STORAGE

Diego de Landa, the 16th-century bishop of Yucatán, reported that there were underground granaries. He apparently was referring to chultunes, the cisterns dug out of the limestone earth. Chultunes are believed to have been employed for water storage, but they may also have been used to store maize, as confirmed by traces of the grain recovered from some of them. Archaeologists discovered warehouses in excavations on the island of Cozumel, although these may have stored long-distance trade items, not local grains. However, thatched and adobe storehouses have been excavated at Cerén, and each was associated with a home, suggesting household use. The storerooms contained bins for ears of maize, as well as baskets, ceramic pots, and gourds for storing maize kernels, beans, chili peppers, and other items. All these storage containers were kept off the floor to keep them dry; stones elevated pots, and baskets were hung from thatched roofs. Chili peppers, strung together in what today are called ristras, hung from kitchen rafters. In some regions today, grains often are stored in wooden lattice bins built into trees, where they are kept dry and out of reach of many animals. Such storage bins would not survive from preconquest times.