acids and other chemicals and corrode easily. Since the late 17th century, glazed porcelain mortars became very useful, since they wouldn't be damaged by chemicals and would be easy to clean. Etymology The English word mortar derives from middle English morter, from old French mortier, from classical Latin mortarium, meaning, among several other usages, "receptacle for pounding" and "product of grinding or pounding"; perhaps related to Sanskrit "mrnati" - to crush, to bruise. The classical Latin pistillum, meaning "pounder", led to English pestle. Stemming from the pistillum, the word pesto in Italian cuisine means created with the pestle. The Roman poet Juvenal applied both mortarium and pistillum to articles used in the preparation of drugs, reflecting the early use of the mortar and pestle as a symbol of a pharmacist or apothecary. Mortar as a synonym for cement in masonry came from the use of mortars and pestles to grind the materials for creating cement. The short bombard cannon was called "mortar" in French, because the first versions of these cannons looked like big metal mortars of the Medieval Ages and they required to be filled with gunpowder, like a mortar would be full of powdered material. Mortar and pestle in culture and symbols The antiquity of the mortar and pestle is well documented in early writing, such as the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus of ~1550 BC (the oldest preserved piece of medical literature) and the Old Testament (Numbers 11:8 and Proverbs 27:22). In Indian mythology, Samudra Manthan from Bhagavata Purana creates amrita, the nectar of immortality, by churning the ocean with a pestle. Since medieval times, mortars would be placed or carved on the gravestones of pharmaceuts and doctors. In Russian and Eastern European folklore, Baba Yaga is described and pictured as flying through the forest standing inside a large wooden mortar (stupa), holding the long wooden pestle in one hand to remove obstacles in front of her, and using the broom in her other hand to sweep and remove her traces behind her. This seems as a trace of some ancient rituals connecting the witch symbols of Baba Yaga with the use of mortars in alchemy, pharmacy and early chemistry, which were all seen as magic by uneducated people in Medieval Ages. Modern pharmacies, especially in Germany, still use mortars and pestles as logos. Uses Medicine Mortars and pestles were traditionally used in pharmacies to crush various ingredients prior