International audience In this preliminary research, which makes use of archaeological, epigraphic and ethnological information, we present certain arguments showing a linguistic and conceptual continuity in the Mayan dwelling as a delimited space. The visible and invisible boundaries that temporarily or permanently enclose or divide up its space seem quite similar in the various regions and periods considered. Through their way of welcoming outsiders into the domestic group, a series of boundaries appear, which also serve as passage ways.