Stream-rolled limestone cobbles form the hot-rock bed of an experimental earth oven built by archeologists in 1993. As hot-rock cooks go, these archeologists were rank amateurs. A good cook would have added the rocks hours earlier while the fire was burning intensely. In the background, the pile of wet grass and green leaves will be used as “packing materials” to insulate and keep the food clean. The intended food is visible on the far right—trimmed sotol and yucca hearts. The mound of earth barely visible on the left will be used to seal the oven. Two days later, the baked carbohydrate-rich plants were finally edible. Photo by Steve Black.