Tripod metate in basalt / Pre-Columbian South America (Costa Rica) / turtle

  

Basalt metate tripod originating from South America Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua? Triangular in shape with a zoomorphic head (turtle). Length: 37 cm / Width: 25 cm / Height: 9.5 cm. Signs of wear on the plate.

Small chips on the edge. A metate is a stationary stone grinding mill, used domestically for grinding seeds. Used for thousands of years in the cultural area of Mesoamerica, its name comes from the Nahuatl "metatl.

" Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica. A hand-carved stone grinding platform, known as a metate, that was used for pulverizing various types of materials to create foodstuffs, medicine..