Pithouse life centered on practical shelter and constant food preparation. Set in four corner post holes, timbers supported a ceiling that was probably head-high, and above the firepit there was probably a smoke hole that also may have served as the entrance. Daily work included grinding corn on a mano and metate, a constant chore that reflected the Anasazi's new ties to the mesa top. Dried or parched corn could be stored in pottery vessels for years in the dry Southwest climate, and this stored corn enabled the Anasazi to survive the long, cold winters.