| Houses were varied in their construction. Most basic were buildings of wattle-and-daub: frameworks of poles covered with a mud plaster, provided with a thatched roof. Especially within the cities, other houses were constructed in whole or in part of stone. Wattle-and-daub buildings might be raised on a low stone platform, or the walls built of stone but still having a thatched roof, or the entire building, including a flat roof, could be stone covered in plaster. The more elaborate houses took the form of sets of rooms around open courtyards. In the space of the courtyard, backstrap looms could be suspended from posts, and grinding stones placed in comfortable light. On feast days, musical instruments such as wooden or pottery drums might be placed along one side of the courtyard and the central area cleared for dancing. The rooms facing out on courtyards could be open on that side, forming porches or antechambers, and allowing more light to filter into the rooms behind. In these more restricted rooms, pottery vessels, lofts in the rafters and shelves built along walls served for storage, and cooking hearths were built on the floor or raised on platforms. The doorways of rooms could be closed off with cloth curtains, and cloth and animal skin cushions and reed mats provided comfortable seating. The most elaborate houses might have carved stone ornaments, particularly along the roof, or painted designs along the upper walls.
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