The mobilization and distribution of resources, human and material, was the key to Roman power. The surplus production of an individual peasant household was small; the aggregate demand of the ancient peasantry was considerable. The key question is how far distribution under the empire differed in volume and nature. Archaeology has provided striking and conclusive evidence for a dramatic increase in the volume of goods being distributed within the Roman empire. Goods were distributed through the Roman empire by a variety of means, determined to a great extent by the identity of the ultimate consumer and by the nature of the goods and by the identity of the original producer. The institutional structures that supported distribution were adequate money supply supporting all levels of transactions, and the development of gold coinage and various forms of paper transactions. For the most part, the dynamics of distribution in the early Roman empire followed patterns which had become established under the Republic.