Ancient Agave Utahensis Roasting Pits
An agave roasting pit covered in snow.
Archeological evidence shows that humans have lived in the Las Vegas area for at least 10,000 years and for much of that time, agave utahensis was an important food source. Evidence of ancient indigenous use of utahensis can be seen scattered throughout its range (especially in the Spring Mountains just outside of Las Vegas), in the form of roasting pits.
Indigenous cultures throughout the desert southwest have used a variety of agave species for food, beverages, and fiber. Cultures like the Hohokam in Arizona domesticated agave, creating their cultivars, which they farmed in large, irrigated fields, using rock much to preserve moisture.
A dense stand of agave utahensis near an ancient roasting pit site.
I haven’t seen any evidence of this happening with agave utahensis, the indigenous groups that used it, most likely just gathered it wild and roasted it. But that roasting process was much the same for utahensis as other species.
A large pit was dug into the earth and lined with limestone. Limestone was chosen for its unique thermal properties, and most roasting pits are found in areas with abundant limestone. Harvested and trimmed agave hearts were put into the pit, a fire was started, and the whole oven was covered with more earth and left to roast for a day or two. Once cooked, I’ve read that utahensis tastes sweet, like molasses or sweet potatoes.
An agave roasting pit with the Rainbow Mountains in the background.
These pits can be seen scattered throughout agave uthansis’s habitat near Las Vegas, I’ve just happened across them randomly while out hiking and trail running. They look like giant bowls in the ground, with a raised ring of pretty noticeably white, fire-cracked limestone mixed with dark, charred organic remains. And where you see a roasting pit, you’re almost always going to find some agave nearby, and probably a water source, and sometimes even some rock art.
Potential agave utahensis rock art.
Archeological research has shown that these sites were used by several indigenous groups, including as far back as archaic desert cultures 5,000 or more years ago, through Ancestral Puebloan cultures, which lived in the area about 1,000 years ago, up to the most recent, and probably most prolific user of utahensis: the Southern Paiute.
The Southern Paiute harvested and roasted wild agave as late as the mid-19th century. And they lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle on a seasonal loop, up in the cool mountains during the summer, and down in the warm valley in the winter. In the early spring, they traveled to roasting pit sites to harvest from nearby agave utahensis populations.
An agave utahensis var nevadensis in the spring, just beginning to flower.
During its lifetime, agave utahensis stores energy in the form of carbohydrates called fructans, which are indigestible for humans. But when it begins to flower in the spring, it converts those fructans to simple sugars, and thus becomes ripe for human consumption.