Baskets and ayates form part of the oldest and most widely distributed agricultural technologies among the peoples of Mexico. Their principal function is the storage and transport of harvested products. These implements are documented from pre-Hispanic times and were made primarily from giant reed (Arundo donax L.), otate (Otatea acuminata), as well as various species of palm, depending on the region. Ayates are rectangular textiles woven from fibers such as henequen, ixtle, or cotton and, in more recent times, from durable materials such as plastic. These cloths are placed over one shoulder and crossed beneath the opposite arm, forming a cross-body pouch in which ears of corn are carried.
Baskets, in turn, are made using weaving techniques that produce a great variety of forms and sizes. Among the Maya of Yucatán, baskets used during the harvest are typically large and are woven from liana fibers (xúuxak’, liana basket; aak’, liana). Although there are no direct references to their use in pre-Hispanic times, sixteenth-century documentary sources indicate that Indigenous people transported gathered produce on their backs without the use of pack animals. This information suggests that the Maya used xúuxak’ baskets as means of overland transport. As they are today, these baskets were likely secured by a henequen tumpline placed across the forehead to facilitate carrying.
From a linguistic perspective, Christian Emmanuel and Molly Tun note that the term xúux designates the object in a general sense but also functions as a measure classifier, as in the expression “a basket of dried beans.”