View source for Tikal

{{Short description|Ruins of major ancient Maya city}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Tikal
| alternate_name = Yax Mutal
| image = {{multiple image
    | caption_align = center
    | border         = infobox
    | total_width    = 300
    | perrow      = 1/2/2/1
    | image1   = Tikal 3.jpg 
    | caption1 = [[Tikal Temple I|Temple of the Great Jaguar]]
    | image2   = Tikal Temple II.jpg
    | caption2 = [[Tikal Temple II|Temple of the Masks]]
    | image3   = Templo IV - panoramio.jpg
    | caption3 = [[Tikal Temple IV|Temple IV]]
    | image4   = Mundo Perdido pyramid 5C-49, Tikal.jpg
    | caption4 = [[Mundo Perdido, Tikal|Lost World]]
    | image5   = Flickr - archer10 (Dennis) - Guatemala-1633.jpg
    | caption5 = [[Tikal Temple 33|Temple 33]]
    | image6   = Chrám V.jpg
    | caption6 = [[Tikal Temple V|Temple V]]
 | color   = white
}}
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| map = 
| map_alt = 
| map_type = Mesoamerica#Guatemala
| map_caption = Location within [[Mesoamerica]]##Location within [[Guatemala]]
| map_size = 
| relief = 
| map_dot_label = 
| native_name = Yax Mutal
| location = {{Flag|Guatemala}} <br/> [[Petén Department|Petén]], [[Flores, Petén|Flores]]
| region = [[Petén Basin]]
| coordinates = {{coord|17|13|19|N|89|37|25|W|display=inline,title}}
| built = 4th century BC
| abandoned = {{circa|900}}
| epochs = Early Classic to Late Classic
| cultures = [[Maya civilization]]
| event = 
| excavations = 
| archaeologists = 
| condition = 
| architectural_styles = 
| architectural_details = 
| notes = 
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = [[Tikal National Park]]
| designation1_type = Mixed
| designation1_criteria = i, iii, iv, ix, x
| designation1_date = 1979 {{small|(3rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])}}
| delisted1_date = 
| designation1_partof = 
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/64 64]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas|Latin America and the Caribbean]]
| designation2 = 
| designation2_offname = 
| designation2_type = 
| designation2_criteria = 
| designation2_date = 
| delisted2_date = 
| designation2_partof = 
| designation2_number = 
| designation2_free1name = 
| designation2_free1value = 
| designation2_free2name = 
| designation2_free2value = 
| designation2_free3name = 
| designation2_free3value = 
}}

'''Tikal''' ({{IPAc-en|t|i|ˈ|k|ɑː|l}}; ''Tik'al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called '''Yax Mutal''',<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tokovinine|first=Alexandre|date=2008|title=Lords of Tikal: Narratives and Identities|url=https://www.academia.edu/8312172|journal=[[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology]]|language=en|publisher=Harvard University|pages=4}}</ref> found in a rainforest in [[Guatemala]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Tikal|url=https://www.cyark.org/projects/tikal/overview|access-date=2021-01-31|publisher=Cyark}}</ref> It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] [[Maya civilization]]. It is located in the archaeological region of the [[Petén Basin]] in what is now northern [[Guatemala]]. Situated in [[Petén Department]], the site is part of Guatemala's [[Tikal National Park]] and in 1979 it was declared a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>UNESCO World Heritage Center.</ref>

Tikal was the capital of a state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya.<ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 1. Hammond 2000, p. 233.</ref> Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Classic Period]], c. 200 to 900. During this time, the [[Maya city|city]] dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout [[Mesoamerica]] such as the great metropolis of [[Teotihuacan]] in the distant [[Valley of Mexico]]. There is evidence that one of Tikal's great ruling dynasties was founded by conquerors from Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. 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.

Tikal is the best understood of any of the large [[Maya Lowlands|lowland Maya]] cities, with a long [[Maya monarchs|dynastic ruler]] [[List of lords of Tikal|list]], the discovery of the tombs of many of the rulers on this list and the investigation of their [[Monumental sculpture|monuments]], temples and palaces.<ref>Adams 2000, p.34.</ref>
<!--
The site had been forgotten by the outside world until Ambrosio Tut, a gum-sapper, reported the ruins to ''La Gaceta'', a Guatemalan newspaper, which named the site Tikal. After the Berlin Academy of Sciences' magazine republished the report in 1853, archeologists and treasure hunters began visiting the forest. Today, tourism to the site may help protect the rainforest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tikalpark.com/explorers.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-09-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213011855/http://www.tikalpark.com/explorers.htm |archive-date=13 February 2015 }}</ref>
-->

