From the Early Preclassic, Maya society was sharply divided between the elite and commoners. As population increased over time, various sectors of society became increasingly specialised, and political organisation became increasingly complex.[123] By the Late Classic, when population levels had grown enormously and hundreds of cities were connected in a complex web of political hierarchies, the wealthy segment of society multiplied.[124] A middle class may have developed, that included artisans, low ranking priests and officials, merchants, and soldiers. Commoners included farmers, servants, labourers, and slaves.[125] According to indigenous histories, land was held communally by noble houses or clans. Such clans held that the land was the property of the clan ancestors, and such ties between the land and the ancestors were reinforced by the burial of the dead within residential compounds.[126]