New Approaches to Old Stones by New Approaches to Old Stones

Author:New Approaches to Old Stones [Retail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-134-94971-7
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

Figure 12.5 Miller in Xiquinjuyo, Guatemala placing grains of corn in the middle of the metate.

Figure 12.6 Tortilla maker at Carapan, Michoacan, Mexico.

During a visit to Carapan and Ocomichu in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, in late December 2004, I witnessed women milling using the traditional three-legged mortar positioned on platforms rather than being positioned directly on the ground as in Guatemala. The other difference is that manos in Mexican villages are not longer than the width of the metates, as they are in Guatemala. Yet, in both of these pueblos the millers also used a rocking motion at the beginning and end of each stroke, further accounting for the rounded edges on the manos from Mexico as well.

I propose that the wear patterns discerned at Tel Yin’am, and apparently elsewhere in Canaan and Israel, can be ascribed to, and best explained by, the method of milling, which involved using all of the surfaces of the handstones.32

The miller in the Levant and possibly Egypt as well would have used a rather similar method of grinding: primary grinding was achieved by dragging the handstone across the upper surface of the grinding slab. Yet, the miller would also turn the handstone on its side, perhaps as much as 90 degrees at the beginning and end of each stroke, to reposition the unmilled grain; in addition, the edges, or even the dorsal aspect of the handstone would sometimes serve as secondary grinding surfaces. By bearing down with the convex edges and ‘top’ of the handstone, the miller would succeed in crushing grain that was not pulverized with the normal to and fro motion. Use of the outer edge of the handstone to reposition the grain would explain why the outer edges of these handstones are almost always slightly convex and rounded in section. The turning of the handstone to make use of the convex face of the edge or even the ‘top’ of the handstone explains the distinct wear patterns on these faces.

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