In reply to Jim.

The post and beam house with adobe infill is one of the old styles of house construction in the highlands. I lived in one during my PC service, but it had a metal roof that replaced the tile roof that caved in during the earthquake of 1976. The grass roof is also an ancient roof design that was uncommon even when I lived there. Grass roofs are cool in the daytime and warm at night. The major factor against them is they harbor mice, rats, and other vermin. The bunch grass used to construct them was planted on the borders of the fields sort of like fencerows to delineate ownership, and when someone needed a roof they would harvest their own as well as that of their neighbors, etc. Before the 1976 quake adobe houses with tile roofs were the norm in much of the highlands. Just look at old photos. The only houses that didn't kill people were the less prestigious post and beam adobe with grass roof. Just goes to show that the ancient Mayans knew something about earthquakes that the Europeans didn't.