Ancient Eating on the Eastern Shore

Jeanette E. Sherbondy • April 13, 2022

Tuckahoe plant (Peltandra virginica) in marsh. Photo: Wikimedia commons

What did the ancient peoples living on the Eastern Shore eat aside from the meats we still eat? Deer, turkey, beaver, squirrel, pheasant, partridge, geese, ducks, muskrats, and fishes of many kinds were available as well as crabs and oysters, but what else?

Not French fries. Potatoes originated in the South American Andean mountains, but went to Europe first and then came back to North America with the Europeans who brought their own native carrots, parsnips, cabbage, and beets in addition to potatoes.

Europeans also introduced their native grains — barley and rye — and brought wheat from the Middle East. Corn (maize) and squashes were also imports, but from travelers who brought them from Mexico to the Southwest, and then to the Mississippi watershed, and later to the Eastern woodlands about 3,000 years ago.

So what form of starch had the Indigenous people been eating here in earlier millennia? The staple was tuckahoe or tockwogh; this translates into English as arrowroot, or arrow arum (Peltandria virginica). The leaves are shaped like arrow heads. It’s also known informally as duck corn.

Tuckahoe grows throughout the eastern United States and Canada and all along the east coast. It likes still or slow-moving waters, such as ponds, swamps, marshes, and the banks of streams. It can grow in full sun to shade — a very adaptable plant. Wherever groups of people went in the east they could depend on finding arrow arum in wet places. The variety found mostly here and up to Pennsylvania provided the early native peoples with edible seeds, fruits, leaves, and roots. The water birds fed on it too!

The roots form a perennial rhizome that is a good source of starch, but it needs preparation before eating. It contains calcium oxalate — microscopic needle-shaped crystals that make your lips, mouth, throat, tongue, and fingers swell and burn. Too much of it can be fatal, but with the instantaneous warning of burning and swelling, people soon learned to cook it for a very long time (at least 9 hours), heat it, dry it, and then grind it up to make breads and soups. The boiled spadix (flower spike) and berries were considered a luxury, and it seems to have a hint of cocoa flavor.

It's a hard job to dig up these rhizomes and the mud stinks, but it was a reliable food. The women did the hard work of digging up the roots and tossing them into the open stream for the children to gather and put in the canoe. These piled up like potatoes. Back on shore the women peeled off the rind and cut it into thin slices for sun drying.

The women then pounded the sun dried tuckahoe in a wooden mortar to make flour for dumplings or to thicken a stew. They kept a stew boiling constantly. Returning hunters contributed meats and fish as well as shellfish to the stew. This was the basic diet for millennia from 20,000 years ago.

Tuckahoe was eaten every month of the year, but it was very important in the winter when people had to live off stored up foods. In the spring it was the main plant growing that they could eat. In March and April they ate stews of tuckahoe and available meat: fish, turkey, squirrel, ducks, and geese. In May and June nuts and berries became available to supplement tuckahoe and the meats acquired by hunting. Only about 3,000 years ago did they start to use these months of the year to plant fields of maize and squash.

Maize was the domesticated product of teosinte that grows wild in Mexico. Domesticated 8,700 years ago, maize is a “short-day” plant that requires less exposure to light. It takes 9 months to grow in Mexico, but has to ripen more quickly in northern latitudes above the Tropic of Capricorn. By 4,100 years ago it had adapted genetically to the Southwest, New Mexico, and Arizona. It spread slowly to the Eastern Shore, and was a great crop for starch.

Squash (Cucurbita pepo) also was domesticated as a crop around 3,000 years ago. It was initially used for its seeds and as gourd containers. Later the flesh was eaten and in Mexico the flowers are eaten. I have a jar of squash flowers from Mexico that I bought in Chestertown. It is recommended for inclusion in quesadillas.

No beans are mentioned in the archaeological record for the eastern coastal areas. Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is native to Mexico. It spread throughout South and Central America and from Mexico it was taken north to the American Southwest for cultivation, but the history of any spread to the eastern woodlands has not been studied. The Europeans introduced their native broad bean, Fava, that is not related to the American beans.

Maize and squash were preferred to any earlier cultivated crop. The Eastern Shore peoples had green corn ready from June through August; summer meats were snake and fish. From July to September the crops were ripening. From August to October the crops were ready to eat, though tuckahoe was always part of the diet along with berries and nuts (walnut, hickory and bitter pecan). The next few months were times of plenty on the Eastern Shore. Migrating ducks and geese added succulent meats to the tuckahoe and corn stews.

