There are several beautiful blossoms to see in the OSA's Ancient Crops of Iowa garden. We've got pumpkins (left) and gourds (right) tumbling out of one of our garden beds! From the Crops of Ancient Iowa website: http://archaeology.uiowa.edu/gourds-and-squashes:
Gourds and squashes include a variety of today’s pumpkins, summer and winter squashes, and ornamental gourds. They were among the first cultivated plants in the Midwest and among the earliest in eastern North America. One of the oldest dates for domesticated Cucurbita pepo comes from a site in south central Missouri where 5,100 year-old seeds are reported.
In Iowa, early evidence of squash comes from a rind found in a feature dating to the terminal Late Archaic at the Gast Spring site 2,800 years ago. It is commonly reported from Woodland through Late Prehistoric sites. Cucurbita is not native to Iowa and its presence at archaeological sites indicates it was being cultivated.
Ornamental gourds were probably used for containers, but the flesh of immature fruits was eaten by some Native Americans, and sliced and dried for later meals. Both the blossoms and flesh of squashes were cooked fresh, and cut, dried and stored for later use. Squash was boiled, sometimes with other plants and with meal. The flesh was also roasted. Seeds from boiled squash were eaten whole, but also were prepared by parching and roasting. The flesh, rinds, and seeds of Cucurbita species are nutritionally rich, high in protein and oil, and an important source of minerals especially potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
