Metate

The archaeology collection is being rehoused and moved to the Avenir Collections Center at DMNS. The process of rehousing includes creating customized storage mounts for objects to minimize object deterioration. During the move, Anthropology collections assistant Baylee Hughes will be moving hundreds of pieces of ground stone. A popular find amongst the ground stone was a large metate from Imperial Valley, California.

Metates are stone tools used to ground materials like grain or seeds. It looks similar to metates found in Costa Rica, but it could be from many places in Mesoamerica or South America. Not much is known about this particular object, but the anthropology team is hopeful that making it easier for researchers to access in the future will aid in learning more about its origins.