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PLATEAU AREA
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extensive use of wild grass seeds, though as everywhere in the area, roots and salmon formed an important food; in addition to the universal sagebrush bark weaving they made rabbitskin blankets; their basketry was coil and twine, but the shapes were round; they had some steatite jars and possibly pottery, but usually cooked in baskets; their clothing was quite Plains-like and work in rawhide was well developed; in historic times they were great horse Indians, but seem not to have used the travois either for dogs or horses. A number of ceremonial dances also remind one of the Plains. The remaining Shoshoni of western Utah and Nevada were in a more arid region and so out of both the salmon and the buffalo country, but otherwise their fundamental culture was much the same, though far less modified by Plains traits. The Wind River division, the Uintah or Uncompahgre Ute, it should be noted, belong more to the Plains area than here, and have been so classed. In the extreme western part of Nevada we have the Washo, a small tribe and linguistic stock who, in common with some of the little-known Shoshonean Mono-Paviotso groups, seem to have been influenced by California culture, since we find here a form of balsa, or the tule reed raft-like boat of California. Among other variants, the occasional use of insects as food may be noted. On the north of our area are the Athapascan Chilcotin, whose culture was quite like that of the Salish, and to the northeast the Kutenai, with some individualities and some inclinations towards the Plains, especially in social and ceremonial traits.

In general, it appears that in choice of foods, textile arts, quantity of clothing, forms of utensils, fishing appliances, methods of cooking and preparing foods, weakly developed decorative art, meager social organization, distinctions by property, religious and mythological conceptions, there was great uniformity throughout the entire area; while in houses, transportation, weapons, cut and style of clothing, specific ceremonies and war customs, the groups designated above presented some important differences. As in the Plains area, we find certain border tribes strongly influenced by the cultures of the adjoining areas.