Here is a modern recipe for preparing tuckahoe by Green Deane of EatTheWeeds.com:

“Like the Jack-in-the-Pulpit, the best use is to slice it up and dry it for a few months. It can also be roasted in an oven for a day or more, which is not cost effective. The Indians would collect them, bury them in the ground, build a huge fire over them and cook them for a day or more.

“Tuckahoe also responds to microwaving but it is hard to get the right timing between making it safe to eat and turning it to charcoal. However, microwaving it some shortens the drying time to edibility significantly. I nuke the slices one minute to 90 seconds and then let them sit until edible, which can be immediately to a few weeks.

“Another technique I’ve used is my solar oven. I peel the roots and put them in whole. It takes about 10 hours of solar drying over two days to make them edible, though hard. I haven’t tried making them into chips and using a shorter amount of time.

“The edibility test is the same for the Jack-in-the-Pulpit. To test them: Chew a quarter-inch square piece on one side of your mouth for a full minute then spit it out and wait ten minutes. And I mean chew for a minute and I mean wait ten minutes and I mean one side of your mouth (to limit the area that burns). The effect can be quite delayed. If the calcium oxalate is still present it will make one side of your mouth burn, and your tongue and lips. That can last up to a half an hour or so. If no burn, try a bigger piece the same way. If no burn then, you’re ready to go.

“You can eat the dry chips as is, or grind them up as a flour. If you air dried them they can be used as a thickener. If you dried them at over 150F they can be used as a flour but not as a thickener because the starch will have already been cooked.”

This is the true Eastern Shore food. It takes hard work to pick and prepare but it was a plentiful source of starch every month of the year, essential to the diet of the Eastern Shore Indians.

Sources:

Busby, Virginia (2002) Chapter 5: “Delmarva Ethnohistory in Hickory Bluff: Changing Perceptions of Delmarva Archaeology” in Hickory Bluff: Changing Perceptions of Delmarva Archaeology, compiled by Michael D. Petraglia, et al.

https://www.academia.edu/34872668/Chapter_5_Delmarva_Ethnohistory_in_Hickory_Bluff_Changing_Perceptions_of_Delmarva_Archaeology

Green Deane, “Tuckahoe, Arrow Arum”, Eat the Weeds

https://www.eattheweeds.com/peltandra-virginica-starch-storer-2/

Roundtree, Helen C. (1995) Young Pocahontas in the Indian World, Yorktown, Virginia

Wikipedia, Eastern Agricultural Complex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Agricultural_Complex

Wikipedia, Peltandra virginica

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltandra_virginica

Jeanette E. Sherbondy is a retired anthropology professor from Washington College and has lived here since 1986. In retirement she has been active with the Kent County Historical Society and Sumner Hall, one of the organizers of Legacy Day, and helped get highway /historical markers recognizing Henry Highland Garnet. She published an article on her ethnohistorical research of the free Black village, Morgnec.

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Megan Outten Launches Campaign for Wicomico County Council, District 7

By Friends of Megan Outten • July 29, 2025

Megan Outten, a lifelong Wicomico County resident and former Salisbury City Councilwoman, officially announced her candidacy recently for Wicomico County Council, District 7. At 33, Outten brings the energy of a new generation combined with a proven record of public service and results-driven leadership. “I’m running because Wicomico deserves better,” Outten said. “Too often, our communities are expected to do more with less. We’re facing underfunded schools, limited economic opportunities, and years of neglected infrastructure. I believe Wicomico deserves leadership that listens, plans ahead, and delivers real, measurable results.” A Record of Action and A Vision for the Future On Salisbury’s City Council, Outten earned a reputation for her proactive, hands-on approach — working directly with residents to close infrastructure gaps, support first responders, and ensure everyday voices were heard. Now she’s bringing that same focus to the County Council, with priorities centered on affordability, public safety, and stronger, more resilient communities. Key Priorities for District 7: Fully fund public schools so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Fix aging infrastructure and county services through proactive investment. Keep Wicomico affordable with smarter planning and pathways to homeownership. Support first responders and safer neighborhoods through better tools, training, and prevention. Expand resources for seniors, youth, and underserved communities. Outten’s platform is rooted in real data and shaped by direct community engagement. With Wicomico now the fastest-growing school system on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — and 85% of students relying on extra resources — she points to the county’s lagging investment as a key area for action. “Strong schools lead to strong jobs, thriving industries, and healthier communities,” Outten said. “Our schools and infrastructure are at a tipping point. We need leadership that stops reacting after things break — and starts investing before they do.” A Commitment to Home and Service Born and raised in Wicomico, Megan Outten sees this campaign as a continuation of her lifelong service to her community. Her vision reflects what she’s hearing from neighbors across the county: a demand for fairness, opportunity, and accountability in local government. “Wicomico is my home; it’s where I grew up, built my life, and where I want to raise my family,” Outten said. “Our county is full of potential. We just need leaders who will listen, work hard, and get things done. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do on the County Council.” Outten will be meeting with residents across District 7 in the months ahead and unveiling more details of her platform. For more information or to get involved, contact info@meganoutten.com

