINIACEAE Heine et al. 1988:220 malaria siteti Grewia bicolor A. Juss. TILIACEAE KNMUS/H304/74 & coughs, soreness 56/75:22 after childbirth sokoltei sito dodecandra PHYTOLACCACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:157 stomach, childbirth sokotei Peet a L. SALVADORACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:100 malaria, fever, abortion, childbirth sokoni Warburgia ugandensis CANELLACEAE KNMUS/H223/75:6 stomach, diarrhea, prague tuberculosis, chest sucha Barleria pci E.A. ACANTHACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:40 polio, fever, ritual Bru ntasim sukoroi Aloe pesca Engl. LILIACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:30 eyes, tuberculosis sukurtuti Cissus quadrangularis L. VITACEAE KNMUS/H250/59:51 ce wb — tubercu sunoni Lippia ukambensis Vatke VERBENACEAE KNMUS/H133/75:26 a mand ia, smallpox, strength 966[ JOUTUING ADOTIOISONHLA SO IVWNUNO[ 74 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 TABLE 2. SAMBURU MEDICINAL CURES BY LOCATION OF SYMPTOMS Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation The chest (I-go’o) Cough, colds (I-chema) l-margweet (Croton megalocarpus) |-kimanshoi (Hibiscus greenwayi) letuala (Crotalaria incana) curry powder or red pepper Bronchitis and pneumonia (nkanyaragi) sokoni ( eo ugandensis) nemunyi (Eup silalei ( sheds hildebrandtii) silipani (Cordia sinensis) lowwai (Balanites sp.) boil bark as tea chew bark chew outer layer of root add to tea boil bark and root boil bark in soup chew bark boil gum in water, add milk boil gum in water, add milk Chest congestion believed due to poisonous substances (Harrisonia abyssinica) l-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides) I-ng’alayoi (Cissus sp.) loisugi (Fagara chalybea) l-akirding’ai (Croton dichogamus) lepurana (Jatropha dictar) ukurtuti (Cissus quadrangularis) boil roots, stems as soup boil roots, add milk, sugar boil roots, add fat as sou boil tuber roots in milk and drink boil roots in water, prepare as tea boil roots as tea stew root Children’s coughs (treated with milder j ai (Commelina imberbis) Tuberculosis (shurr) seketeti (Myrsine africana) sukoroi (Aloe secundiflora) sokoni ( Warburgia ugandensis) Pneumonia (/-marei or s” silalei (Boswellia hildebrandtii) lordo (Cyphostemma adenocaule) lepurana (Jatropha dictar) The stomach (Ngosheke) Upset stomach l-kiloriti (Acacia nilotica) sakurdumi (Kedrostis gijef) ae pMtSactivVeo pound stalk, boil and add milk crush berries or seeds, boil in water or soak and drink cold stew roots, take as enema soak bark and roots, boil as tea mix resin with silipani (Cordia sinensis) bar, add pepper and h Mix with blood and stalks of nkunee (Cissus sp.) as sou boil roots with sokoni (Warburgia ugandensis) roots and bar boil bark as soup boil roots, mix with I-ng’iriai (Lawsonia inermis) leaves, as enema or tea Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 75 Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation I-kukulai (Rhamnus staddo) boil root and drink I-amai (Ximenia caffra) boil bark add milk l-akirding’ai boil roots add tea (Croton dichogamus) l-ampurrorri ( Commiphora sp.) soak bark in cold water and drink lepurana (Jatropha dictar) boil roots, drin lerai (Acacia hockii) boil roots as tea leminshiria soak roots in water (Combretum aculeatum) loimugi boil bark and drink (Newtonia hildebrandtii) l-mang’wei (Sclerocarya birrea) stew bark in water, add milk or oi l-mugutan boil bark, wood, or root and add (Albizia anthelmintica) milk I-momoi (Kigelia aethiopica) soak bark, drink cold raraiti (Kalanchoe diesiflorum) stew root, drink cold sokoltei stew root, drink cold (Phytolacca dodecandra) sokotei (Salvadora persica) boil roots and drink I-terikesi (Acacia senegal) boil bark and drink I-turkan (Sericocompsis pallida) boil roots and drink Congested blood vessels around the stomach (ng’ony) ching’ei (Euclea divinorum) boil roots and drink I-kiriantus boil roots as tea (Plumbago zeylanica) Nausea I-kiloriti (Acacia nilotica) soak bark in water and drink cold I-mang’wei (Sclerocarya birrea) boil bark in tea Menstruation, “women’s stomach” ] stew roots as soup (Hildebrantia sepalosa) simalelei (unidentified) boil tuberous roots, add milk I-depe (Acacia nubica) soak bark in water 12 hours and drink Diarrhea, “children’s stomach” (airi) I-cheni ng’iro soak