Husking Tray

6200 BC - 5700 BC
Clay
Mattarah
11 cm x 47 cm x 61 cm
A29239

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Husking Tray

This clay husking tray with roughened bottom and oval shape was discovered by the Oriental Institute in 1948 at the site of Matarrah in north-central Iraq. Ancient peoples used trays like this one to process grain, which was rubbed across the bottom to remove the outer husk.

Collected by

The Iraq Project
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1948

Multimedia

What is Conservation?
Ever wonder what a conservator does? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura Laura D'Alessandro tells you all about her job in this video.

Suggested Readings

Hunter, Erica. First Civilizations: Cultural Atlas for Young People. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

Kramer, Samuel Noah. Cradle of Civilization. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1967.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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