Comments on: Eight Wild Animal Species the Pilgrims Ate—and How They Are Today

By: Sagrarioluque7

Sagrarioluque7 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:28:00 +0000

Dear Roger,
My name is Sagrario Luque Im a 5th grade teacher in Honduras, Central America. Im trying to plan an interdisciplinary lesson with my kids for Science during Thanksgiving Week. Our curriculum skills statement is: Show that when the environment changes some organisms move in and some move out and some die. I have to link this to Thanksgiving. It has been a challenge! I found your website and learned about the Heath Hen, and the Labrador Duck becoming extinct by uncontrolled hunting, and the bald eagle almost becoming extinct. I learned the hunting i many cases was started by the Pilgrims. Could you help me out or point me in the right direction. I would surely appreciate it!

By: James G. Deane

James G. Deane — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Interesting topic to me as a Mayflower descendant (from Francis Cooke and Hester Mahieu).

By: Roger Disilvestro

Roger Disilvestro — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:16:00 +0000

As I understand it, the Pilgrims were a small group who traveled in a small ship that took weeks to get to what is now New England, so storage space was an issue especially as they had to carry water and food for the long trip itself. They couldn’t have brought white potatoes, because the Pilgrims probably had yet to hear of them. The white potato originated in the Andes and had to be adapted to European soils and climates before it became a general crop. Here’s some background: http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/potatoes.htm

The Indians, history says, showed the Pilgrims how to plant maize (or what we call corn), which is also a native of North America, coming out of Mexico (I find it hard to believe that this Mexican crop was being cultivated in New England, but apparently it was). The Indians showed the newcomers how to fertilize crops with fish and how to mix various crops together to avoid exhausing soil nutrients. I am speculating here, but I suspect the Indians also were teaching the settlers how to adapt European farming techniques to New England climes and showing them which local species could be cultivated.

By: TC

TC — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I’m not terribly familiar with that time period but what the situation most likely was at that time was that they couldn’t bring vast amounts of food with them on ships (because of space and spoiling from the long voyage) so they had to rely on what was available in the area. When they arrived the tradition of saying that the Indians “taught them to farm” probably stems from the settlers learning new methods that Indians developed that hadn’t occurred to them in Europe. Much of our basic math and science and agriculture has either been developed by Native Americans or found that they discovered it first.

Oh and as far as I know basic foods of that time were fruits and breads

By: S. Cole

S. Cole — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:57:00 +0000

I learned something today. I thought they ate potatoes at that time, what was their staple food?

By: P. Crandall

P. Crandall — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:22:00 +0000

The potato was not a staple food product until the late18th century. At the time of the Pilgrims it was used as fodder and not as a common food product.

By: S.Cole

S.Cole — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0000

I have wondered since, probably 1st grade why did these Pilgrims have to be taught to farm. Surely some were farmers and brought some seeds and general knowledge with them. Seed potatoes would seem to be one item and I am sure there would be others. S.Cole