==Etymology==
[[File:Tikalemblem.jpg|thumb|Emblem glyph for Tikal (Mutal)]]

The name Tikal may be derived from ''ti ak'al'' in the [[Yucatec Maya language]]; it is said to be a relatively modern name meaning "at the waterhole". The name was apparently applied to one of the site's ancient reservoirs by hunters and travelers in the region.<ref name=mg30>Martin & Grube 2000, p.30.</ref> It has alternatively been interpreted as meaning "the place of the voices" in the [[Itzaʼ language|Itza Maya language]]. Tikal, however, is not the ancient name for the site but rather the name adopted shortly after its discovery in the 1840s.<ref name=d136>Drew 1999, p.136.</ref> [[Maya script|Hieroglyphic inscriptions]] at the ruins refer to the ancient city as ''Yax Mutal'' or ''Yax Mutul'', meaning "First Mutal".<ref name=mg30/> Tikal may have come to have been called this because [[Dos Pilas]] also came to use the same emblem glyph; the rulers of the city presumably wanted to distinguish themselves as the first city to bear the name.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, p.64.</ref>
The kingdom as a whole was simply called ''Mutul'',<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.1">Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.1.</ref> which is the reading of the "hair bundle" [[Maya script#Emblem glyphs|emblem glyph]] seen in the accompanying photo. Its precise meaning remains obscure.<ref name=mg30/>

== Geography ==
[[File:Mayamap.png|thumb|The Maya area within the Mesoamerican region. Both Tikal and Calakmul lie near the center of the area.]]
The closest large modern settlements are [[Flores, Petén|Flores]] and [[Santa Elena, El Petén|Santa Elena]], approximately {{convert|64|km|mi|sp=us}} by road to the southwest.<ref>Kelly 1996, pp.111–2.</ref> Tikal is approximately {{convert|303|km|mi|sp=us}} north of [[Guatemala City]]. It is {{convert|19|km|mi|sp=us}} south of the contemporary Maya city of [[Uaxactun]] and {{convert|30|km|mi|sp=us}} northwest of [[Yaxha]].<ref name=mg30/><ref>Webster 2002, p.118.</ref> The city was located {{convert|100|km|mi|sp=us}} southeast of its great Classic Period rival, [[Calakmul]], and {{convert|85|km|mi|sp=us}} northwest of Calakmul's ally [[Caracol]], now in [[Belize]].<ref>Webster 2002, pp.188, 192.</ref>

The city has been completely mapped and covered an area greater than {{convert|16|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} that included about 3,000 structures.<ref name="Coe 1999, p.104">Coe 1999, p.104.</ref> The [[topography]] of the site consists of a series of parallel [[limestone]] ridges rising above swampy lowlands. The major [[Maya architecture|architecture]] of the site is clustered upon areas of higher ground and linked by raised [[causeway]]s spanning the swamps.<ref name=d185>Drew 1999, p.185.</ref> The area around Tikal has been declared as the Tikal National Park and the preserved area covers {{convert|570|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}.<ref name=k140>Kelly 1996, p.140.</ref> It was created on 26 May 1955 under the auspices of the [[Instituto de Antropología e Historia]] and was the first protected area in Guatemala.<ref>Torres.</ref>

The ruins lie among the [[tropical rainforest]]s of northern Guatemala that formed the cradle of lowland Maya civilization. The city itself was located among abundant fertile upland soils, and may have dominated a natural east–west [[Trade in Maya civilization|trade route]] across the [[Yucatán Peninsula]].<ref name=w261>Webster 2002, p.261.</ref> Conspicuous trees at the Tikal park include gigantic Kapok tree (''[[Ceiba pentandra]]'') the sacred tree of the Maya; tropical cedar (''[[Cedrela odorata]]''), and Honduras mahogany (''[[Swietenia macrophylla]]''). Regarding the fauna, [[Central American agouti|agoutis]], [[white-nosed coati]]s, [[gray fox]]es, [[Geoffroy's spider monkey]]s, [[howler monkey]]s, [[harpy eagle]]s, [[falcon]]s, [[ocellated turkey]]s, [[guan (bird)|guans]], [[toucan]]s, green [[parrot]]s and [[leafcutter ant]]s can be seen there regularly. [[Jaguar]]s, [[ocelot]]s, and [[cougar]]s are also said to roam in the park.<ref>Coe 1967, pp. 9–10. Hidinger 1996, p. 52.</ref>

Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in ten reservoirs. Archaeologists working in Tikal during the 20th century refurbished one of these ancient reservoirs to store water for their own use.<ref name=c124/> The average annual rainfall at Tikal is {{convert|1945|mm|in|sp=us}}. However, the arrival of rain was often unpredictable, and long periods of drought could occur before the crops ripened, which severely threatened the inhabitants of the city.<ref>Webster 2002, p.239.</ref>

==Population==

Population estimates for Tikal vary from 10,000 to as high as 90,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Coe 1999, p.104"/> The population of Tikal began a continuous curve of growth starting in the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Preclassic Period]] (approximately 2000 BC – AD 200), with a peak in the Late Classic with the population growing rapidly from AD 700 through to 830, followed by a sharp decline. For the {{convert|120|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} area falling within the earthwork defenses of the hinterland, the peak population is estimated at 517 per square kilometer (1340 per square mile). In an area within a {{convert|12|km|mi|sp=us}} radius of the site core, peak population is estimated at 120,000; population density is estimated at 265 per square kilometer (689 per square mile). In a region within a {{convert|25|km|mi|sp=us}} radius of the site core and including some satellite sites, peak population is estimated at 425,000 with a density of 216 per square kilometer (515 per square mile). These population figures are even more impressive because of the extensive swamplands that were unsuitable for habitation or [[Mesoamerican agriculture|agriculture]]. However, some archaeologists, such as David Webster, believe these figures to be far too high.<ref name=w264/>

==Rulers==
{{main|Maya monarchs#Tikal}}
{{Maya civilization}}

==History==

===Preclassic===

There are traces of early agriculture at the site dating as far back as 1000 BC, in the Middle Preclassic.<ref name=w262/> A cache of Mamon [[pottery|ceramics]] dating from about 700–400 BC were found in a sealed [[chultun]], a subterranean bottle-shaped chamber.<ref>Coe 1999, p.55.</ref>

Major construction at Tikal was already taking place in the Late Preclassic period, first appearing around 400–300 BC, including the building of major [[Mesoamerican pyramids|pyramids]] and platforms, although the city was still dwarfed by sites further north such as [[El Mirador]] and [[Nakbe]].<ref name=w262/><ref>Coe 1999, p.73.</ref> At this time, Tikal participated in the widespread [[Chikanel]] culture that dominated the Central and Northern Maya areas at this time – a region that included the entire [[Yucatán Peninsula]] including northern and eastern Guatemala and all of Belize.<ref>Coe 1999, pp.73, 80.</ref>

Two temples dating to Late Chikanel times had masonry-walled [[superstructure]]s that may have been [[Corbel arch|corbel-vaulted]], although this has not been proven. One of these had elaborate paintings on the outer walls showing human figures against a [[scrollwork]] background, painted in yellow, black, pink and red.<ref name=c75/>

In the 1st century AD, rich burials first appeared and Tikal underwent a political and cultural florescence as its giant northern neighbors declined.<ref name=w262/> At the end of the Late Preclassic, the [[Izapa]]n style art and architecture from the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] Coast began to influence Tikal, as demonstrated by a broken sculpture from the [[acropolis]] and early murals at the city.<ref>Coe 1999, p.78.</ref>

===Early Classic===

Dynastic rulership among the lowland Maya is most deeply rooted at Tikal. According to later [[hieroglyph]]ic records, the dynasty was founded by Yax Ehb Xook, perhaps in the 1st century AD.<ref name=c90/> At the beginning of the Early Classic, power in the Maya region was concentrated at Tikal and Calakmul, in the core of the Maya heartland.<ref>Miller 1999, pp.88-9.</ref>

Tikal may have benefited from the collapse of the large Preclassic states such as [[El Mirador]]. In the Early Classic Tikal rapidly developed into the most dynamic city in the Maya region, stimulating the development of other nearby [[List of Maya sites|Maya cities]].<ref>Webster 2002, p.191.</ref>

The site, however, was often at [[Maya warfare|war]] and inscriptions tell of alliances and conflict with other Maya states, including [[Uaxactun]], [[Caracol]], [[Naranjo]] and [[Calakmul]]. The site was defeated at the end of the Early Classic by Caracol, which rose to take Tikal's place as the paramount center in the southern Maya lowlands.<ref>Sharer 1994, p.265.</ref> The earlier part of the Early Classic saw hostilities between Tikal and its neighbor Uaxactun, with Uaxactun recording the capture of prisoners from Tikal.<ref name=k129>Kelly 1996, p.129.</ref>

There appears to have been a breakdown in the male succession by AD 317, when Lady [[Unen Bahlam]] conducted a Kʼatun-ending ceremony, apparently as queen of the city.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.27">Martin & Grube 2000, p.27.</ref>

====Tikal and Teotihuacan====
[[File:Mexico SunMoonPyramid.jpg|thumb|The great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the [[Valley of Mexico]] appears to have decisively intervened in Tikal politics.]]

