In modern times the term and activity is often associated with the Eastern Seaboard, the "barbecue belt", colonial California in the United States and Mexico.
The original use of buried cooking in pits in North America was done by the Native Americans for thousands of years, including by the tribes of California.
At the end of the culling and leather tanning season large pit barbecues cooked the remaining meat.
After cooking all night, participants pronounced the results "incredibly tender, deeply smoky meat."
[1] The Santa Maria Style BBQ, originally from the Central Coast of California, uses a portable 'towed' trailer version frequently seen at farmers markets.