In this article, we’re going to look at two great states of the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans—the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica led by the Mexica, and the Andean Empire led by the Inca, which they called Tawantinsuyu. We’re going to discuss how these two empires were formed and how their governments maintained control. We’ll look at the economies that kept the common people fed and the rich people happy, as well as the ideas and institutions that most people shared or that divided them into social classes and other groups. But we’ll do all of this with a mind to understanding not just how the governments operated, but how the people saw and understood the states in which they lived.