bark in tea ( ott il africana) l-aishim soak bark in tea ( eseooes africana l-miskiyei (Rhus natalensis) soak leaves, roots in water, drink cold I-karasha (Stericulia africana) boil roots Intestinal worms -mugutan boil bark, roots, and (Albizia anthelmintica) wood, add milk I-ng’erriyei (Olea africana) soak bark in water 30 minutes, boil, old let sit 12 hours, drink c 76 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation seketeti (Myrsine africana) crush berries, drink with milk The Head (nkue) Headache I-ng’alayoi (Cissus sp.) l-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides) silalei (Boswellia hildebrandtii) l-bukoi (Momordia spinosa) Sinus congestion (Ichema lenkue koni (Warburgia ugandensis) mira’a (Catha edulis) Sore throat (Igoso) aukawa ( Cagle speciosus) ng’elai orok ( Vepris eugenifolia) I-tulelei (Solanum incanum l-tarakwai (Juniperus procera) Eyes (nkonjek) I-ng’alayoi (Cissus sp.) sukoroi (Aloe secundiflora) lokiteng’i (Ipomoea spathulata) lokumaati lowwai (Balanites sp.) The Liver (eminyua) I-depe (Acacia nubica) sukurtuti (Cissus quadrangularis) Hepatitis (ndis) I-depe (Acacia nubica) ng’elai orok (Vepris eugenifolia) I-kiloriti (Acacia nilotica) loitokutok (Commiphora sp.) I-bukoi (Momordica spinosa) Fractures and dislocations Limbs are set using branches of I-gweita (Cordia sinensis) seketeti (Myrsine africana) soak bark ay days, ingest throu grind roots ae sniff through nose place resinous gum near fire, inhale fumes through nose peel bark, add to sheep brain soup boil roots and bark as tea chew bark soak bark in cold water and drink chew leaves peel root, ay and gargle, or chew peeled root soak bark i in cold water and drink grind roots and soak in water, snuff through nose place drops of sap in eyes, later wash wash eyes with leaves soaked in water soak leaves in water, wash eyes place resinous gum in eyes, wash out peel bark, soak in water, drink as a stew root in water and drink cold; avoid sheep meat soak bark in water over night, heat and drink cold soak leaves, mix with bark and tea boil bark as sou boil bark as tea boil bark as tea, fat, and liver held together by the resinous gum of I-tepes (Acacia tortilis), lowwat (Balanites sp.) and loitokutok (Commiphora sp.) crush berries or seed, drink as tea for “strength” Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY ay Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation Wounds and burns [-jipilikua (Strychnos sp.) I-kinoi on alota) l-atur ( act elaegnoides) loitaakine (Maerua triphylla) lowwai (Balanites sp.) I-paraa (Euphorbia sp.) Burns I-kiloriti (Acacia nilotica) l-dawa lenkop (Melhania ovata) n-keju nkitejo (Portulaca sp.) l-abaai (Psiadia arabica) lekuru (Withania somnifera) Skin rashes tulelei aire incanum) en ge er aches (I-ba -dalampoi (Entada leptostachya) I-depe (Acacia nubica) I-dupai (Sansevieria robusta) l-aimuronyai (Maytenus senegalensis) lauragi (Sansevieria sp.) leminshiria (Combretum aculeatum) |-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides) To relieve swelling lokii (Lycium europaeum) I-teroi (Commiphora sp.) lordo (Cyphostemma adenocaule) Malaria (nkirewa) 1-ching’ei (Euclea divinorum) l-asaremai (Harrisonia abyssinica) loduaporoo (Commicarpus plumbagineus) lowwai (Balanites sp.) I-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides dry and grind root, place on cut to d ry apply red surface of roots grind outer root, apply to cuts chew leaves, place on wound heat gum and place on wound place sap on wound boil bark or chew leaves and apply grind leaf into paste with water, or chew leaf and apply to burn chew leaf and place on burn burn leaves, sprinkle ash on burns dry root and grind, sprinkle on burn boil peeled root and place on skin soak root in water, soup, or tea soak bark overnight and drink warm ai. squeeze and drink uic j boil —e in soup and drink boil root, add milk soak roots overnight, add milk soak roots and drink boil root, let sit and drink cold boil bark and stew leaves, add milk boil leaves with n-kunee (Cissus sp.), mix with blood, eat soak roots with sunoni (Lippia ukambensis) twigs and goat’s meat and drink; or boil stems and leaves, add milk boil roots as soup boil roots as tea boil bark as tea boil roots as tea FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation l-marag (Blepharis lineariifolia) l-mugutan (Albizia anthelmintica) I-murgusyan (Gardenia jovis- -tonantis) nyeriman (Hildebrantia sepalosa) I-paraa (Euphorbia sp.) sinandei (Cassia longiracemosa) serijioi (Boscia coriacea) I-turkan (Sericocompsis pallida) Measles (I-tipu) sunoni (Lippia ukambensis) Smallpox i a ng b skin with fat from the monitor lizard Polio (nkurotet 4 -kukulai (Rhamnus staddo) lamuriei (Carissa edulis) l-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides) sucha (Barleria spinisepala) I1-dalampoi (Entada leptostachya) -depe (Acacia nubica) I-maim (Commiphora sp.) leminshiria (Combretum aculeatum l-tepes (Acacia tortilis) I-teroi (Commiphora sp.) Gonorrhea (kisunono) -mugutan (Albizia anthelmintica) l-dupai (Sansevieria robusta) l-makutukuti (Clerodendrum myricoides) I-depe (Acacia nubica) I-kelelit (Euphorbia heterochroma) 1-kukulai (Rhamnus staddo) l-amuriei (Carissa edulis) leminshiria (Combretum aculeatum isoerssnaei ee abyssini Lakh (Clerodendrum myrico bones (Albizia stew whole plant in water, add milk boil roots and bark in tea boil fruit and drink cold stew roots stew leaves stew leaves boil roots, add milk boil roots boil leaves, stem, drink milk, butter, and animal fat boil root boil root, add milk boil roots boil whole plant soak root in water, soup, or tea soak bark in water boil bark in water boil roots boil bark stew leaves, boil bark boil root, bark, leaves, mix with sheep fat as enema enema, as above enema, as above soak bark in water 12 hours burn stems in fire to remove white gum, prepare in fat soup boil root boil root, add milk soak roots in water, add milk boil branches and roots as tea boil roots Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 79 Location/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation anthelmintica) boil bark and roots, add milk For difficulties : passing ur uragi ane ria sp.) boil root, add milk I- ae (Sansevieria robusta) boil roots and inner stem in sheep’s fat as enemaFor women l-makutukuti (Clerodendrum boil roots as enema, add above myricoides) Pregnancy and childbirth pset stomach I-miskiyei (Rhus natalensis) soak leaves and roots in water, drink nyeriman (Hildebrantia boil roots in soup and drink sepalosa) Soreness after deliver siteti (Grewia bicolor) boil berries in water five hours, add milk and drink Swelling i “ A breasts ii (Lycium europaeum) mix leaves and stem, boil roots, let sit and drink cold lolsesyai (Osyris abyssinica) burn wood, hold smoking ember near breasts rubbed with goat’s fat Problems urinating -aarami (Cistanche tubulosa) boil root in water, add milk and drink Strength for mo I- balan ( Pteabionloes forskholii) mix leaves and stem with blood and drink Strength for baby l-aramirami (Senecio petitianus) mother chews roots and gives pulp to baby mouth to mou Abortion (airony) or retained placenta (mudong) makutikuti (Clerodendrum boil roots, mix with sheep’s myricoides) urine, as enema or orally I-terikesi (Acacia senegal) boil bark in water and drink sokotei (Salvadora persica) boil root and mix with sheep urine and dung, drink, massage abdomen For soreness following abortion I-terikesi (Acacia senegal) boil bark and drink siteti (Grewia bicolor) boil bark and drink Barrenness: usually treated by Joibon ritual seam but also b simalelei (unidentified) il roots in water, add milk and ine serai (Euphorbia candelabrum) tap trunk for latex, mix with water and ox-meat boiled in an ox bladder; drink soup and vomit 3 to 5 times a day Stimulants I-kambau (chewing tobacco) chew, for men 80 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 Locati on/ Symptoms Herbal Medicine Preparation naisuki (snuffing tobacco) mira’a (Catha edulis) For strength (ngolon) n-aiba layyok (Solanum renschii) I-ng’alayoi (Cissus sp.) siteti (Grewia bicolor) grind tobacco and mix with soda ash, for women boil roots in soup, chew bark and sugar boil roots in tea or sour milk boil root and drink boil berries, add milk For warrior’s stength (results in “shaking” [aduku] or “trembling” [nkirakirr]) boil roots and drink -kinyil (Rhamnus prinoides) I-kitalaswa (Myrica salicifolia) lolsesyai (Osyris abyssinica) ng’ aing’aipiapi (unidentified) n-kilenyei (Syzgium cordatum) seketeti (Myrsine africana) Poisons I-morijioi (Acokanthera longiflora l-perentai (Adenium obesum) laturdei (Capparis elaegnoides) Snakebite I-tigomi (Cardiospermum