Berenice Chavez-Rojas
ANT 4123.001
09 March 2016
Manos and Metates of the Mimbrenos Mimbres is the name of a river in the mountainous southwestern New Mexico. The Mibres River valley has prehistoric archaeological sites with centuries of occupation. The elevation is as diverse as the vegetation. The arid climate and long growing season were attractive to maize, which dominated an agricultural movement. The increase in available food led to population growth and the need to process more grain at faster rates. Groundstone technology was developed and evolved to a flat bimodal metate with a large mano that surpassed the edges. The time saved allowed the better fed people to create other types of technologies and art. The Mimbres archaeological …show more content…
The Georgetown Phase is from about AD 600-700 and represents a more sedentary Mimbres that was more dependent on agriculture. It is thought that towards the end of the Georgetown Phase was the introduction of the maize de ocho- a strand with bigger kernels that are more easily processed. This led to an explosion in polulation and a greater emergence of ceramics. Around AD 700-825 was the San Fransisco Phase which is characterized by their red pottery. During the Three Circle Phase around AD 825-975 the pottery changed to red-on-white. Towards the end of this phase was the introduction of the black-on-white pottery of the Classic Mimbres that is best known and tied to the Mimbres culture. The Late Pithouse is also defined by the change in homes from circular to rectangular shape. There were larger communities and more of them. The Kivas were also larger. Generations of people probably stayed in these areas due to the discovery of burials, but they were still very mobile. Most of these homes are built in slightly higher elevation with the floodplains right below. This would provide secure access to water for agriculture, for maize which has been found in sites. A lot of shell has also been found suggesting high levels of trade with coastal …show more content…
There are smaller sets, described as basin mano-metates, which show mainly a circular motion. These were used for smaller batches of foods and probably a larger variety of wild foods or spices. This type of technology was used with a one-handed mano which was used to apply pressure up the sides of the basin with the grain in between. These models would have been the most tiring and the least efficient for large batches of maize. A second type is larger and shows only a linear motion in grinding. This suggests they were used to process bigger batches of food at a faster rate. The first of this variety started as a trough mano-metate sets. The manos were larger and held with two hands. With the strength of the arms and shoulders and the stability of the legs and back, the stone was pressed onto the grain, away from the grinder on the metate. This would have increased efficiency and provided more meal faster. The repetition of this movement creates rounded edges on the metate creating an indentation. The unidirectional movement would also cause immense tiring with little relieve by changing position. At the same time, the mano wears down and begins to close the borders in, restricting the movement of the stone and the amount of grain able to be processed. To improve the efficiency and intensity even further, a flat model was used. These were the largest mano-metate sets. The metates were wide and flat and the manos extended past
ANT 4123.001
09 March 2016
Manos and Metates of the Mimbrenos Mimbres is the name of a river in the mountainous southwestern New Mexico. The Mibres River valley has prehistoric archaeological sites with centuries of occupation. The elevation is as diverse as the vegetation. The arid climate and long growing season were attractive to maize, which dominated an agricultural movement. The increase in available food led to population growth and the need to process more grain at faster rates. Groundstone technology was developed and evolved to a flat bimodal metate with a large mano that surpassed the edges. The time saved allowed the better fed people to create other types of technologies and art. The Mimbres archaeological …show more content…
The Georgetown Phase is from about AD 600-700 and represents a more sedentary Mimbres that was more dependent on agriculture. It is thought that towards the end of the Georgetown Phase was the introduction of the maize de ocho- a strand with bigger kernels that are more easily processed. This led to an explosion in polulation and a greater emergence of ceramics. Around AD 700-825 was the San Fransisco Phase which is characterized by their red pottery. During the Three Circle Phase around AD 825-975 the pottery changed to red-on-white. Towards the end of this phase was the introduction of the black-on-white pottery of the Classic Mimbres that is best known and tied to the Mimbres culture. The Late Pithouse is also defined by the change in homes from circular to rectangular shape. There were larger communities and more of them. The Kivas were also larger. Generations of people probably stayed in these areas due to the discovery of burials, but they were still very mobile. Most of these homes are built in slightly higher elevation with the floodplains right below. This would provide secure access to water for agriculture, for maize which has been found in sites. A lot of shell has also been found suggesting high levels of trade with coastal …show more content…
There are smaller sets, described as basin mano-metates, which show mainly a circular motion. These were used for smaller batches of foods and probably a larger variety of wild foods or spices. This type of technology was used with a one-handed mano which was used to apply pressure up the sides of the basin with the grain in between. These models would have been the most tiring and the least efficient for large batches of maize. A second type is larger and shows only a linear motion in grinding. This suggests they were used to process bigger batches of food at a faster rate. The first of this variety started as a trough mano-metate sets. The manos were larger and held with two hands. With the strength of the arms and shoulders and the stability of the legs and back, the stone was pressed onto the grain, away from the grinder on the metate. This would have increased efficiency and provided more meal faster. The repetition of this movement creates rounded edges on the metate creating an indentation. The unidirectional movement would also cause immense tiring with little relieve by changing position. At the same time, the mano wears down and begins to close the borders in, restricting the movement of the stone and the amount of grain able to be processed. To improve the efficiency and intensity even further, a flat model was used. These were the largest mano-metate sets. The metates were wide and flat and the manos extended past