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Mortar and pestle from Tuolomne, California (USA)

The ‘pestle and mortar’
from Table Mountain

In 1877, a Mr J H Neale, superintendent of the Montezuma Tunnel Company, was engaged in building a tunnel through Table Mountain, Tuolumne County (California, USA). The tunnel was running through gravel, sealed by lava. Between about 425 and 457 m (1400-1500 feet) from the mouth of the tunnel and between 61 and 91 m (200-300 feet) from the edge of the solid lava, a number of dark stone objects about 300 mm (one foot) long were reported to Mr Neale. Close by, he found a small bowl-like object between 75 and 101 mm (3-4 inches) in diameter; further exploration revealed a larger bowl-like object and a pestle-like object. They were all found in the gravel within 300 mm of the underlying solid bedrock. Some years earlier, in 1857, a fragment of human skull was found close to mastodon remains, while a complete human skeleton discovered even earlier had been associated with similar material; they were thought to be evidence for Miocene humans.

The gravels were estimated as being between 33 and 55 million years old, so objects found in situ within them ought to have been contemporaneous. The objects do resemble stone bowls and a pestle, but it is not clear how closely associated with each other the objects had been. The accounts do not give any indication that the objects had been examined for traces of working; without evidence for an artificial origin, it is probably safe to conclude that they are simulacra, natural objects that happen to resemble something meaningful to the observer.

This page was last updated on 27 July 2007
Written by Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews