Making a large wood mortar & pestle. A large wooden mortar and pestle such as this was a common tool for reducing mesquite bean pods into a flour or meal that was historically an essential food source of Southwest Natives. Cottonwood was commonly used for the mortar, and mesquite for the pestle. Willow is in the same family as cottonwood, and also has non-toxic soft wood. The chiseling out was historically replaced by burning out. Live coals would be placed upon the canoe, and blown upon intermi