“Turtles All The Way Down”

By John Christie • July 29, 2025

Way back in 1935, the Supreme Court determined that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) do not violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). Congress provided that the CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, would operate as an independent agency — a multi-member, bipartisan commission whose members serve staggered terms and could be removed only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause.” Rejecting a claim that the removal restriction interferes with the “executive power,” the Humphrey’s Court held that Congress has the authority to “forbid their [members’] removal except for cause” when creating such “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” bodies. As a result, these agencies have operated as independent agencies for many decades under many different presidencies. Shortly after assuming office in his second term, Donald Trump began to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of several of these agencies. The lower courts determined to reinstate the discharged members pending the ultimate outcome of the litigation, relying on Humphrey’s , resulting in yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court by the administration. In the first such case, a majority of the Court allowed President Trump to discharge the Democratic members of the NLRB and the MSPB while the litigation over the legality of the discharges continued. Trump v. Wilcox (May 22, 2025). The majority claimed that they do not now decide whether Humphrey’s should be overruled because “that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.” However, hinting that these agency members have “considerable” executive power and suggesting that “the Government” faces greater “risk of harm” from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty,” the majority gave the President the green light to proceed. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, asserting that Humphrey’s remains good law until overturned and forecloses both the President’s firings and the Court’s decision to award emergency relief.” Our emergency docket, while fit for some things, should not be used to “overrule or revise existing law.” Moreover, the dissenters contend that the majority’s effort to explain their decision “hardly rises to the occasion.” Maybe by saying that the Commissioners exercise “considerable” executive power, the majority is suggesting that Humphrey’s is no longer good law but if that is what the majority means, then it has foretold a “massive change” in the law and done so on the emergency docket, “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” And, the “greater risk of harm” in fact is that Congress provided for these discharged members to serve their full terms, protected from a President’s desire to substitute his political allies. More recently, in the latest shadow docket ruling in the administration’s favor, the same majority of the Court again permitted President Trump to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of another independent agency, this time the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Trump v. Boyle (July 23, 2025). The same three justices dissented, once more objecting to the use of the Court’s emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency as established by Congress. The CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, was designed to operate as “a classic independent agency.” In Congress’s view, that structure would better enable the CPSC to achieve its mission — ensuring the safety of consumer products, from toys to appliances — than would a single-party agency under the full control of a single President. “By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” The dissenters also assert that the majority’s sole professed basis for the more recent order in Boyle was its prior order in Wilcox . But in their opinion, Wilcox itself was minimally explained. So, the dissenters claim, the majority rejects the design of Congress for a whole class of agencies by “layering nothing on nothing.” “Next time, though, the majority will have two (if still under-reasoned) orders to cite. Truly, this is ‘turtles all the way down.’” Rapanos v. United States (2006). * ***** *In Rapanos , in a footnote to his plurality opinion, former Supreme Court Justice Scalia explained that this allusion is to a classic story told in different forms and attributed to various authors. His favorite version: An Eastern guru affirms that the earth is supported on the back of a tiger. When asked what supports the tiger, he says it stands upon an elephant; and when asked what supports the elephant, he says it is a giant turtle. When asked, finally, what supports the giant turtle, he is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down." John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

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By Shore Progress, Progessive Maryland, Progressive Harford Co • July 15, 2025

Marylanders will not forget this vote.

How Many Will Be Kicked Off Medicaid in MD-01 Because of Andy Harris?

By Jan Plotczyk • July 9, 2025

More than 30,000 of our neighbors in Maryland’s first congressional district will lose their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of provisions in the GOP’s heartless tax cut and spending bill passed last week.

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By Michael Chameides, Barn Raiser • May 21, 2025

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Who Will SNAP Cuts Affect in Maryland? On the Eastern Shore?

By Catlin Nchako, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • May 21, 2025

The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.