In 2008, the Democratic Party gathered in Denver for its 2008 convention. There, a donkey named Mordecai became the first official live mascot in the history of the party, giving a new meaning to the expression political animal. This Democratic symbol aimed to provide a few light-hearted moments at the convention.
Variously known as cupstones, anvil stones, pitted cobbles and nutting stones, among other names, these roughly discoidal or amorphous groundstone artifacts are among the most common lithic remains of Native American culture, especially in the Midwest, in Early Archaic contexts.
These early Native Americans would place a nut in the depression of the stone, then hit it with another stone called the hammer stone. The shelled nuts were eaten whole, and also were ground with mortar and pestle to make flour, or a nut butter. Nuts used were beech nuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, and walnuts. After removing the nutmeats, the shells were used to fuel their fires. Many times the nutmeats were cooked, and when the broth cooled, the congealed fat would be taken off and saved for later cooking. All of this evidence shows that nuts have been a staple in the human diet for since the beginnings of history.