When anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan studied the Grand Council in the 19th century, he thought it was a central government. This interpretation became influential, but some scholars have since argued that while the Grand Council served an important ceremonial role, it was not a government in the way that Morgan thought. According to this view, Iroquois political and diplomatic decisions are made on the local level, and are based on what the local communities think. A central government that makes policy and puts it into practice for the people at large is not how the Iroquois handle government.