These Caddo women are grinding up dried food in a wooden container—called a mortar—using heavy poles called pestles. Perhaps they are pounding dried meat—deer or buffalo—to make into pemmican (that's a mixture of dried food, such as meat, fruit, and cornmeal. It's mixed with bear grease or deer fat to hold it together). Pemmican lasts a long time and is an easy food to take on the trail (trail mix!). On the other hand, the women may be grinding hickory nuts or dried corn to make into flour for making bread. They may cook the flat cakes of bread on hot rocks on the fire.
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University of Texas at Austin
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