No matter how much money you had, there were some foods that you just couldn't have. Back then many foods were available only at certain times of the year. In the 1600s everyone ate according to the season. To their minds, bread, beer and meat were the best foods, although they couldn't often have them in New Plymouth. In fact, people back then had a very different idea of what foods were good for them. Though the English from this time ate some of the same foods that we do today, their diet was quite different from ours. How would you like to live in a time when children drank beer but didn't drink milk? A time when deer and swan were considered delicacies and lobster was everyday food? Welcome to England and New England in the 1600s! Do you think this is the same today? Trace back what you eat, drink, use and wear to their basic, natural ingredients and you may be surprised! Pilgrim food Everything our People ate, drank, used and wore came from Mother Earth, given to us as gifts from the Creator. Gratefulness for all foods was important to the Wampanoag and still is today.

It also meant that there was less waste and misuse of what was collected from the natural world, our Mother Earth. In this way, no living thing was taken for granted. When the Wampanoag obtained food, they would be sure to give thanks in ceremonial ways each time. The first harvest was that of the green corn around the middle of July. At the proper time for each, seeds of corn, beans, squashes of many kinds, and melons were planted. These fish were put into a hole perhaps every other year to act as fertilizer for the growth of the seeds. Planting began in the spring with the people making small hills of earth to cover herring they placed in the ground. These were used as medicines for many different problems. Different kinds of bark, leaves, blossoms and roots of plants were carefully harvested at certain times of the year. The Wampanoag gave thanks for the many plant medicines that came from the Plant Nations. Some of these nuts and berries were eaten fresh, while others were dried and stored for future use. These were added to soups and other dishes such as nasaump, a thick and filling food made of corn. Many different kinds of nuts, berries, greens, and mushrooms were gathered from the woods and other places. The men even went out on whaling trips too! Women usually caught shellfish such as oysters, soft-shelled clams, quahogs, mussels, razor clams, lobsters, crabs, and conch. They also fished in the saltwater ocean for cod, tautog, pollock, bluefish, flatfish, bass, sea eels, mackerel and others. The Wampanoag fished in the fresh-water ponds and rivers for herring, trout, perch, catfish and eels. Hides were used for clothing and materials for many things, the bones were used for tools, and the sinew for sewing. Whatever was hunted became not only food, but the whole animal was used for other things. Many animals were hunted and eaten including deer, moose, beaver, rabbit, skunk, and raccoon. The Wampanoag have been planting crops for about 1,200 years. These were hunting, fishing, harvesting wild plants and the planting of crops. There were four ways the Wampanoag gathered food during the 1600s and before. Foods not used were given back into Mother Earth. All life was considered sacred, and treated that way.

All of the Nations of Animals, Winged Ones, Water Beings, even the tiny insects were considered to be gifts from Creator to the Humans. In the Wampanoag way of life, all Beings on Earth were given gratitude for their existence and for their gifts.

Back in time for dinner