Tikal


 * Tikal**

Here is a site with pictures of places all over Tikal: http://mayaruins.com/tikal.html More pictures: http://www.travelsinparadise.com/guatemala/tikal/index.html Located deep within the tropical forests of the central Petén of Guatemala, Tikal rose to prominence in the centuries around the turn of the first millennium A.D. Settlements in and near Tikal first emerge in the archaeological record at about 800 B.C., and they were to establish the boundaries of what would become Tikal's urban core. At that core was the Great Plaza, a large area of plaster-surfaced floor first laid down in the middle of the second century B.C. In time, the Great Plaza would abut some of the most important structures at Tikal—the North Acropolis, the Central Acropolis, and Great Temples I and II—and hold some seventy slender stone slabs, known as stelae, that were erected in a double row in front of the North Acropolis. The stelae, which were usually accompanied by low altars set in front of them, included some carved with hieroglyphs and images of rulers. The early rulers of Tikal established the North Acropolis as the ritual center of the city at the beginning of the first millennium. Fronting the Great Plaza on its other side was the Central Acropolis, 700 feet of long, low, many-roomed buildings that are often termed palaces, although their exact function is uncertain. Tikal eventually grew to cover an area perhaps as large as twenty-five square miles, where living areas were interspersed with sections of uninhabitable swamp, and where ruler and commoner alike were interred in subfloor burials. At the beginning of the tenth century, the Maya of low-lying tropical sites like Tikal were experiencing difficulties—perhaps war, famine, or disease—that led to the collapse of authority and the abandonment of the great culture centers. Pasted from  Archaeologists tell us Tikal was the largest capitol of Maya Cities and at its height during its Classic period from 500AD and had a population of 50,000 to 100,000 persons. For reasons not yet clear Archaeologist believe that around 870AD, construction slowed and the city began to decline. It was completely deserted by the end of 900AD. Tikal has an estimated 3000 structures. The partially restored area consists of nine groups of courts and plazas. There are 5 large temples. One of the most impressive and tallest structures, Temple IV, is 229 ft. (70 mts. high. Tikal’s was a governing and religious center of the ruins and covers about 500 acres (200 hectares).  Since a Spanish governor rediscovered the ruins of this vast city in 1848. Archaeologists from all over the world have been excavating. Some structures are almost fully restored but the vast majority is high mounds with stones and lush growth of jungle trees and vegetation. **Tikal Ruins** are located in the middle of Tikal National Park in northern Guatemala and is truly a wildlife sanctuary covering more 200 square miles. Over 285 species of exotic birds, monkeys, jaguars, pumas, tapirs, small deer, and many, much more and rare wildlife endangered live there. Hundreds of orchid species and more than 30 hardwood species. Tikal a birdwatchers paradise is one of the best birding areas of Central America. Pasted from  (Elise E. did three pictures, two links, and two paragraphs)

Tikal is in Guatemala. It has a main temple that faintly still shows King Jasaw Chan Kaui'il. Here is a picture:

Another view of Tikal:

A short (a little under a minute) youtube video showing the ruins at Tikal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHgYSh-EIzE&feature=related

This website has a map of the Tikal ruins: http://www.destination360.com/tikal/guide.htm Tikal is the largest ancient city with Mayan ruins. Tikal had a Classic Period from 200-900 AD, during which it dominated Mayan civilization economically, politically and militarily. However, Tikal was eventually conquered by Teotihuacan.

Here is a wikipedia exerp about another time period in Tikal: The "Tikal hiatus" refers to a period between the late [|6th] to late [|7th century] where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large-scale construction at Tikal. This hiatus in activity at Tikal was long unexplained until later epigraphic decipherments identified that the period was prompted by Tikal's comprehensive defeat at the hands of the [|Caracol] polity in A.D. 562 after six years of warfare against an alliance of Calakmul, Dos Pilas and Naranjo. The hiatus at Tikal lasted up to the ascension of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I (Ruler A) in A.D. 682. In A.D. 695, Yukno’m Yich’Aak K’ahk’ of Calakmul (Kanal), was defeated by the new ruler of Tikal, Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, Nu’n U Jol Chaak’s heir. This defeat of Calakmul restores Tikal’s preeminence in the Central Maya region, but never again in the southwest Petén, where Dos Pilas maintained its presence. (Erica H)