Agave Roast

A Time For Feasting And Ceremony

The circular area of fire-cracked limestone and darkened ash is a very old agave roasting pit.

Dug by Native People, including the Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute), this roasting pit was lined with flat rock. A fire was started to heat the rocks, and food was slow-cooked in the earthen oven.

The seasonal roasts held at these cultural sites were not only a time to feast and to prepare vital winter food supplies, but were also a time to gather for dancing and religious ceremonies.

These roasting pit sites remain sacred to modern day Native People.

Roasting With Rock

Foods, such as agave, tortoise, and rabbit, were placed in the pit and covered ith hot stones, coals, and earth. The food was slowly cooked for hours or even days.

The intense prolonged heat cracked the rocks and turned them white, causing them to lose most of their ability to hold heat. New gray rocks were added, and the "used" white rocks were case aside, causing the mound around the pit to grow.

Agave: A Food for All Seasons

The agave is a native plant often found on dry limestone slopes and mesas. After 10 to 35 years, it produces a single unbranched flowering stalk topped with small, yellow flowers. The stalk grows quickly, and it may reach a height of nearly 15 feet.

Native People often harvested and roasted agave when the flowering stalk was just beginning and the plant was full of nutrients. Once roasted, it is said to taste much like steamed asparagus.

This important food source was also pounded into sheets and dried for later use as winter food or for trade.

[Caption]: Utah Agave - Agave utahensis nevadenis

Stay On The Trail; please refrain from walking on or disturbing these cultural sites. . This historical marker was erected by Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It is in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas in Clark County Nevada