Indigenous Peoples – Fake Flamenco

bilingual, food, history, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Spanish, Spanish Culture and Language

Nahuatl: You Know More than You Realize

The language of the indigenous people that Spaniards met for the first time in the grand city of Tenotichlan may seem very remote from your experience. I think you’ll be surprised how many words, especially food vocabulary you already know. Many of the world’s favorite foods come from Mixteca (Aztec) culture, see the chart below. […]

history, Indigenous Peoples, Nature, The Americas

The Ecological Wisdom of Prescribed Burns

Before colonization, landscapes were consciously shaped by the transformative power of fire. Many Indigenous peoples used fire to clear the land, protect it from uncontrolled wildfires, improve harvests of nuts and acorns and to conserve water for selected plants and trees. This process was central to cultures of fire; to shape the land, to grow […]

food, history, Indigenous Peoples, Nature, photography, The Americas

Before 1500: What Did Europeans Eat?

I guess it was turnips, wheat, barley, rye, eggs, onions and apples. Slight exaggeration perhaps, but the foods we often associate with Europe were developed elsewhere. What would Spanish and Italian food be without tomatoes? The foods the Native agricultural geniuses of the Americas shared with Europeans were worth more than any treasure. Check out […]

food, Indigenous Peoples, photography, The Americas

Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Readers!

My gratitude for this great year communicating with you. I enjoy our conversations in the comments and what you teach me in your posts. I appreciate your unique way of looking at the world. By the time you read this, my cooking journey will have begun; gathering ingredients, making the quinoa stuffing, priming the oven. […]

archeology, bilingual, En español, history, Indigenous Peoples, Nature

2500 Year Old Amazon Soil Technology

New archeological research along the Amazon River reveals the extent to which humans modified the landscape with sophisticated agricultural techniques. Such a large area is transformed as to make it invisible to the casual observer. According to scientific study using aerial LiDAR, over 1500 kilometers (900 mi) along the shores of this impressive river contain […]

Gardening, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Nature, photography, Spanish Culture and Language

Butterfly on Purple Aster

This was the last monarch we saw in our garden this year. They are flying south to Mexico now, to make their date for the Día de los Muertos, 2 November. Day of the Dead is similar to All Saints’ Day, a Christian holiday honoring those who have passed on. However, parts of Día de […]