Focus on state building: Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations

"The [Inca] goal was to knit the scores of different groups in western South America—some as rich as the [Inca] themselves, some poor and disorganized, all speaking different languages—into a single bureaucratic framework under the direct rule of the emperor. The unity was not merely political: the [Inca]wanted to meld together the area’s religion, economics, and arts. Their methods were audacious, brutal, and efficient: they removed entire populations from their homelands; shuttled them around the biggest road system on the planet, (...); and forced them to work with other groups, using only (...) the [Inca] language, on massive, faraway state farms and construction projects."