Native American, Southwestern United States, Arizona, Salt River Valley area, Hohokam people, ca. 12th to 14th century CE. A large slab-style metate, carved from volcanic stone, displaying a porous surface with mottled hues of charcoal and ash grays, and a mano pecked from a similar dark gray basalt rock. The metate is a rectangular tray shape with a shallow depression in the center formed from countless hours of scraping and grinding the hefty mano stone over the surface - eventually the interior well would be ground down to resemble a trough. Metates are similar to mortar and pestles in that they were developed as nether stones in food preparation such as grinding herbs and corn into flour, and other utilitarian purposes, such as pulverizing clay to temper fine particles. A great example of this large tool! Size (metate): 10.5" L x 11.5" W x 2.25" H (26.7 cm x 29.2 cm x 5.7 cm); (mano): 7" L x 4" W (17.8 cm x 10.2 cm)

Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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#159867

Old loss related to age and use on the front lip of metate. Find site and inventory number written on surface of both. Modern blue paint speckles of metate.