cultures developed intricate religious patterns at an early 
stage. With an increase in populations and the flourish- 
ing of these societies, this tendency led to the establish- 
ment of a strong theocracy, later aided by rulers in charge 
of the secular functions of the group. Under these con- 
ditions, the cultures followed a dichotomous develop- 
ment; on the one hand, of the ruling classes and their 
magnificent material culture, and on the other hand, of 
the ruled masses with a less spectacular but more stable 
form of material culture which has persisted to date in 
many areas of Mexico. 
It was not until recently that archaeologists began to 
pay attention to the cultural patterns of this larger part 
of the Indian population. The increased interest in pot- 
tery types indicates a tendency toward the study of this 
rich source of information. As it is, the recorded infor- 
mation on maize granaries from archaeological remains 
is extremely meager. The perusal of the extensive liter- 
ature dealing with the impressive ruins in the Mayan 
area, San Juan ‘Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Mitla and 
La Venta, all undoubtedly of great religious importance, 
adds very little to an understanding of our particular 
problem. 
S. Linné (1984) describes what are probably the oldest 
remains definitely related to maize storage. He writes 
of the results of his excavations of some of the smaller 
out-lying ruins of the ancient religious center at San 
Juan Teotihuacan, State of Mexico: 
‘While purely utilitarian pottery was almost entirely absent among 
the finds that were made below the floors of the ruin, it appears that 
almost all the vessels just described have served some practical pur- 
pose or other, e.g. for serving up food. There are also numerous frag- 
ments of storage vessels. These were generally of ovoidal shape, with 
a relatively narrow mouth, and from many of the fragments it is evi- 
dent that the vessels often were of considerable size.’’ 
As will be seen later, this method of storage was used 
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