HUNTING

1
FOODWAYS OF THE LENAPE INDIANS
? The Lenape Indians practiced both hunting
and gathering techniques as well as small scale
horticulture. ?The great variety of game and
edible plants in Hudson Valley allowed the Lenape
to mainly subsist upon what they could hunt and
gather in the surrounding landscape. ?The
Lenape made sure to never eat any meat that was
rare or raw. They would thoroughly cook the meat
until it fell off of the bone. Even dried meat
would be soaked in water and cooked through
before being consumed. ?Lenape would usually eat
with their hands, and if the food was too hot,
use skewers made of bone or wood ?The dishes the
Lenape used were wooden bowls, clam shells, and
turtle shells
2
HUNTING
? Lenape men and older boys were assigned the job
of hunting ? The most commonly hunted animals in
Lenapehoking were deer, elk, black bear and
raccoons ?The prime time for hunting was in
Autumn, when the animals were fattened by eating
the abundant nuts ?In Autumn, any able bodied
men, women and older children would depart for
winter hunting camps. After a few months of
hunting, they would return to the permanent
settlement laden with venison, skins, firewood,
bone grease and nuts ? Hunting territories of
the Lenape Indians could be as large 200 square
miles, but most were much smaller. ?These
territories were bounded by natural markers, such
as streams and hillsides. ?Traditional rights to
hunting areas were honored ?Most hunting areas
were the interior mountain regions, because they
were so sparsely populated ?Indians would
generally not kill more than they could eat,
process or use for skins
3
HUNTING
TOOLS USED ? By the late woodland period, spears
and lances had been replaced by bows and arrows ?
Stone projectile points were made of chert and
other fine grained lithics ? These stone
projectile points were more common than those
made of antler and bone ? Levanna and Madison
projectile points were the most commonly
constructed points ? Madison points are more of
an isosceles shape and the bases are generally
straight or slightly convex. They appear less
frequently than the Levanne projectile point.
The Levanna point is more equilateral with bases
which are usually concave ? Arrow shafts were
made of fine grained wood or cane ? A carefully
selected stick would be soaked in water, heated
over a fire and re-shaped until it was in the
desired shape. The stick was then shaved to a
uniform diameter, and lastly run through a
shaft smoother, which was a piece of
sedimentary rock which would sand the arrow
shaft.
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PROJECTILE POINTS
Madison Projectile Points
Levanna Projectile Point
Arrow Shaft Smoothers
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ANIMALS
DEER ? The white-tailed deer was a very important
source of raw material for the Lenape Indians
?The Meat could be eaten, either shortly after
being killed by cooking over a fire or boiling
or dried and stored for later use ?The skin
could be tanned and made into a variety of useful
items, such as clothing, sleeping robes, mats,
wall hangings or bags ?The antlers and bones
could be made into a variety of tools, such as
needles, hooks, skewers and projectile points,
as well as ornamental objects ?The tendons and
intestines could be made into sinew and used as a
thread or as a binder ?Hooves could be made
into rattles, and even sometimes into glue ?Deer
were hunted all year round, but mainly in autumn
and early winter ?Hunters would use a variety of
methods to getting deer. ?Stalking was the most
common method. A hunter would follow a deer,
sometimes for miles, taking advantage of the
fact that deer would always run in arcs. Hunters
would follow the same animal, heading it off, and
forcing it to run for hours until it was tired
and the hunter could get with in closer range ?
Burning of forests and thickets was done to make
tracking and stalking easier, but it also
created fields with tall grasses that elk and
deer needed to thrive. Hunters would sometimes
burn a large ring, forcing the animals further
into the center, which enabled the hunters to
acquire a large amount of game in a fast and
efficient manner. ?The Lenape would also use
communal drives if there were enough people and
animals. A group of men would herd the deer in
the direction of a v-shaped enclosure, called a
fyke
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ANIMALS
BLACK BEAR ? Black bears were another very
important resource to the Lenape Indians ? Meat
was good to eat ? Fat was rendered and used as
a pomade for hair, as well as an ointment for
the skin useful in preventing sunburn and
keeping mosquitoes away ? Oil was used to dip
venison in ? Pelt with fur left on was an
especially good sleeping robe and it could also
be used to make winter moccasins ? The canines
and claws were also occasionally used for
necklaces and ornaments ?The black bear was
treated with more respect than any other game
animal, and was referred to as grandfather ?
The black bear got this nickname because it
looked somewhat human-like while standing on its
hind legs, and even more so when skinned ?
Special care was taken to not offend the spirit
of the bear, and help it return to the spirit
world. ? Some tribes would dispose of the bones
carefully, so as to make sure that dogs would
not gnaw on them ?The black bear pelt was also a
costume worn by Mesingw in the important Big
House ceremony
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ANIMALS
? Other animals hunted by the Lenape were ?
Raccoon, the meat was similar to the black
bears ? Elk, which provided good skins and
meat ? Beavers were eaten, and tails were
considered a delicacy and the best tasting meat
available ? Porcupines were also considered a
delicacy, and its quills were dyed and used as
decoration for clothing and as ornaments for a
septum piercing ? Skunk and pole-cat were
eaten, as there was no offensive odor to the
meat ? Squirrels were eaten in times of
sickness, or when there was no other meat
available ? Panther, lynx, wolf, bobcat, fox
and other carnivores pelts were used, but the
meat was never eaten as it was too strong. ?
Birds provided meat, eggs and feather for
decoration. ? Turtles provided meat, eggs and
their shells which could be used as rattles or
as utensils
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ANIMALS
9
GATHERING
? Another way the Indians in Lenapehoking
supplemented their diet was through extensive
gathering ? The job of gathering was delineated
to women and children ? Gathering was important
because the caloric intake of gathered foods far
surpassed the calories spent collecting them ?
The Lenape utilized about 370 native plants ?
These plants were used not only for foods and
beverages, but also for medicinal, ceremonial,
smoking, dyeing and utilitarian purposes ?
Through hundreds of years of trial and error, the
Indians learned which plants and which parts of
those plants were useful and edible ? Depending
upon the season, women and children would
contribute between 60-80 percent of the diet ?
One of the most important items collected for
consumption were the nuts from local trees
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GATHERING
NUTS ? Nuts were an important part of Lenape
diet, as they were abundant and a good source of
both protein and fat ? Chestnuts are composed of
11 protein and 7 fat, with the rest of it being
starch ? Acorns from the White and Bur oak trees
were low enough in tannic acid that they didnt
require as much prep as other types of acorns.
These nuts are low in protein, but very high in
fats and carbohydrates ? Other nuts eaten were
black walnut, beechnut, butternut and hickory ?
Nuts were processed to be eaten right away and
were also stored for later consumption ? The
nuts were oftentimes roasted in hot ashes,
crushed in wooden mortars, and the mash was then
put in basket strainers and leached in running
water to separate the meat from the shell ? The
mashed nut meat would be dried and stored for
winter. ? Beechnuts had to be processed a
little differently because of their hard
shells. ? The beechnut would first be pounded
in a mortar, next both shell and meat would be
placed in water to boil. After a bit, the oil
would float to the top. This nut oil would
then be skimmed off and saved for later use. ?
Nut milk was another important product obtained
from nuts ? This was prepared by taking boiled
and mashed nuts and passing them through very
fine strainers. The milk would come out, which
was full of proteins and fats
Chestnuts
White Oak Acorn
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GATHERING
? Other foods gathered by Lenape women and
children were ? Different types of spring and
summer berries, such as strawberries,
elderberries, huckleberries, blueberries,
blackberries, raspberries, black
thimble-berries, cedar berries ? Different types
of leaves and sticks, which were used to make
teas ? Tubers, such as cattail ? Different
fruits, like persimmons and apples ?
Mushrooms ? Bird and turtle eggs ? Shellfish
and crustaceans ? Frogs and turtles
12
FISHING
?The rivers, streams and wetlands of the Hudson
Valley provided a plentiful amount of resources
to the Lenape Indians ? From the fresh water
streams the Lenape were able collect drinking
water ?Many different types of fish were
caught in using a variety of tools and skills
? Crustaceans and shell fish could be gathered
from both fresh and salt water
Different stages of bone fishhook construction
Stone net sinkers
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FISHING
? Because it connects to the ocean, the Hudson
River has an amazing variety of both fresh and
salt water species ?The Lenape Indians knew this,
and supplemented their diet with whatever they
could get from the river ?Men, women and children
would all participate in gathering shellfish and
crustaceans along the shores ?Men and older boys
would use nets, weirs, hooks, spears, double
pointed fish gorges and harpoons to obtain fish
?Often times, men would go out on a stream in
canoes and stretch nets across the entire length
of it ?Other times, Lenape men would use the
nets to herd fish towards the weirs ?Weirs
were also constructed above the low tide level,
so when the tide went out, fish would be trapped
and left behind, easily picked up by women and
children ?Many fishing implements did not survive
in the archaeological record, nor do the easily
decomposed fish bones. ?One item used in
fishing, a netsinker, is one of the most commonly
found stone tools at archaeological sites which
are located near water ways. ?This is probably
because they are easily made and so a disposable
item
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FISHING
?Many different species of fish were caught and
eaten. The most common of these fish were ?
Sturgeon, which could reach up to 16 feet long,
and well over 200 pounds. The large back plates,
called scutes, are sometimes found in
archaeological sites which date to before Henry
Hudson entered the river. ? Shad were
extremely plentiful when they came into the
Hudson River in early spring to spawn. It was
recorded that in the 19th century, fisherman
would catch between 14 and 20 million pounds of
shad a year. ? Striped bass were another large
fish which would return to the river to spawn
? Eel would be fished on their return trip to the
ocean, and caught by the hundreds in a special
type of net known as an eel pot ?Occasionally
whales, porpoises and harbor seals supplemented
the diet, usually these were beached animals
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COMMON FISH
Striped Bass
American Shad
American Eel
American Sturgeon
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FISHING
?Other animals the Lenape Indians gathered from
waterways for consumption, were ?Conches the
meat could be eaten and the inner whorl of the
shell could be cut and sanded to a bead of
desired size. These beads could be used in
decoration or for wampum ?Clams the meat was
good to eat, and Quahog Clam shells could be
used as utensils, tools, and wampum ?Oysters
the shells of oysters are a very common find at
Lenape sites along the Hudson River ?
Mussels ? Crabs ? Crayfish ? Lobsters
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FARMING
? Despite the fact that there were many
different types of food available to hunt and
forage for, the Lenape Indians practiced small
scale horticulture ? The Lenape planted and
tended to three main crops which were maize,
squash and beans. This trinity of plants is known
as The Three Sisters ? The corn stalks
provided support for the beans to grow, the
squash kept moisture in the soil with its broad
leaves, while simultaneously keeping down weeds,
and the beans helped to return nitrogen to the
soil that was taken out by the corn ? Beans
contain amino acids and tryptophan, which the
body needs to produce protein and niacin.
Combined with maize, this creates a relatively
balanced diet.
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FOOD PROCESSING
? Most vegetables were eaten as they ripened, but
some were also dried and stored for later
consumption MAIZE ? This vegetable could be
eaten in a variety of ways. ? If fresh, it
could be eaten raw, be boiled, roasted, or made
into succotash, which combines it with beans,
veggies and meat/fish ? Maize could by dried by
first boiling it, then it would be dried out, the
kernels would be removed from the cob and stored
in bark or skin containers ? Once dried, it
could be made into ? Hominy, which is made by
boiling the kernels with wood ash ? Flour,
which is made by finely grinding the dried
kernels with a stone mortar and pestle. The
flour could be made into various foods, such as
unleavened bread and sapan cornmeal gruel, which
was a Lenape staple food
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FOOD PROCESSING
BEANS ? Beans could be eaten fresh ? They could
also be dried ?This was done by first boiling
the beans for a few minutes, then drying them
out and storing them in bark or skin
containers SQUASH/PUMPKINS ?Like corn and beans,
squash and pumpkins were often times eaten fresh,
but could also be dried and put away for the
winter months ?These vegetables were dried by
cutting them into thin rings, stringing the
rings onto a strip of leather and hanging it in
the sun to dry. These dried rings could be
stored by hanging them from rafters, or by being
put in storage containers