mano

In American archaeology a cylindrically shaped grinding stone used in the hand, often in conjunction with a smooth metate—a bottom or nether-stone. Used for grinding vegetable material such as maize, seeds, nuts, and pigments, the mano dates to the Archaic Indian period. The word comes from Spanish mano de piedra (‘hand stone’). Their form varies considerably, from a barely modified cobble to a long cylinder similar to a rolling pin. See also metate.