OBJECT ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Teacher version
ART WORK: Flying-panel Metate (meh TAH tay)
Objectives:
Curriculum connections:
Directions:
1. PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF THE OBJECT
A. Describe the material from which it is made. (Wood, clay, marble, etc.)
The metate is made of volcanic rock.
B. Can you tell how the object was made? (Carved, molded, cast, etc.)
The metate is made by chiseling out the details from a solid block of rock. It was very difficult to carve away so much of the stone without g any of thebreakin parts.
C. How would you describe the texture of the surface of the object?
The texture is very rough and full of indentations and holes. It is not polished. The surface appears to be very weathered and the carvings have lost their detail and sharpness.
D. What size is it?
The metate is @ 14" high, 26”wide and 22” deep.
E. Is it a complete piece or a fragment of a larger work?
The metate is appears to be whole and unbroken; however, a metate usually has another stone called a mano for grinding.
F. What shapes and colors are used in the object?
The metate consists of a flat sloping platform resting on three legs. The most elaborate designs are on the underside. The carvings suggest a crocodile, a snake, beaked birds, hands and human heads. There are regular ridges along the sides of the top platform.
There is no sign of color on the stone
G. Is anything printed, stamped, or written on it?
No.
2. SUBJECT MATTER
A. Who or what is represented in the piece?
The flat platform is a grain grinding surface. A metate (with a mano) is traditionally used for grinding maize, other grains and tubers.
When not in use, the metate would be stored standing on its end, revealing the intricate patterns carved on its underside and along the legs.
B. Does the decoration tell a story? If so, what is happening?
The metate platform top is the earth's surface. The most elaborate carvings are underneath the platform and in the shadows; not always visible to us, the designs can be seen by the creatures of the Underworld. The crocodile which hovers just below the water's surface is also a symbol of the earth's surface where the visible world meets the Underworld. The crocodile is also the symbol of fertility and ferocity. This crocodile has a long snout but also a human nose; it is man and animal at the same time. This metate which combines images of land (man), sky (birds) and water (crocodile) was a very high status piece.
3. USES OF THE OBJECT
A. What might it have been used for?
The stone of this metate is so brittle and porous that it can not support the weight and pressure necessary for grinding. The stone is also very heavy and impractical for daily use. So this metate is believed to be a ceremonial grinding stone, a use also suggested by the elaborate carving decorations.
A ritual metate is an "art tool," a practical useful grinding surface transformed into an artistic and symbolic object. An object useful in life is made better so as to be useful in the afterlife.
As a metate transforms grain into food, the ritual metate transforms the user from the human to the animal spirit and/or moves the user from the visible to the mythological world.
B. Who might have used it?
While women usually ground the grain, a ritual or ceremonial metate would have been used by apowerful man. He probably didn't actually grind anything on it, a reason there has been no mano found with it. "Art tools" are used in rituals during one's life and then are carried along to one's afterlife.
Ownership and use of such a ritual object with its carvings of powerful animals signified the power of the elite owner. The ridges seen on the edge of the grinding platform were trophy heads;
C. Where might it have been used?
This metate comes from Costa Rica where ritual metates have been found in the burial sites of the elite. Maize there is not a staple food item, but is a status crop, perhaps reserved for corn beer or ceremonies.
D. When might it have been used?
This metate was found with other objects produced between 1200 and 1550 CE.
4. WHAT DOES THE OBJECT TELL US
A. What does it tell us about the life of the people and the time in which it was used?
In Costa Rica the metate was transformed from a simple and useful grinding tool into a highly decorated ritual object. The metate tells us of the ancient American spiritual relationship with Mother Earth. As man converts maize into food, the ritual metate reminds him that food comes from the living earth.
Artists who created such ritual objects were people of high status in Costa Rica. There was a link in ancient America between having visions and creating such images. Shamans who could “move” between the visible and the supernatural world were much respected and very powerful.
Ancient Americans in Costa Rica buried versions of real objects in their tombs to be used in the next life, an indication that they believed the afterlife was a real place.
B. What does it tell us about the technology of the time in which it was made and used
The metate shows us the techniques for grinding grains and for carving the volcanic rock.
Metates such as this one were made using only stone and wood tools; carvers were so skilled that they could carve away so much without breaking the block of rock.
C. Can you name a similar item that we use today?
5. WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE OBJECT
A. What questions do you have about it?
B. What resources could you use to answer your question?
© 2005 Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University and Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester