ALRS Spring 2016 Field Trip

May 18, 2016

As we learned in the recent ALRS Spring Field trip, Agave is more than just a large succulent plant, it has many uses…

Last April 9, 2016 current Arid Lands Resource Sciences student had their annual Spring field trip.  The destination this time were the      watershed-scale archaeological tour of Hohokam and O’odham agricultural sites in Marana. The tour guides for this field trip were: ALRS 1993 alumni, Suzanne Fish and her husband and co-collaborator, Paul Fish, Professor of Anthropology, University of Arizona.  Suzanne Fish’s research interest from graduate school to the present is the study of Hohokam agriculture and society.  Thus, the field trip started with a visit in the laboratory of Drs. Fish at the Arizona State Museum.

At Drs. Fish laboratory, Suzanne Fish talked about the agricultural plants that the Hohokam Indians cultivated, which were mostly Agave plants.  Agave is best recognized as the plant from which tequila is made, but we were informed that it has been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food.  So were were quite amazed at the variety of products from this succulent plant.

From “WiseGEEK” below are some of the products from Agave:

The leaves of the agave can be beaten to make fiber, and they also generate a foamy material that is much like soap. The leaves can also be cooked to make a relatively bland but filling meal. The flower stalks are sweet when roasted, and one of the most commonly collected parts of the plant. With roasting and processing, a stalk can be turned into syrup, a natural substitute for sugar, or it can be fermented into liquor, such as tequila(link is external). The flowers are also often edible, and since each plant generates a large number of flowers, they can be a useful source of nutrition.

At the Laboratory of Suzy Fish, Arizona State Museum, students were shown the many products from Agave: shoes, rope, and a purse.  From left to right: Joy Liu, Joji Marie Teves, Ryan Lee, Scott Jones, Saleh Ahmed (holding a shoe), Ladd Keith and Ibrahima Sall.  Photo taken by Barbara Quintana.

 

In addition to the products from Agave, we were shown the ancient tools that the Hohokam Indians used to till the land, some of which lands would be the agricultural sites that would be our ultimate destination for this field trip. 

 
 

Suzy Fish, Ph.D., demonstrating an ancient cutting tool used to cut agave.  From left to right: Saleh Ahmed, Josiah Grenell,
 Mabel Alsina, Suzy Fish, Ibrahima Sall, and Marie Blanche Roudaut.    Photo taken by: Barbara Quintana.

  At the Hohokam archaeological sites, we had to carefully looked at where we were stepping or passing to avoid the thorns from the many jumping cholla and cacti.  At these sites, Suzanne Fish explained how the agave plants were irrigated. 

She also pointed out the areas where there were some blackened soil as the areas that the Hohokam Indians would do their cooking in the field.

While this field trip is one of the closest to Tucson, that the ALRS students had taken, it is significant and fulfilling because:

  1. It was an opportunity for current students to meet an alumna and find out how her research had influenced her career and her life.
  2. It was also a lesson on sustainability in arid and semi/arid lands.

The ALRS 2015-2016 Cohort is grateful to Drs: Suzanne and Paul Fish for sharing their expertise and life’s work on the study of the Hohokam Agricultural sites and society.