134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 189 



aflSliation of this particular artifact class is with complexes that shared 

 in the development of the Mandan or were in contact with the Man- 

 dans. As far as we can determine, these items are uniformly made 

 from antler, although they are often erroneously identified as of bone. 



About half of the mollusk shells from Demery show wear on one 

 or more edges opposite the hinge, and are probably scrapers. A similar 

 use of mollusk shell is reported from the La Roche site (Meleen, 

 1948, p. 18, pi. 4, 1-6)^ and from the Arzberger site (Spaulding, 1956, 

 p. 59, pi. 5, r-t) . Shell scrapers also appear in the Huff site (Wood, 

 MS. a) , and there are 51 specimens from the Biesterf eldt site. 



A carved shell "face" is similar in many respects to large gorgets 

 recovered in mounds in North Dakota and elsewhere (Howard, 1953). 

 Differences seem to be largely a function of the small scale of the 

 Demery specimen. This is the only Demery artifact which appears 

 to show a "Southern Cult" motif; the oblique incised lines between 

 the raised nose and the eyes seem to be a simplified rendition of the 

 "weeping eye" motif executed on Southern Cult items. 



In contrast to the majority of local sites, perishables were rela- 

 tively abundant at Demery. Among the charred food remains are 

 com, beans, and Tipsina root. Of special interest is the fact that evi- 

 dence for braided com was apparently present, and some com kernels 

 seemed to have been cut green, roasted on the cob, and shelled, giving 

 insight into methods of food preparation and preservation. Other 

 perishable objects included a fragment of twilled basketry, possibly 

 from a large work basket, and a slotted knife handle. Leather work is 

 represented by the remains of a small, rectangular buckskin bag. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The excavation of the Demery site provides a statement for the 

 northernmost known manifestation of the Chouteau Aspect. The 

 peripheral position of Demery to other sites of this aspect is a factor 

 which in part accounts for the presence of traits that set it apart 

 from other sites of the aspect. The proximity of Demery to another 

 and distinct cultural entity, the Huff Focus, is advanced as an expla- 

 nation for some of these traits. 



Demery is not closely related to sites in its immediate geographic 

 locality, neither those inferred to be earlier in time nor those that 

 postdate it. Despite its proximity to sites which participated in the 

 cultural stream that culminated in the historic Mandan, there are 

 only a few ties with the prehistoric sites relating to that group. The 

 closer relationships of Demery are to the south, downstream along 

 the Missouri River, although there are details of the architectural 

 pattern, the ceramic complex, and some other traits that set the site 

 apart from the most closely related sites. For this reason the major 



