El Metate Mexicano

A metate (or mealing stone) is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind maize. It is one of the oldest domestic tools in the Americas.

One of the first sounds to be heard in Aztec houses, often before dawn, was the metate as the mother prepared maize dough for tortillas.

After birth, an Aztec girl’s umbilical cord was always buried under the metate, in the heart of the home.
Ancient metates have been found in archaeological sites dating back 6 or 7 thousand years, from Central America.