Metate

For Pomona's yearbook, Metate, see Pomona College § Campus organizations.
Metate, mano and corn, all circa 12th century AD, from Chaco Canyon, USA
Mano, metate and bowl of corn. Museum display of Ancestral Pueblo artifacts at Mesa Verde National Park.

A metate (or mealing stone) is a type or variety of quern, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican cultures, metates are typically used by women who would grind nixtamalized maize and other organic materials during food preparation (e.g., making tortillas). Similar artifacts have been found in other regions, such as the sil-batta in Bihar and Jharkhand, India[1] as well as other grinding stones in China.[2]

  1. ^ http://www.reference-wordsmith.com/cgi-bin/lookup.cgi?exact=1&terms=ding [dead link]
  2. ^ "Discussion on the Origins of Grinding Tools, Mortar and Pestle". carleton.ca. Archived from the original on 7 April 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2018.