Craftsmanship is a method of production concentrated around artisans: workers specialised in the production or processing of a specific item or material, and who may or may not employ unskilled laborers for specific tasks. At first, artisans were employed by rulers and the higher class in general as specialised servants; with time, they evolved into a separate social class, with a division between masters, journeymen, and apprentices. Craftsmanship remained the most prolific system of production throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, only to lose its significance due to the Industrial Revolution; however, it never quite left the picture of human activity.