TIKAL

Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Tikal became famous through its architecture of buildings, temples and monuments. In the Mayan times Tikal was home to 100 000 people. Tikal is located in the archeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala

 

WHY DID THE MAYANS ABANDON TIKAL?

  The Mayans conquered Tikal in August 5^th, 695. Historians believe that people lived at Tikal as far back as 1000 B.C. As the population grew in Tikal the more there was no space and the plants withered and because of extended droughts the Maya decided to abandon Tikal. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site's abandonment by the end of the 10th century.

 

WHAT DID THE MAYANS DO IN TIKAL?

Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, c. Between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D., Maya architects across the northern Petén designed short, broad temples with wide staircases flanked by enormous stucco masks. Plaster, made of burned and powdered limestone, was built up around stone armatures into elaborate deity faces. Tikal flourished about ad 600–900. During this period its great plazas, pyramids, and palaces were built, and Maya art flowered in monumental sculpture and vase painting. Numerous standing stone slabs, called stelae, date from the 3rd century ad until the close of the 9th century.

 

WHY IS TIKAL FAMOUS FOR AND WHAT CAN YOU DO THERE?

Tikal is famous for its numerous pyramids and temples. The ambitious pyramid construction projects were driven in part by the famous Maya calendar. Starting at least as early as A.D. 672, the city's rulers constructed a twin pyramid complex at the end of every 20-year period (k’atun). One of the famous pyramid in Tikal is El Mirador. You can climb at Tikal Guatemala is the Great Pyramid at the Lost World. While there are 38 structures in the Lost World, the Great Pyramid is the top attraction.