Maize
Maize is the foundational grain of Andean fermentation. Its role in brewing chicha de jora depends on germination into jora, a malted form generating enzymes and sugars necessary for alcoholic fermentation.
Built structures · household-granaries
Cuexcomate
cuexcomatl · cuescomate · cuezcómate · coscomate
A cuexcomate is a fixed household granary of central Mexico: a hollow earthen body with a dry-grass roof, used chiefly to store maize. Its shape and construction vary by region.
A household store shaped like an earthen pot
Cuexcomate, also written cuescomate or cuexcomatl, names a fixed granary associated with rural households in central Mexico. The structure is a large hollow body of earth or clay mixed with dry grass, crowned by a thatched roof. Its rounded silhouette gives it the outline of a jar or olla, although it is a building made where it stands rather than a portable storage vessel.
The Mexican education ministry's Chamakes account describes cuexcomates holding maize and beans and places surviving examples in the State of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala. It describes common forms with grass roofs, a straw covering around the upper body, a base that may be round or rectangular, and a small clay olla at the roof peak. These features belong to a family of regional forms, not a single standard blueprint.
Structure, loading and household setting
Figueroa Viruega characterizes the body as semispherical and earthen, with a covering of dry grass known locally as zacate. The SEP account places stores beside houses or in the centre of a family plot. It describes grain being carried up a wooden ladder and poured through an opening above. That top entry makes the cuexcomate a store built for household harvests, rather than a masonry cellar or a freestanding market silo.
Materials and details differ. SEP describes clay and zacate and notes that current replicas made at Chalcatzingo use natural materials including clay, stone and straw. Its account also reports a broad two-to-four-metre height range; Figueroa Viruega stresses that the form and size vary geographically and have changed over time. The sources do not provide wall thickness, structural dimensions, a foundation plan, material proportions or a universal roof frame, so the outline here should not be treated as building instructions.
Maize storage and a layered historical record
The cuexcomate's documented role is dry-grain storage, especially maize. SEP says the structure helped keep grain fresh and free of pests over long periods, but gives no measured storage trial, moisture condition or duration; this is a reported traditional benefit rather than a quantified performance guarantee. Figueroa Viruega connects the form with Mesoamerican maize culture and reports archaeological evidence at Cacaxtla in Tlaxcala, alongside later household use in Morelos.
Archaeological context and living architecture should be read together without assuming every present-day granary reproduces an ancient design unchanged. Forms vary across Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala and adapted over time; some stores were lost or replaced by larger granaries. In Morelos, cuexcomates were still being used when the 2017 study was published; other examples had disappeared or were replaced by larger stores. The evidence supports a regional building tradition with a long record, but does not date the beginning of the present form or establish uninterrupted continuity from a particular archaeological example.
History
Figueroa Viruega links the cuexcomate to Mesoamerican maize storage and notes archaeological evidence at Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala. The same study documents later regional adaptations and living uses, but does not establish that every current structure is unchanged from a pre-Hispanic form.
Site
SettingBy the house or in the centre of a family plot, according to the SEP account; Figueroa Viruega describes rural household contexts in Morelos.
GroundNo foundation depth, drainage or soil condition is specified. One source describes current replicas using stone among other natural materials.
ClimateThe cited sources do not define a climate requirement.
FootprintA hollow rounded or semispherical body is described, with round or rectangular bases reported for some forms. No universal plan or measured footprint is established.
NotesThe sources describe regional forms and current reproductions; this record is not a construction drawing.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Materials
- Clay-rich earth mixed with dry grass (zacate) — Forms the hollow, earthen granary body in descriptions of the regional structure.
- Dry grass (zacate) or straw — Used in the roof and upper protective covering; regional names and arrangements vary.
- Stone — Reported among natural materials used for current reproductions; do not treat it as a universal base specification.
- Small clay pot — SEP describes a clay olla at the roof peak in the forms it presents.
- Wooden ladder — SEP describes a ladder used to reach the upper opening when loading grain.
- Place the granary by the house or in the family plot, as described for central Mexican examples; the sources do not give a ground preparation or foundation specification.
- Form a hollow, rounded earthen body from clay or soil with dry grass. The academic description calls the body semispherical, while the government source notes regional variation in base shape.
- Cover the structure with a dry-grass roof and an upper straw skirt or covering in the forms described by SEP; it also documents a small clay olla at the top. These details are not universal across regions.
- Load stored grain through an upper opening, using a wooden ladder as the SEP account describes. The source names maize and beans, while Figueroa Viruega's study focuses on maize.
- Treat the documented size and form as examples rather than a plan: SEP gives a broad height range of two to four metres, and the academic review says form and size vary with location and change over time.
Places
Morelos
Documented use · Region evidenceForms and use vary within the state; the row does not claim a single Morelos design.
Puebla
Historical attestation · Region evidencePresence is documented; this is not a claim of identical construction or continuous use at every locality.
Tlaxcala
Historical attestation · Region evidenceCacaxtla is a separate archaeological attestation; the wider state row does not make every form the same.
State of Mexico
Historical attestation · Region evidenceThe source supports presence, not a detailed local construction variant.
Cacaxtla
Historical attestation · Locality evidenceThis archaeological attestation does not establish uninterrupted continuity with the present household form.
Related
Used for
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Sources
Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), ChamakesForm · Materials · Use · Geography · Modern construction
El Cuexcomate: El Granero Antiguo de MéxicoSEP describes the cuexcomate as a traditional central Mexican grain store used for maize and beans and identifies examples in the State of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala.
SEP describes clay and dry grass, a grass roof, a straw skirt, a round or rectangular base, a clay olla at the peak, and loading through an upper opening reached by a wooden ladder.
SEP reports a two-to-four-metre height range for the forms it describes and says current cuexcomate making is demonstrated at Chalcatzingo, Jantetelco, Morelos.
SEP attributes freshness and pest exclusion to the design but gives no measured storage trial or operating conditions.
Cited in: A household store shaped like an earthen pot; Structure, loading and household setting; Maize storage and a layered historical record
Memorias del Seminario Iberoamericano de Arquitectura y Construcción con Tierra (SIACOT), issue 17, pp. 650–657History · Form · Geography · Use
Cuexcomatl una reminiscencia mesoamericana en el altiplano central mexicano en extinciónThe paper describes a semispherical earthen grain store with a dry-grass roof, used especially for maize, and notes ritual significance in the account it reviews.
It documents cuexcomates in Puebla, Tlaxcala and Morelos, reports archaeological evidence at Cacaxtla, and states that form and size vary by place and have adapted over time.
The study reports that cuexcomates still existed and were used in Morelos at the time of publication, while some were lost or replaced by larger granaries.
Cited in: A household store shaped like an earthen pot; Structure, loading and household setting; Maize storage and a layered historical record