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A mano ( Spanish for ''hand'') is a ground stone tool used with a metate to process or grind food by hand.
It is also known as metlapil, a term derived from
''Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia''.
pp. 107, 166. . In its early use in the American Southwest, the mano and metate were used to grind wild plants. The mano began as a one-handed tool. Once the maize cultivation became more prevalent, the mano became a larger, two-handed tool that more efficiently ground food against an evolved basin or trough metate. Besides food, Manos and metates were used to separate and pulverize
A Mano, a smooth hand-held stone, is used against a metate, typically a large stone with a depression or bowl. The movement of the Mano against the metate consists of a circular, rocking or chopping grinding motion using one or both hands.
Ancient Pueblo People often set up work rooms, called mealing rooms, that were established with sets of manos and metates for mass grinding efforts. Plog, Stephen. (1997). ''Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest.'' London: Thames and Hudson. p. 80. .
Objects: Reluctant Witnesses to the Past
* Morris, Donald H. (Summer 1990). "Changes in Groundstone following the introduction of maize into the American Southwest." ''Journal of Anthropological Research.'' 46(2).
{{Prehistoric technology Food grinding tools Lithics Mesoamerican artifacts Mesoamerican cuisine Mexican food preparation utensils Indigenous tools of the Americas Native American cuisine Science and technology in Mesoamerica Stone objects
A mano ( Spanish for ''hand'') is a ground stone tool used with a metate to process or grind food by hand.
It is also known as metlapil, a term derived from Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
.
History
Manos were used inprehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
times to process wild seeds, nuts, and other food, generally used with greater frequency in the Archaic period, when people became more reliant upon local wild plant food for their diet. Later, Manos and metates were used to process cultivated maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
.Gibbon, Guy E.; Ames, Kenneth M. (1998''Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia''.
pp. 107, 166. . In its early use in the American Southwest, the mano and metate were used to grind wild plants. The mano began as a one-handed tool. Once the maize cultivation became more prevalent, the mano became a larger, two-handed tool that more efficiently ground food against an evolved basin or trough metate. Besides food, Manos and metates were used to separate and pulverize
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
from earthen debris and stones. The resulting clay was used for pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
-making.
Grinding process
A Mano, a smooth hand-held stone, is used against a metate, typically a large stone with a depression or bowl. The movement of the Mano against the metate consists of a circular, rocking or chopping grinding motion using one or both hands.
Ancient Pueblo People often set up work rooms, called mealing rooms, that were established with sets of manos and metates for mass grinding efforts. Plog, Stephen. (1997). ''Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest.'' London: Thames and Hudson. p. 80. .
See also
* Bedrock metate * Grinding slab * Quern-stoneReferences
Further reading
* Caple, ChrisObjects: Reluctant Witnesses to the Past
* Morris, Donald H. (Summer 1990). "Changes in Groundstone following the introduction of maize into the American Southwest." ''Journal of Anthropological Research.'' 46(2).
External links
{{Prehistoric technology Food grinding tools Lithics Mesoamerican artifacts Mesoamerican cuisine Mexican food preparation utensils Indigenous tools of the Americas Native American cuisine Science and technology in Mesoamerica Stone objects