I had originally posted this to Reddit but the mods removed it and suggested I take it to a rock and minerals subreddit.... which was infuriating. Anyways, this came in a collection of other Mexican arts and pottery. I have not found anything exactly like it online. I actually have a pair of them. I thought it might be for tortillas but it seems small. It's abou 4" across. Any help is appreciated.
$20 says it's a hand mill
Oh that's an interesting idea. But I would expect it have some kind of exit for the grain? I'm not sure.
Smash corn, scrape off, repeat
You can see on the rim the different wear patterns where maybe they were grinding too much at the side. If that's not a hand mill I'm not a Stone Mason.
I think we solved it. Should there be another piece to it? Or did just use another stone?
I was picturing something more like a mortar and pestle but this makes more sense! It's just like a mill you'd find in, well, a windmill, but smaller and hand operated.
Yeah, pretty much. It's a solid design, not much reason to change it drastically.
Looks like a stone "comal" but its thicker than the ones I know.
it reminds me a bit of a stone tortilliero, but it's not as deep as they usually are. a tortillero is a round shaped container which helps keep tortillas warm during a meal. it usually has a lid, too.
What about a tortilla press? Put dough in it, place a flat rock on top, and now you got a tortilla.
That was my first cake
Looks like the bottom half of a press. You heated up you put something heavy on top and it will make small tortillas, good for street hand tacos
yup. suitable for any kind of open flame, retains heat and keeps on cooking once you warm it up.
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