Editing Millstone (section)

=== In Ancient history ===
[[File:156_Musée_préhistoire_Penmarc'h.JPG|left|thumb|Nether millstone and knurling wheel found at the [[Pointe de la Torche|La Torche]] site ([[Plomeur]])]]
Careful examination of Paleolithic grinders ([[Pebbles (cereal)|pebbles]], [[Wheel|wheels]], mortar and pestle, etc.) enables us to determine the nature of the action exerted on the material and the gesture performed; the function of the tool can then be specified, as well as the activity in which it participated.

[[Neanderthal]] people were already using rudimentary tools to crush various substances, as attested by the presence of rudimentary grinders at the end of the [[Mousterian]] and millstones in the [[Châtelperronian]]. From the [[Aurignacian]] period onwards (around 38,000 years ago), [[Early European modern humans|Cro-Magnon]] man regularly used millstones, elongated grinders, and circular wheels. From the [[Gravettian]] period onwards (circa 29,000 years), this equipment became more diversified, with the appearance of new types of tools such as millstones and pestle grinders.
[[File:Meule_et_broyeur_-_Orgnac.JPG|thumb|Neolithic millstone and grinder]]
At the end of the [[Paleolithic|Palaeolithic]], millstones from [[Wadi Kubbaniya]] (Middle East, 19,000 B.C.) were involved in dietary processes and associated with residues of tuberous plants, which were known to require grinding before consumption, either to extract their toxins (''[[Cyperus rotundus]]'', nutsedge), or to remove the fibrous texture that would make them indigestible (''[[Bolboschoenus maritimus|Scirpus maritimus]]'').<ref>Fred Wendorf ''The Prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya Vol. 1, 2 & 3'', 1986-1989, Dallas, (with R. Schild). SMU Press (Assembler and Contributor)</ref> The [[Rhizome|rhizomes]] of [[Fern|ferns]] and the peel of the fruit of the [[Hyphaene thebaica|doum palm]], also found on this site, benefit from being ground to improve their nutritional qualities; they thus complemented the meat diet of [[Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherers]]. Grinding [[barley]] or [[Oat|oat seeds]] was practiced at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic ([[Franchthi Cave|Franchthi]]) or the [[Kebaran culture|Kebarian]] ([[Ohalo II]], 19,000 BC).<ref name="colloque"><sup>(fr)</sup> Meules à grains. Actes du colloque international de La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.</ref>

As tools improved, the material was increasingly finely ground, but only when it became a real powder could we speak of grinding. Thus, the men of the European Upper Paleolithic were already dissociating ''grinding'' and ''milling'', as attested by the appearance at this time of the first ''grinding slabs'' used with grinders or millstones. While there is no evidence of the milling of wild cereals in the early Upper Paleolithic, at least in Europe, there is no reason not to believe that other plant matter ([[Acorn|acorns]], [[Nutmeg|nuts]], [[Hazelnut|hazelnuts]], etc.) and animal matter ([[fat]]) were already being ground into paste before cooking. Similarly, it's likely that millstones were being used at this time for technical purposes, to crush mineral substances ([[Dye|dyes]]) and certain plant or animal fibers for technical use.
[[File:CMOC_Treasures_of_Ancient_China_exhibit_-_millstone_and_roller.jpg|left|thumb|Stone-grinding slab with grinding roller [[Peiligang culture]] (5500 - 5000 B.C.), [[Xinzheng]]]]
In the [[Mesolithic]] and [[Neolithic]] eras, with the domestication of plants, much larger, fully formed grinding, pounding, and milling equipment appeared. From the [[Natufian culture|Natufian]] onwards, several types of millstones can be found side by side, such as the deep "trough-shaped" millstone or the flat millstone, indicating a specialization of their function. In the [[Near East]], the pestle-grinder began to be developed in the [[Kebaran culture|Kebarian]] and [[Natufian culture|Natufian]] periods. It gradually evolved into the heavy, generally wooden, thrown pestle. This type of equipment is still used today in many regions, such as in [[Ethiopia]] for milling millet.

The appearance of flat, elongated millstones in the Natoufian period ([[Tell Abu Hureyra|Abu Hureïra]] on the [[Euphrates]]) dates back to the 9th millennium BC. They feature larger active surfaces and mark the emergence of a new gesture, that of grinding from front to back, with both hands, which implies a new posture for the body, kneeling in front of the millstone. The appearance of large, asymmetrical, shaped millstones ([[Mureybet]], Sheikh Hassan, circa 10,000 BP) led to the "saddle-shaped" millstones still known today as the [[metate]].<ref name="colloque2"><sup>(fr)</sup> Meules à grains. Actes du colloque international de La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.</ref>