### p57 autocratic societies control market activity > Political power can be inferred from the nature of market activity. For instance, the Imperial Inca had an autocratic, power-based system, an interpretation suggested by the nature of Incan market activity. Those markets were tightly regulated by the ruling Incan king directly or by his bureaucratic apparatus. Incan markets were developed and maintained for purposes of the Incan ruler or the state, which were one and the same. > > > Conversely, the presence of open or free markets throughout prehistoric Mesoamerica supports the idea that ruling power was not completely autocratic because many different groups participated and even competed in market activity, something not permitted in the Incan system. Ruling factions undoubtedly participated in and extracted taxes from markets but probably did not control all aspects of market activity as is characteristic of autocratic societies. - [[Domestic Storage Behavior in Mesoamerica#p57 autocratic societies control market activity|View in Vault]]