According to Wikipedia, the oldest pestle and mortars have been found in South-East Asia and date back to 35,000 BC.

Using a pestle and mortar, you can pound the contents (moving the pestle up and down, putting pressure on whatever is inside), grind (moving the pestle horizontally, breaking the contents by friction) and mixing.

Things to use your pestle and mortar for:

• Grinding dry spices, such as pepper corns or cloves, for instance to make a spice mix for venison.
• Creating a mixture of herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, sage and olive oil for a beef roast.
• Creating a salad dressing using basil leaves, olive oil and lime.
• Making a pesto with garlic, salt, basil leaves, Parmigiano-Reggiano, toasted pine nuts and olive oil.