Here, as among the Anasazi, however, there is no evidence of a ruling class with a higher standard of living than that of their subordinates. The scope of the canal project suggests comparisons with the erection of the huge pyramids of Egypt or the great temples of the Maya. There is a tremendous difference, however, in the ends toward which all this vast human effort was directed. In Egypt, men slaved to construct tombs for despotic rulers, and, in the land of the Maya, they labored to erect temples, doubtless for the greater glory of the priesthood as much as for the gods who were worshipped. In the arid reaches of the Hohokam homeland, however, the canals, which were built and kept open with so much labor, were for the benefit of the people. [Illustration: Fig. 43—Hohokam house of the Colonial period.] [Illustration: Large ball court at Snaketown, Colonial period. (Courtesy Gila Pueblo.)] The homes of the people continued to be simple structures consisting of single units. They were much like those of the Pioneer period but were smaller and rectangular with rounded corners. Usually they were constructed over a shallow pit, but some had elevated floors supported by stones. A fire pit lay in the floor just in front of the entrance. It is not known whether there were smoke holes or not. Walls were formed of slanting poles, and the interiors were lined with reeds. The roof rested on a central ridge pole supported by two main posts. There is evidence of outside kitchens, small brush structures containing a fire pit, much like those still used by the Pimas. Houses and kitchens were not the only structures which were erected at this time, for ball courts made their first appearance during this period. These were large unroofed, oval areas, oriented east and west, and open at both ends. They were up to two hundred feet in length and were surrounded by walls believed to have been between fifteen and twenty feet in height and possibly higher. The earth banks, which formed the walls, sloped and were about twenty degrees off the perpendicular. The floor, which was well below ground level, was formed from smooth caliche deposits. Two stones set in the ends and one in the center apparently served as markers. They were very accurately placed and the one in the middle lies in the exact center. These are very much like the ball courts of the Maya, except that the latter had stone walls. There are a number of theories as to where these courts first originated. They may have been developed by the Maya and copied by the Hohokam, or they may have reached the Maya from the Hohokam. A third possibility is that both people received the idea from some still unknown source.