MAT! 1:1 u. CULTURE. 



27 



stored in bags for future use. Fat, or meat, could be 

 dried if slightly boiled. 



Dried meat of the buffalo and sometimes of the elk 

 was often pounded fine, making what was known as 

 pemmican. While some form of pemmican was used 

 in many parts of North America, the most characteristic 

 kind among the Plains Indians was the berry pemmican. 

 To make this, the best cuts of the buffalo were dried 



Stone-headed Pounders. 



in the usual manner. During the berry season wild 

 cherries {Prunus demissa) were gathered and crushed 

 with stones, pulverizing the pits, and reducing the 

 whole to a thick paste which was partially dried in the 

 sun. Then the dried meat was softened by holding 

 over a fire, after which it was pounded fine with a stone 

 or stone-headed maul. In the Dakota collection may 

 be seen some interesting rawhide mortars for this 



