Mano (stone)

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Native American manos from Arizona.

A mano (Spanish for hand) is a ground stone tool used with a metate to process or grind food by hand.[1] It is also known as metlapil, a term derived from Nahuatl.[2]

History

Manos were used in

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.[3]

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.[4]

Besides food, Manos and metates were used to separate and pulverize clay from earthen debris and stones. The resulting clay was used for pottery-making.[5]

Grinding process

Metate, and mano.

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.[6]

Ancient Pueblo People often set up work rooms, called mealing rooms, that were established with sets of manos and metates for mass grinding efforts.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mano. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  2. ^ Telléz, Lesley (July 16, 2010). "Lessons in back-breaking Mesoamerican cooking: How to season a metate". The Mija Chronicles. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011.
  3. ISBN 0-8153-0725-X
    .
  4. ISBN 0-500-02116-3
    .
  5. ISBN 0-500-02116-3
    .
  6. ISBN 0-7872-8153-0
    .
  7. ISBN 0-500-02116-3
    .

Further reading

External links

Look up mano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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