concepcion rash, with her daughter-in-law isabelle, prepares the evening meal.over a wood fire, beneath a thatched roof, much the same way that the three-stoned hearth was used at ceren 14 centuries ago. the rash family is mainly self-sufficient. they teach their children and grow their food, all within a short distance of the home. as in ancient times, daily life revolves around the household. [ baby crying ] anthropologist richard wilk. there's a lot of good reasons for people here to want to live in a multiple-family household like this. there's a lot of jobs that have to be done every day, both by men and women -- washing, hauling corn in from the field, cutting firewood. these kinds of things take time every day. and if you're off working in the fields, you can't do them. by having multiple-family households like this, they can divide up the labor. [ speaking native language ] interpreter: what can i say ? it's a lot easier working together. without a helper, life is much harder. since we're at home, we can help each other, whatever happens. keach: the rash