In the current model, the absence of political hierarchies above the state level also implies that warfare was not subject to control by institutions more powerful than the states defined by emblem glyphs (Mathews 1988). In this commonly held view, warfare was regulated through ideology (Schele and Freidel 1990:444-7; Nahm 1993). Warfare did not escalate in the Late Classic because it was embedded into ritual. Furthermore, the main focus of warfare was the taking of captives, not the incorporation of the conquered territory into the polity of the victor (Demarest 1992:143-44).