The growing importance of crops in the economies of early human groups and the large-scale cultivation of crops such as corn that required more intensive management and irrigation, led to the development of a way of life that centered on these agricultural processes. Agriculturalist societies are characterized by their control over plant reproduction and growth, which also necessitated the construction and maintenance of communal irrigation works (canals, water intakes and/or storage tanks).
This in turn led to increased control over a specific territory, a higher degree of sedentarism and a more integrated social structure. In response to these needs, settlements became more agglomerated and social structures more complex.