There were three main Maya centers, circa 800 BC: Kaminaljuyu, which is buried under Guatemala City, in the highlands, Dzibilchaltun, in the Yucatan, and Tikal, in the central lowlands/Peten. It is said that the Tikal Metropolis was perhaps the most politically powerful of all Maya centers. Having begun in approx. 100 BC, Tikal thrived for 800 years, with a population that swelled from 40,000 to more than 100,000. City centers like Tikal became the central focus for Maya life.

Maya cities were controlled by those who had inherited their position. It was originally proposed that there existed Old and New Empires, with Tikal as the center of the Old, and Chichen Itza dominating the New. We now know that the whole of Maya civilization was not based upon one ruling empire or kingdom, but a series of individually ruled city centers. Scholars have been able to detail some rulers' lives by deciphering and reading stelae (carved stone pillars, called stone trees), the earliest of which is called the Ascension stelae. Located in Tikal and dated July 8, 292 AD, it details the life of the Ahau or high King, telling of his birthday, rise to power, marriages, battles, successors, daughters, death and burial.

The population was divided into classes, as follows: The Elite Class, Priests, Architects, Engineers and Scribes Class, Craftsmen and Artisans Class, and the Peasant Class. Later, there could have been an independent Merchant Class created by the political elite. Classes could be broken down further by societal rank. The Classic Maya's social status was apparent in everything from the clothes he wore to the home he lived in. For example, the lay Maya lived in small clusters of thatch and wood homes, which were located on elevated platforms. Each cluster surrounded a communal, open courtyard, with a corner ancestor shrine. However, each platform was a certain height; those of higher social stature lived in clusters on higher platforms.

TBC

~from Zama Roca's TULUM
http://www.quia.com/files/quia/users/titian1/member/Zama/TulumSplash.htm