As early as 200 AD, Teotihuacan had embassies in Tikal.<ref>''The Origins & Collapse of the Preclassic Maya in the Mirador Basin'' – Richard Hansen at The Library of Congress (2014)</ref>

The fourteenth king of Tikal was Chak Tok Ichʼaak (Great Jaguar Paw).<ref name=c90>Coe 1999, p.90.</ref> Chak Tok Ichʼaak built a palace that was preserved and developed by later rulers until it became the core of the [[Central Acropolis]].<ref name=w192/> Little is known about Chak Tok Ichʼaak except that he was killed on 14 January 378 AD.{{contradictory inline |article=Siyaj K'ak' |reason=Other article says 16 January|date=November 2020}} On the same day, [[Siyaj Kʼakʼ]] (Fire Is Born) arrived from the west, having passed through [[El Perú (Maya site)|El Peru]], a site to the west of Tikal, on 8 January.<ref name=c90/> On [[Stele|Stela]] 31 he is named as "Lord of the West".<ref name=d199/> Siyaj Kʼakʼ was probably a foreign general serving a figure represented by a non-Maya hieroglyph of a [[atlatl|spearthrower]] combined with an owl, a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of [[Teotihuacan]] in the distant Valley of Mexico. [[Spearthrower Owl]] may even have been the ruler of Teotihuacan. These recorded events strongly suggest that Siyaj Kʼakʼ led a Teotihuacan invasion that defeated the native Tikal king, who was captured and immediately executed.<ref>Coe 1999, pp.90–1.</ref> Siyaj Kʼakʼ appears to have been aided by a powerful political faction at Tikal itself;<ref>Webster 2002, p.133.</ref> roughly at the time of the conquest, a group of Teotihuacan natives were apparently residing near the Lost World complex.<ref name=d201/> He also exerted control over other cities in the area, including Uaxactun, where he became king, but did not take the throne of Tikal for himself.<ref name=w262/><ref name=d200>Drew 1999, p.200.</ref> Within a year, the son of Spearthrower Owl by the name of [[Yax Nuun Ahiin I]] (First Crocodile) had been installed as the fifteenth king of Tikal while he was still a boy, being enthroned on 13 September 379.<ref name=d200/><ref name=c97>Coe 1999, p.97.</ref> He reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal, and remained a vassal of Siyaj Kʼakʼ for as long as the latter lived. It seems likely that Yax Nuun Ayiin I took a wife from the preexisting, defeated, Tikal dynasty and thus legitimized the right to rule of his son, Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil II.<ref name=d200/>

[[Río Azul]], a small site {{convert|100|km|mi|sp=us}} northeast of Tikal, was conquered by the latter during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin I. The site became an outpost of Tikal, shielding it from hostile cities further north, and also became a trade link to the Caribbean.<ref>Drew 1999, pp.201–2</ref>

Although the new rulers of Tikal were foreign, their descendants were rapidly Mayanized. Tikal became the key ally and trading partner of Teotihuacan in the Maya lowlands. After being conquered by Teotihuacan, Tikal rapidly dominated the northern and eastern Peten. Uaxactun, together with smaller towns in the region, were absorbed into Tikal's kingdom. Other sites, such as [[Bejucal (Mesoamerican site)|Bejucal]] and [[Motul de San José]] near [[Lake Petén Itzá]] became [[vassal state|vassals]] of their more powerful neighbor to the north. By the middle of the 5th century, Tikal had a core territory of at least {{convert|25|km|mi|sp=us}} in every direction.<ref name=d201>Drew 1999, p.201.</ref>

Around the 5th century, an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]] was built along the northern periphery of Tikal's hinterland, joining up with the natural defenses provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of the city. Additional fortifications were probably also built to the south. These defenses protected Tikal's core population and agricultural resources, encircling an area of approximately {{convert|120|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}.<ref name=w262/> Recent research suggests that the earthworks served as a water collection system rather than a defensive purpose.<ref name= C202>Silverstein 2009</ref>