corindum I-kinyil (Rhamnus prinoides) Ritual cures: medicines of loibonok diviners l-paramunyo (Toddalia asiatica) l-kukulai (Rhamnus staddo) reteti (Ficus wakefieldii) I-kiloriti (Acacia nilotica) lokildia (Tinnea aethiopica) Livestock diseases Trypanosomiasis (saar) -depe (Acacia nubica) Foot and mouth disease (I-kulup) Tick fever (l-merimer) l-abaai (Psidadia arabica) boil roots in soup boil roots in soup boil roots in tea or soup boil roots in tea boil roots in soup as arrow poison, boil wood, roots, bark boil bark, to kill lions grind roots and boil soak roots in water 2 hours, drink boil roots in soup grind outer bark of root, for madness, fits, epileps grind outer bark of root, mix with I-paramunyo (Toddalia asiatica) root scrape inside of bark, for barrenness in women burn roots burn roots soak bark and bathe ritual blessings by L-Toiyo clan boil leaves, bathe “Lungs,” i.e., bovine or carpine pleuro-pneumonia (I-kipei) 0 local cure Sheep disease, possibly glanders (I-pus, nadol — Anthrax (lokochum) 0 local cure except solutions of tea, milk, tobacco no local cure; Samburu believe it is caused by poison blown in the grass by toads (ntua’an) Summer 1996 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 81 Location/ Symptoms __ Herbal Medicine Preparation Camel “glands,” viz., lymphatic swellings, diarrhea (ng’aring’ari) no cur Swollen udder lolsesyai (Osyris abyssinica) burn plant, hold smoking embers near udder greased in fat Fleas l-abaai (Psiadia arabica) boil leaves I-masikirai (Heliotropium boil leaves steudneri Worms loliontoi (Olea hochstetteri) soak in water 12 hours, ingest I-mugutan (Albizia boil bark, wood, and root anthelmintica) I-ng’erriyei (Olea africana) soak bark in water 30 minutes, ingest seketeti (Myrsine africana) soak seeds in water Infected eyes sarai (Balanites sp.) grind leaves and place in eyes Retained placenta sokotei (Salvadora persica) burn roots and grind, pour powder in a shed snake skin stuffed with grass, force feed to cow Swollen liver sukurtuti (Cissus pound wood until soft, feed to cow quadrangularis) SAMBURU CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS Samburu cognitively distinguish health problems by causality, distinguishing those illnesses which result from “natural” or expected events from those unusual occurrences believed to result from “mystical” causes such as the curse of one’s kinsmen or the immoral attacks of sorcery directed by known or unknown en- emies. In this discussion, illness refers to Samburu notions of physical disability and poor health, while disease refers to Western medical categories, particularly infectious disease. Samburu treat “naturalistic” illnesses with medicines derived from trees and shrubs (dawa lo I-chani, combining Swahili dawa or “medicine” with Samburu “tree”) or increasingly, Western medicines, and sorcery illness with ritual medicines known as ntasim (spelled entasim in Maasai) prepared by laibon ritual curers and which protect against attacks of sorcery and witchcraft. Infectious diseases, wounds, fractures, and burns are accepted as everyday events and are treated by traditional specialists knowledgeable in tree medicines, bone-setting or massage, or by Western medicine if available. Unusual events such as drowning, attacks by wild animals, snakebites, and problems of infertility and recurrent infant deaths are often attributed to mystical causes, and can only be treated by the interventions of laibon diviners and healers or, in the case of infer- 82 FRATKIN Vol. 16, No.1 tility, by blacksmiths whose iron flakes from their hearths (I-kunee) are believed to act as powerful ntasim medicines. Diet, anatomy, and pollution.—As cattle pastoralists Samburu and Maasai believe God gave them cattle and small stock to provide them with milk, meat, and blood (see Figure 2). To eat animal foods from outside this domain risks both natural and mystical misfortune. “Unclean” foods include most wild animals - fish, birds, eggs, reptiles, and non-ruminant mammals including pigs, carnivores, and rodents. Only those wild animals that resemble domestic livestock in their diet and behav- ior such as giraffe (considered an archaic “camel”), antelope (“small stock”) and eland (“cattle”) are considered edible, and they are only eaten during periods of severe shortages and famine. ES .