Earth Ovens

Earth ovens, often called hearths or roasting pits by archaeologists, are important features within the archaeological record of North America. The primary archaeological signature of these cooking features are concentrations of burned rock--often referred to as fire-cracked rock (FCR), fire-altered rock (FAR), or fire-modified rock (FMR)--that are the remnants of the earth oven heating elements used to cook foods underground.

The sizes of earth oven heating elements vary greatly due to the types and quantities of foods being cooked. The general principal is larger heating elements will be associated with either more food or certain foods that require longer cooking times. For instance, some geophytes, tubers, and desert succulents contain starchy or inulin-rich compounds that the human digestive tract cannot break down. These foods must be cooked for 12-48 hours to convert the indigestible plant matter into digestible carbohydrates.

A earth oven heating element in southwest Texas.

A dense stand of Agave lechuguilla.

A large sotol (Dasylerion sp.).

Ongoing Earth Oven Research

Much of my work focuses in southwest Texas where Indigenous peoples primarily cooked lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and sotol (Dasylerion sp.). My interest in earth ovens began when I took my first field school (Shumla's Field Methods in Rock Art), and Dr. Phil Dering (retired) and Jack Johnson (Amistad NPS) introduced me to earth ovens. I went on to conduct my Master's thesis research documenting the landscape distribution of earth oven sites within the LPC. As part of the Ancient Southwest Texas Project, I assisted or directed excavations at multiple earth oven sites within the Lower Pecos, including intensive excavations at Eagle Cave. I have also collaborated on an edited volume that describes Indigenous earth oven sites across the US Southwest and NW Mexico, and I am continuing researching earth ovens and plant use in the LPC and Chihuahuan Desert.

Rancid Cactus

Horse Trail Shelter

Skiles Shelter

Hibiscus Shelter

Earth Oven Experiments

My ongoing research seeks to examine the relationship between different cooked foods and the size and amount of rock required to cook those foods. To do this, I am conducting a series of oven experiments to document the thermal capacity of different oven configuration. To date my research is focused on cooking lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and evaluating earth oven construction in southwest Texas, but I am working to expand this research and involve students (undergraduate and graduate) and Indigenous communities.