La Tolita and La Tolita-Tumaco
Fish shaped grater
La Tolita, 300-500
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Earthenware, red slip, 11/16 × 9 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (1.7 × 24.2 × 9.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Phyllis K. and A. Harvey Schreter, Baltimore
Object Number
1989.607
Flat clay slab in the shape of a fish (profile) incised in the center with deep grooves arranged in parallel rows. The head of the fish is missing and the object is broken and repaired in several places. These objects functioned as food processors -- grinding, grating, and scaling tools, and are commonly called "fish scalers." Comparable examples are marked by punctate or roughened centers; some reported to contain obsidian flakes.
