File:North American Indians of the Plains (1920) (14595641019).jpg

Identifier: northamerican11wiss (find matches)
Title: North American Indians of the Plains
Year: 1920 (1920s)
Authors: Wissler, Clark, 1870-1947
Subjects: Indians of North America
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: IMLS / LSTA / METRO

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Text Appearing Before Image:
fleshing tools, chisel-shaped withnotched edges, were used throughout Canada east ofthe Rocky Mountains, and in many parts of the UnitedStates. Hence, they cannot be taken as peculiar tothe Plains. The older type of flesher is apparently theone made entirely of bone, while the later ones weremade entirely of iron. Sometimes an intermediateform is found in which a small metal blade is fastenedto the end of a bone shaft (Fig. 22). The shaft of theflesher is usually covered with rawhide and to it> endi- attached a Loop for the wrist. The iron flesher seemsto be the only type peculiar to the Indians of the Plain-.The distribution of the bone flesher is such that it<most probable origin may be assigned to the Algonkintribes of the Great Lakes and northward. MATERIAL CULTURE 63 The production of soft buckskin usually necessitatesa peculiar process called beaming, in which the skin islaid over the rounded surface of a tree section andscraped with a tool suggesting a draw-shave. Beaming
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 22. Fleshing Tools. (The two short fleshers are of bone; theone on the left is of iron; and that of the right, of bone, with an iron blade.) tools are thus identified with the dressing of deerskinsand in this respect stand distinct from the adze-toolused in dressing buffalo skins. They seem to be usedwherever the dressing of deerskins is prevalent and are 6 1 INDIANS 01 l ill. PL UN8 besi know n under the following types: a, split leg bones;h. combined tibia and fibula of deer or similar animal: c, rib bone: d, wooden -tick with metal blade in middle.stick usually curved. From the collection- in this Museum it seems thaithe split leg bone type is not found in the Plain-.Should further inquiry show this to be the case, itwould be a matter of >ome interest since the split bonetype is found in archaeological collections from BritishColumbia, Ohio, and New York, and is therefore of greatantiquity as well as wide distribution. In any case thedata for historic times indicate that so

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