Cooking Basket (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
The Maidu people hunted and gathered near the Sacramento River, accumulating dried meat, fish, and acorns during the warm summer months. These foodstuffs were carried to their winter villages and required lightweight yet sturdy carrying and cooking containers. The flaring walls and wide rim of this bowl suggest its use as a cooking vessel for acorn mush, as demonstrated in the photograph. The woman uses two sticks to hold a hot stone taken from the ashes of a nearby fire pit that she will drop into a watertight basket. Once the water is boiling, she will then add acorn meal from the second basket to the acorn mush. This technique for boiling water was also used for cooking meat, stews, and even tea.
From the Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment
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