- Barrel Cactus Needle
Description: Barrel cactus spine split to hold a piece of white cotton thread. Dimensions: L 5.9 cm. Provenience: Upper Ruin, Room 4, Surface. Collection: WACC, Tonto National Monument (Catalog No. TONT 970). - Cactus Fruit Picker(?)
Description: Two pieces of wood bound together with fiber and tentatively identified as a picking tool for gathering prickly pear fruit. Dimensions: L 32.5, W 1.5, and L 33.7, W 1.2 cm. Provenience: Unknown. Collection: WACC, Tonto National Monument (Catalog No. TONT 1569). - Cactus Fruit Picker(?), Alternate View
Description: Two pieces of wood bound together with fiber and tentatively identified as a picking tool for gathering prickly pear fruit. Dimensions: L 32.5, W 1.5, and L 33.7, W 1.2 cm. Provenience: Unknown. Collection: WACC, Tonto National Monument (Catalog No. TONT 1569). - Cactus Ring
Description: Cactus ring (probably barrel cactus - F. leconte or F. wislizenni). Dimensions: Diam 1/2 in. Provenience: Lower Ruin, Room 19, Fill. Collection: WACC, Tonto National Monument (Catalog No. TONT 1026). - Saguaro Ribs
Subject: The woody ribs of the Saguaro were used as fencing and house construction material. - Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
Common name: Saguaro Scientific name: Carnegiea gigantea Description: A towering cactus with upraised "arms," large white flowers, and red fruit. Dye: None. Other uses: The saguaro fruit is an important seasonal food, available after the season called the “Painful Moon” or “Hunger Hurting Moon.” The beginning of the Tohono O’odham and Piman year is haashañ bahidag mashad, the “Saguaro Harvest Moon.” In June and early July, O’odham live in temporary camps in the saguaro forests and conduct the saguaro fruit harvest (hasañ bahidaj). Women use poles made from saguaro ribs to knock down saguaro fruits. The pulp is boiled down to a syrup and prepared as a wine that is consumed during the rainmaking ceremony. The seeds may be dried for a winter snack, or ground into flour and made into a gruel. The Pima have traditionally dried the fruit and prepared it as jam and syrup - ground seeds were mixed with grains to make a porridge or peanut butter-like paste. - Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus spp.)
Common name: Hedgehog Cactus, Strawberry Cactus, Calico Cactus Scientific name: Echinocereus spp. Description: Small barrel-like cacti covered in a multitude of spines, or "quills." Flowers range from deep red to pink and bloom in the spring and summer. Dye: None. Other uses: Entire plant or parts may be prepared as food/beverage by Acoma, Apache, Cochiti, Havasupai, Hopi, Isleta, Laguna, Navajo, Papago, and Pima. Also used for medicinal and/or ceremonial purposes. - Cholla (Cylindropuntia spp.)
Common names: Cholla, Chain Fruit Cholla; Jumping Cactus; Teddy Bear Cholla, Staghorn Cholla, among others Scientific name: Cylindropuntia spp. Description: A branching cactus with a woody base and segmented "branches" and excessive spines Fruits and flowers vary. Dye: None. Other uses: Various parts (bud, fruit, root) prepared as food/beverage by Acoma, Apache, Laguna, Cocopah, Hano, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Laguna, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Papago, Pima, Yavapai, and Zuni. Acoma use(d) spines for tattooing and sewing. Several groups also use(d) plant parts for medicinal/ceremonial/symbolic purposes. Cholla buds are still eaten by the Tohono O'odham (Papago). Archaeological evidence also suggests the Hohokam cultivated the plants near residences. - Murphy's Agave (Agave murpheyi)
Common name: Agave, Hohokam Agave Scientific name; Agave murpheyi Descriptive: Murphy's Agave is a relatively small agave variety. The leaves are fleshy, light blue-green to yellow-green, spined along the edges and at the leaf tip, and grow in a rosette from the heart of the plant. Uses: Extensively cultivated for food and fiber by the prehistoric Hohokam of southern Arizona. - Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria microcarpa)
Common name: Pincushion Cactus, Mammillaria, Nipple Cactus, Fishhook Cactus Scientific name: Mammillaria microcarpa Description: Very small barrel-like cactus with showy pink flowers, short white spines, and long curved reddish-brown spines. Uses: Among the Papago and Pima, used as a water supplement (when opened and chewed). The red cactus fruit may be rubbed on arrowshafts as coloring/dye. - Lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla)
Common name: Lechuguilla Scientific name: Agave lechuguilla Description: Lechuguilla is a slender-leaved member of the Agave family. The leaves are rigid and end in a sturdy sharp point capable of penetrating most clothing, as well as skin. Uses: Southwest Native Americans have used fibers from the leaves (commonly called ixtle, but also a hard fiber known by the trade name Tampico fiber) to make ropes and mats. - Englemann Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
Common names: Prickly Pear, Cactus Apple Scientific name: Opuntia engelmannii Description: Englemann prickly pear is the largest of Arizona's prickly pear species, with large pads and dark-red to purple pear-shaped fruits. Dye: Rose-colored from fruits. Other uses: Food and medicine.