The House of Axes
The building consisted of three main rooms, which we called the north, central, and south rooms, and of the north and south additions. Like Str. M8-4, the main part of this building had elevated floors, whereas the floors of the north and south additions were at the same level as the exterior floor. The floors and bench surfaces of the main rooms and the north addition were stuccoed, but the floor of the south addition consisted of grabble. Whereas the masonry walls of the main rooms and the north addition appear to have reached the beams, the masonry part of the walls of the south addition probably measured 1 to 1.5 m in height. Although the walls of the main rooms consisted of finely cut stones, the walls of the additions were made of roughly shaped stones. Each room of the main part of the building had a spacious bench in its rear part. The north room contained numerous artifacts, including large storage jars and serving vessels. In front of this room there was a large metate probably used for grinding corn. Thus, the north room appears to have been associated with food storage and preparation. Like the north room of Str. M8-4, there was a concentration of spindle whorls inside and in front of this room. The niche under the bench housed a complete bowl (Inomata 2002:Figure 4.5). Also found in front of the north room were 40 greenstone beads, which were probably parts of a necklace. In the same area, excavators unearthed five polished stone axes (Inomata 2001c:Fig. 5).
The central room contained several ceramic vessels on and in front of the bench along the room division with the north room. In addition, a large storage jar was placed on the floor in front of the bench near the room division with the south room. Still, the amount of artifacts on the bench was relatively small. We were not able to excavate the niche under the bench because of a large tree standing over it. The amount of artifacts in the south room was relatively small, and this room might have been a sleeping and resting space. There was originally a niche under the bench of this room, which had been filled prior to the abandonment. The north addition probably served as a storage and working space. It contained numerous artifacts, including storage jars, grinding stones, obsidian blades, and eleven polished stone axes (Inomata 2001c:Fig. 5). Excavators found a flat piece of limestone placed on limestone blocks in the northeastern corner of the room. The presence of numerous fine incisions on the upper surface indicate that the stone was used as a working surface for cutting. There was a drainage hole in the southeastern corner of the north addition, suggesting the use of water in the room. The south addition contained storage jars and grinding stones. The relatively low level of phosphate in the soil points to the storage function of this room rather than food preparation (Terry et al. 2001). Behind the structure, we found numerous artifacts, including ceramic vessels, figurines, and grinding stones. The area along the back wall of the structure was probably covered by an eave and served as a storage and working space.
