Stone Mortars & Pestles
date: label: Accession Date
content: 14 Feb 1895
name: label: Collector
content: William J. McGee
label: Donor Name
content: Bureau Of American Ethnology
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "2 OF EACH. MADE FROM IRREGULAR-SHAPED VOLCANIC BOWLDERS. THE FLATTEST SIDE OF EACH IS GROUND SOMEWHAT, AND A PIT OR BOWL HOLLOWED OUT BY GRINDING(ALL BUT THE INCIPIENT DEPRESSION WAS PROBABLY FORMED BY ACTUAL INDUSTRIAL USE), UNTIL ELLIPSOIDAL CAVITIES HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, 6" DEEP, 8" IN SURFACE BREADTH IN ONE, AND 4" BY 7" IN THE OTHER. THEIR ROUGH OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS ARE ABOUT 15 X 18 X 10 INCHES. IN USE THESE MORTARS ARE BURIED IN THE GROUND, THEIR TOPS FLUSH WITH THE SURFACE, AND THE SURROUNDING CLAYEY EARTH IS PUDDLED AND STAMPED AND MIXED WITH ASHES TO PRODUCE A HARD SMOOTH SURFACE AND SOME 3 OR 4 FEET IN DIAMETER. TWO EXTREMELY ROUGH PESTLES OF VOLCANIC ROCK, IN THEIR NATURAL SHAPES, 11" IN LENGTH, ACCOMPANY THE MORTARS. THESE MORTARS ARE USED FOR BEATING OUT THE FLOUR OF THE MESQUITE BEAN, ONE OF THE STAPLE ARTICLES OF FOOD AMONG THE PAPAGO INDIANS. BEAN PODS ARE PLACED IN THE CAVITY AND LABORIOUSLY POUNDED BY WOMEN SQUATTING ON THE GROUND WITH FEET DRAWN UNDER THEM, AND BOTH HANDS GRASPING THE PESTLE, WHICH THEY RAISE ABOVE THE HEAD AND STRIKE ON THE PODS FOR HOURS WITH CESSATION, REMOVING THE HULLS, SEEDS, AND YELLOW FLOUR, AND SUPPLYING FRESH PODS AS REQUIRED."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Fresnal, Pima County, Arizona, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Papago (Tohono O'odham)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 029025
label: USNM Number
content: E174544-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mortar
physicalDescription: label: Unknown - Object
content: 38 cm
label: Unknown - Object
content: 46 cm
label: Unknown - Object
content: ca 25 cm