Mortar and pestle is a set of 2 simple tools used since the stone age up to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The "mortar" () is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, metal, ceramic, or hard stone, such as granite. The "pestle" (, also ) is a blunt club-shaped object. The substance to be ground, which may be wet or dry, is placed in the mortar, where the pestle is pounding, pressing and rotating onto the substance, until the desired texture is achieved.