A recurring motif in both the northern and southern buildings of the Nunnery is the Maya hut. While an argument has been made to explain the presence of these humble dwellings in such important civic architecture as an acknowledgment of the importance of peasant labor in ancient Maya society, the fact that these representations of huts are roofed not with thatch but with several types of bicephalic serpents would appear to point to the fact that these are special, perhaps magical or otherworldly huts, not to be confused with ordinary dwellings.