Thirteen Moons: A Seasonal Food Cycle

• 13 MOONS
• PROVISIONING A SHIP
• MEMORY MYTH & MEANING
• FLIGHTPATH

Enjoy the taste of an orange during a winter snowstorm; eat pumpkin pie on a hot July day. Today we eat what we like, when we like it, with little thought about the cultivation, growth, or harvest of foods. Though prices may fluctuate, almost any type of fruit or vegetable is available in the United States during any month of the year. If someone in the Northeast wants strawberries or blueberries in the dead of winter, all he or she has to do is stop by the nearest produce aisle to pick up a carton. This plentiful food selection is something that is taken for granted every day, yet it is a relatively new concept. But what are the implications? This wonderful world of convenience has clearly distanced us from the importance of the change of the seasons, the cycles of the moon and the day-to-day life of our ancestors. Just 50 years ago, the regular changes in the kinds and amounts of available foods were sharp reminders of the seasonal cycles of the year and the necessary work that went into eating and sustaining everyday life.

In the 1620s, the native Wampanoag were living in this region as they had for generations. At the same time, English colonists were establishing a farming community here. The lives of both the Wampanoag and the English were conducted by the flow of the seasons, as their primary work was availing themselves of the foods that the Earth proffered at each turn of the moon. Each had their own traditions around the gathering, cooking and preserving the great variety of food around them, but marking time by the moon was and is an ancient custom for both Wampanoag and English peoples.

This stunningly visual new exhibit centers on the seasonal/lunar cycles and their relation to the 17th-century diet. It also explores what people ate in each season and cultural differences in attitudes towards diet. Designed with families in mind, the exhibit features text panels complemented by large, beautiful, full-color photographs and original drawings by Lou Lomurno, Jerel Dye and Wampanoag artist, Elizabeth Perry.

hours: Plimoth Plantation's Administrative offices, Education Department and Creative Gourmet are open 9 AM to 5 PM, M-F
address: 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA 02360 USA
telephone: 1 + 508 746 1622