Hey Larson

[flintdigger]

I was just wondering, do you ever find any slab type grinding stones there ?

[larson1951]

yup flintdigger
20 yrs ago we found a set of three grinders along w/the mother stone all brought up by the plow in a 5 foot area (mano and metate)
my friend got them and sold to a dr. in fargo for 200 bucks
i said what in the H did you do that for, much less 200 bucks??
he replied "oh steve, don't get so excited, we'll find a lot more of them"
well 20 yrs later, nope? we didn't
hey true story tommy,
now did'ja ever think you would get a reply like this?, yup it is no lie
tommy my friend you are not afraid to ask questions, for which i appreciate
steve

[flintdigger]

That is a interesting story Steve, it's really sad that you haven't found any more metates, I have only found two in 35 yrs.

[coteau]

Mano and metates are more common further south. I don't think they ground corn very often like they did in the south (correct me if I'm wrong). Instead they ate most of the corn fresh and saved the rest for seed, probably? Chokecherry pounders (mauls) are much more common. I think they just laid a large section of rawhide on the ground or on a flat rock and pounded chokecherries on it. I have a maul that was found not far from a chokecherry patch; it is still stained red from pounding chokecherries (the stain may not be from chokecherries, but that's my hypothesis, lol). The same chokecherry patch was used for hundreds or thousands of years. First by the Indians and then the white settlers (my ancestors) and even to this day continues to be picked for making chokecherry jelly! The Indians used chokecherry trees for making bows and arrows and the berries/seeds were pounded into the meat. The chokecherry-laden pemmican was high in vitamin C, which prevented scurvy during the winter months. The chokecherry was one of the most important foods on the Northern Plains... It is also the state fruit of ND.

[larson1951]

hey thanks
it interesting how so much information can come from an idea or question
and in this case from starting w/tommy my good friend from texas
this is wild and cool
steve