PrecolumbianCucurbita argyrosperma ssp.argyrosperma (Cucurbitaceae) in the Eastern Woodlands of North America

Evidence for variability among squash seeds from the Hoxie site (11CK4), Illinois

“…Cushaw squash peduncles are distinct from those of fruits in the C. pepo group, so morphology is a reliable diagnostic tool. This find provides the first conclusive evidence for the presence of cushaw squash in prehistoric eastern North America (Fritz, 1994). To the author's knowledge, cushaw squash seeds have not yet been identified from archaeological contexts in this region.…”

“…Rather squash seeds are routinely assigned to the taxon C. pepo. The Ozark peduncles give cause to reassess those assumptions, particularly for carbonized specimens, since cushaw and pumpkin/squash seed sizes can overlap (Fritz, 1994). However, for non-carbonized and relatively entire or well-preserved seeds, morphological differences, such as margin coloration, width, and seed coat texture, should permit distinguishing between the two (Cutler and Whitaker, 1961;Russell, 1924;Smith, 2000).…”

“…Records from dry cave sites in Mexico indicate that cushaw domestication was underway by about 3000 B.C (Smith, 1997b). Fritz (1994) has recently shown that, by about 1100 A.D. it was being cultivated as far north as southwestern Illinois.…”

“…pepo, ("pumpkins"), C. pepo ssp. ovifera ("summer squashes") and C. argyrosperma ("cushaws") were being grown in the eastern and central United States at the time of European contact (Blake, 2001;Cowan, 1997;Fritz, 1994;Hedrick, 1972;Newsom, 1987;Swanton, 1979;Tapley et al, 1937). However, the individual histories of use for each taxon in this area are not clear, in part because most of the squash remains recovered from prehistoric archaeological sites are small, degraded and usually carbonized fragments of rind that can only be assigned to the taxon Cucurbita spp.…”

“…Among the former are the desiccated squash remains analyzed from several late prehistoric rock shelter sites located in the Ozarks of southern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas (Fritz, 1986(Fritz, , 1994. These remains include not only abundant seeds and rind from C. pepo fruits, but also C. argyrospema peduncles.…”