# Using stone milling wheels. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-stone-milling-wheels/854856 "2020-06-01T16:07:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-stone-milling-wheels/854856/1 "2020-06-01T16:07:17Z")
How did people avoid eating bits of stone chips in their flour? Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-stone-milling-wheels/854856/2 "2020-06-01T16:42:53Z")
According to [this](http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/millstones.html), the millstones never touch each other when they are in operation; they only touch the grain being milled. The stone being much harder than the grain, there are never any stone chips produced. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-stone-milling-wheels/854856/3 "2020-06-01T16:48:09Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > How did people avoid eating bits of stone chips in their flour? I don’t think they did. > **[Q & A; Teeth and Millstones (Published 2002)](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/science/q-a-teeth-and-millstones.html)** > > Q & A column answers question about whether eating wheat ground with millstones damaged teeth of ancient Egyptians; drawing (M) > [@NYTimes](#): > > When soft stone like sandstone was used for milling grain, as the ancient Egyptians often did, residue from millstones could cause a serious problem over a lifetime, said Dr. Robert K. Ritner, associate professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. > > Egyptian teeth have been well studied in mummies, and only the rare mummy had good teeth, said Dr. Ritner, who lectures on Egyptian medicine. ‘‘They usually had heavy abrasion, and were sometimes so worn down at the crown that the pulp or even the root was exposed, which must have been horribly painful,’’ he said > **[Stone Ground Flour](https://www.cooksinfo.com/stone-ground-flour)** > > Stone ground flour is considered by many people to be more nutritious and wholesom than other flours. > > In stone-grinding, the wheat is ground slowly between two stones. All other commercial flours, however, are ground with high-speed steel rollers.... > [@Cooks Info](#): > > stone-ground wheat had an effect on our ancestor’s teeth: their enamel was so worn away by eating it that early in their lives they developed life-long dental pain. > **[Medieval Teeth](http://cdalebrittain.blogspot.com/2014/05/medieval-teeth.html)** > > Medieval people did not get cavities at nearly the rate that do modern people in the West.  On the other hand, their teeth were worn down a ... > [@C. Dale Brittain](#): > > But mills grind grain by rotating two big millstones against each other, with the grain in between, and what emerges is both flour and stone dust. The stone dust would be baked into bread along with the flour. Stone dust passes through the digestive tract without any problem, but it first wears down the teeth, not a lot with each bite, but the effect builds up over time. > > Archaeologists can tell when a particular community adopted mills and millstones by looking for wear on skeletons’ teeth. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-stone-milling-wheels/854856/4 "2020-06-01T16:59:40Z")
Both of the above posters are correct. Human and animal powered mills produced the most stone dust and chips. As the technology developed and water power became prevalent, the mills stopped producing chips and such because they could be more easily adjusted. What **Machine Elf** ’s last cite doesn’t include is the fact that archaeologists can also tell when water power was adopted by the drop in tooth wear. The worst form of milling was hand milling with a matate or such. With those you are guaranteed stone dust. So matates gave way to animal-powered mills which gave way to water mills.