The Ancient Americas

Featured Cultures

In some societies, rulers took control. Why? There are many things that we do not know. Yet in part these changes may have occurred because increasing populations made consensual decision-making inefficient, especially during times of crisis.

Rulers used the economy, religion, and the military to gain power over their communities, eventually creating bustling metropolises run by a hierarchy of government administrators.

Archaeologists know that rulers and governments were in charge of a society when they find certain clues:

	A hierarchy of settlements consisting of capital cities presiding over smaller administrative centers managing even smaller outer villages.
	Signs of social stratification shaped by government, such as different types of housing and qualities of goods for people at different levels on the social scale.
	Evidence of specialization, such as artisan districts and government-managed irrigation, indicating a regulated food supply that was managed and distributed so that people were free to pursue crafts and skills beyond farming.
	State temples and religious artifacts that show that rulers and governments have become the links between the living and the supernatural.
	Evidence of military control, such as records or depictions of war, indicating rulers had begun to conquer or build alliances with other societies.

Many different societies across the Americas were led by powerful rulers and governments. Select from a few of these societies below to learn more about how their status as powerful states affected the lifestyle of their citizens.

Zapotec Society

Maya Society

Teotihuacan Society

Moche Society

Wari Society

Continue to Zapotec Society. >>