"Cloudy afternoon sky at Aztec Ruins" by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
![]() | Aztec RuinsNative Plants of Aztec Ruins |
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Aztec Ruins
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Monument
Native Plants
Ethnobotany
Regardless of place or time, every human has basic needs that must be met: shelter, fuel,
food, clothes, tools and medicine. The Ancestral Pueblo people were no exception, and
they expertly used the local plant life to meet these needs.
Ethnobotany is the study of how people use (and have used) plants. Most plant remains
from Ancestral Pueblo times have since perished. Fortunately, due to the high quality
of preservation at Aztec Ruins, a considerable number of plant remains have survived.
Plant remains were found during excavations in trash deposits and intact, roofed rooms.
They include perishable artifacts like baskets, sandals, cotton clothing and twine, and
desiccated human feces. Ethnobotanists analyzed these ancient plant remains and,
combined with oral stories passed down through generations and current known uses,
have inferred ways in which Ancestral Pueblos used the native flora.
The following plants were utilized by the Ancestral Pueblos and are still used by modern
peoples. Most are still found at Aztec Ruins. Use this bulletin in conjunction with your
guide book as you tour the ruins.
Stop #1 Sagebrush
(Artemesian tridentata)
Sagebrush flowers, seeds and leaves were used
extensively by the Ancestral Pueblos. The
leaves are a good source of iron and vitamin
C. Medicinally, sagebrush is known to be an
antihelmintic (expels parasitic worms). The
leaves make a tea used for bathing wounds
and combating digestive and respiratory tract
problems, headaches and colds. Sagebrush wood
is used as fuel because it burns hot. The smoke is
used as a fumigant in ceremonies
Stop #6 Utah Juniper
(Juniperus osteosperma)
(look to the left at the
top of the steps).
Juniper berries were eaten and used to season
meat. Women drank juniper-sprig tea during
labor or immediately after childbirth. With
sagebrush, juniper is used to treat indigestion.
Juniper bark was used for cordage, insulation,
roofing material and even pillows, toilet
paper, and baby diapers. Juniper wood was
heavily used in construction and the stems and
branches of junipers were used for arrow shafts,
bows, cradleboards, basket frames, ladders
and knife handles. Juniper ash is still used in
cooking.
Stop # 18 Globe Mallow
(sphaeralcea coccinea)
The roots of globemallow were used to treat
snakebites and sores to draw out venom and as
an anti-inflammatory. A paste made from the
roots was used to make casts for broken bones
and used in hardening adobe floors. A mixture
of globemallow roots and cholla fruits was used
to treat diarrhea. The leaves were rubbed on sore
muscles and ground-up to treat rheumatism. The
Navajo use globe mallow as a medicine to treat
stomach aches, as a tonic to improve appetites and
to cure coughs and colds.They also dry the leaves
and use them as tobacco.
Stop # 18 Fourwing
Saltbush (Atriplex
canescens)
Stop #19 (east of the
great kiva): Yucca
(Yucca elata)
Ancestral Pueblo people collected saltbush seeds
for food to make a mush or bread. Saltbush wood
was collected for fuel and ash was mixed with blue
cornmeal to maintain the blue coloring in certain
foods and often used to bring out the color in
items. Saltbush ash is also used in cooking.
Yucca fruits are often eaten raw or baked and
yucca roots were used as soap. The fibers
were processed, twisted, braided and wound
together and used for wearing, manufacturing
and construction. Yucca cordage was used for
lashing house beams, fixing ladder rungs, making
blankets, belts, bowstrings, nets and sewing
animal skin robes together. Hairbrushes made
from the pointed ends of yucca fibers were
discovered here at Aztec. Note: this particular
species of yucca is not native to this area and has
been planted here at Aztec Ruins.
Stop #21 (turn around):
Cottonwood (Populus
fremontii)
Cottonwood was used as roof beams and in the
construction of hearths, fire-drills, bows, awls
and wooden tablets. Dead cottonwood trees
with rotted centers are still commonly used in
the making of drums as they were in historic
times. Cottonwood was often burned in summer
because the flame burns bright but the fire does
not produce much heat. The drooping flower
clusters were eaten in early spring. The Hopi use
the roots to make kachina doll carvings.
Stop #21: Piñon pine
(Piñus edulis)
Pine nuts were important for their nutrition and
high calories, providing a source of complete
protein, as well as potassium. The nuts were
toasted before being stored for winter. In winter,
cones were put on hot coals, forcing them to
spring open. The nuts are ground with corn,
used as flour and also eaten fresh or parched.
Piñon pitch is used to mend cracks in pottery,
waterproof baskets and is applied to cuts and
sores to protect them from exposure to air. Many
people chewed on pitch as gum. The gum could
also be burned and the smoke inhaled after
death by a family for protection against sorcery.
Medicinally, the needles are chewed as an aid in
curing venereal diseases. Timber was used for
construction and fuel.
Stop #22: Rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus
nauseosus)
Extracts from rabbitbrush were used to make
basket, wool and cotton dyes. The flowers
produced a yellow dye and the bark from the stem
produced a yellow-green dye. Branches were also
burned for fuel. The tips of the plants are chewed
by the Hopi and applied to boils to dry them out.
The straight stems were peeled to make arrows
and wicker mats.
Stop in museum: Sacred
Datura (Datura
meteloides)
Sacred datura is an incredibly toxic plant - even
small doses can result in death. Datura is a
hallucinogen, a potent narcotic, and can be used
as an analgesic to dull pain. Western pueblos
report using datura on occasion, however, no
modern use has been reported in eastern pueblos.
Look in the museum to see a pot possibly
modeled after a datura seed pod.
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA