Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

During our ongoing research (Nabhan et al. 1981; Bretting 1982; Nabhan and Rea n.d.) we found that devil's claw has a much wider ecogeographical distribution and is (or was) important to many more native groups throughout the Greater Southwest than is commonly known (Fig. 1). This report summarizes the native names, uses, and cultivation practices for devil's claw for that region. Herbarium specimens, ethnohistorical, archaeological, and ethnological literature were first surveyed; these references were complemented and updated by recent extensive fieldwork (by Nabhan) at more than 30 different Indian reservations. With this information it is possible to detail the widespread use of devil's claw in basketry and its enigmatic role in the rituals of Pueblo cultures. Hypotheses regarding the chronology and locality for the domestication of this plant are also suggested. Processes and routes of diffusion for the cultural trail of devil's claw cultivation and use are hypothesized; these may be valuable to ethnologists and others perhaps not interested in devil's claw per se.