Photograph, of cooking food in a deer hide pot

This photograph shows food cooking in a pot made of deer hide. Although no pots of deer hide survive, experiments such as this one show that early people could have cooked their food in this manner.

Once the deer hide was stripped of hair, a circular piece was cleaned of fat and membrane with a stone scraper. It was then moulded into shape by filling it with sand or small stones. When dried and heated, the pot keeps its shape, even when holding water. It could not be placed on the fire, but stones heated in a fire could be placed in water in the pot, boiling the contents.

Modern attempts to duplicate the skills and objects of early people have led to increased understanding - and respect - for their methods. Such reconstructions also help archaeologists interpret the discovered remains.

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