Re-Evaluating the Dietary Significance of Gambel Oak Acorns (Quercus gambelii) in the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest: Evidence From Experimental Foraging and Direct Bomb Calorimetry.

This article examines the significance of Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) acorns as a prehistoric food resource for Indigenous foragers and incipient maize agriculturalists in the Great Basin, Southwest, and Colorado Plateau regions. Through 18 hours of experimental foraging and bomb calorimetry, the study finds that Gambel oak acorns yield a high caloric return of approximately 5,711 kcal per hour at the storable stage, suggesting they were a valuable, storable fallback resource during periods of resource shortfall. Despite sparse archaeobotanical evidence, ethnographic records indicate widespread acorn use with relatively low processing intensity due to lower tannin content compared to California oak species. The authors recommend further archaeological investigations employing starch grain and residue analyses to better assess the role of Gambel oak acorns in regional subsistence economies.