MILLING 



opment of different peoples as indicated by their 

 methods of milling. The handstone is used by 

 some Indian tribes. Here the grain is placed 

 in a hollow stone and the women pound it with 

 another stone. The grain by this method is not 

 reduced to a powder, but is merely broken into 

 rough fragments. 

 This is undoubt- 

 edly one of the 

 most primitive 

 methods and 

 seems to be the 

 one early used 

 by all peoples, 

 for specimens of 

 these handstones 

 are f o u n d in 

 many parts of 

 the world. Some 

 tribes use two 

 stones so shaped 

 that they may 

 be easily handled. The crusher is oval and the 

 container is rounded and deep. When of such 

 forms they are called the mortar and pestle. The 

 latter sometimes has a handle made of wood. This 

 form of mill was used for many years by the early set- 

 tlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. In these primi- 

 tive methods the milling was done by the women. 



FIG. 71. The handstone used in grinding wheat. 