====Tikal and Copán====
In the 5th century, the power of the city reached as far south as [[Copán]], whose founder [[Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Mo']] was clearly connected with Tikal.<ref name=w192>Webster 2002, p.192.</ref> Copán itself was not in an ethnically Maya region and the founding of the Copán dynasty probably involved the direct intervention of Tikal.<ref name=af407>Wyllys Andrews & Fash 2005, p.407.</ref> Kʼinich Yax Kukʼ Moʼ arrived in Copán in December 426, and bone analysis of his remains shows that he passed his childhood and youth at Tikal.<ref name=faf26>Fash & Agurcia Fasquelle 2005, p.26.</ref> An individual known as [[Ajaw]] Kʼukʼ Mo' (lord Kʼukʼ Moʼ) is referred to in an early text at Tikal and may well be the same person.<ref>Looper 2003, p.37.</ref> His tomb had Teotihuacan characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacan. Hieroglyphic texts refer to him as "Lord of the West", much like Siyaj Kʼakʼ.<ref name=faf26/> At the same time, in late 426, Copán founded the nearby site of [[Quiriguá]], possibly sponsored by Tikal itself.<ref name=af407/> The founding of these two centers may have been part of an effort to impose Tikal's authority upon the southeastern portion of the Maya region.<ref>Looper 2003, p.38.</ref> The interaction between these sites and Tikal was intense over the next three centuries.<ref>Looper 1999, p.263.</ref>

A long-running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century, with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to [[Tikal–Calakmul wars|a long-running war]] between two Maya superpowers. The kings of these two capitals adopted the title ''kaloomteʼ'', a term that has not been precisely translated but that implies something akin to "[[high king]]".<ref>Webster 2002, pp.168-9.</ref>

The early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city, known only as the "[[Lady of Tikal]]", who was very likely a daughter of [[Chak Tok Ichʼaak II]]. She seems never to have ruled in her own right, rather being partnered with male co-rulers. The first of these was [[Kaloomteʼ Bahlam]], who seems to have had a long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co-ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence. The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering. It appears she was later paired with lord "[[Bird Claw]]", who is presumed to be the otherwise unknown 20th ruler.<ref name=mg38-9/>

===Late Classic===

====Tikal hiatus====
[[File:Tikal-Plaza-And-North-Acropolis.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The main plaza during winter solstice celebrations]]
In the mid-6th century, Caracol seems to have allied with Calakmul and defeated Tikal, closing the Early Classic.<ref name=m89>Miller 1999, p.89.</ref> 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. In the latter half of the 6th century AD, a serious crisis befell the city, with no new [[stelae]] being erected and with widespread deliberate mutilation of public sculpture.<ref name=c94/> This hiatus in activity at Tikal was long unexplained until later [[Epigraphy|epigraphic]] decipherments identified that the period was prompted by Tikal's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Calakmul and the Caracol polity in AD 562, a defeat that seems to have resulted in the capture and [[Human sacrifice in Maya culture|sacrifice]] of the king of Tikal.<ref name=w262>Webster 2002, p.262.</ref> The badly eroded [[Caracol#Altar21|Altar 21]] at Caracol described how Tikal suffered this disastrous defeat in a major war in April 562.<ref>Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica by Walter Robert Thurmond Witschey and Clifford T. Brown, p. 313.</ref> It seems that Caracol was an ally of Calakmul in the wider conflict between that city and Tikal, with the defeat of Tikal having a lasting impact upon the city.<ref name=w192/> Tikal was not sacked but its power and influence were broken.<ref>Webster 2002, pp.192-3.</ref> After its great victory, Caracol grew rapidly and some of Tikal's population may have been forcibly relocated there. During the hiatus period, at least one ruler of Tikal took refuge with [[Janaabʼ Pakal]] of [[Palenque]], another of Calakmul's victims.<ref name=w193/> Calakmul itself thrived during Tikal's long hiatus period.<ref>Webster 2002, p.194.</ref>

The beginning of the Tikal hiatus has served as a marker by which [[archeologist|archaeologist]]s commonly subdivide the Classic period of [[Mesoamerican chronology]] into the Early and Late Classic.<ref>Miller and Taube 1993, p.20.</ref>

====Tikal and Dos Pilas====

In 629, Tikal founded [[Dos Pilas]], some {{convert|110|km|mi|sp=us}} to the southwest, as a military outpost in order to control trade along the course of the [[Pasión River]].<ref>Salisbury et al. 2002, p.1.</ref> [[Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil]] was installed on the throne of the new outpost at the age of four, in 635. When he was older, for many years he served as a loyal vassal fighting for his brother, the king of Tikal.<ref>Salisbury et al. 2002, pp.2-3.</ref> Roughly twenty years later, Dos Pilas was attacked by Calakmul and was soundly defeated. Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil was captured by the king of Calakmul but, instead of being sacrificed, he was re-instated on his throne as a vassal of his former enemy.<ref>Salisbury et al. 2002, p.2.</ref>

He attacked Tikal in 657, forcing [[Nuun Ujol Chaak]], then king of Tikal, to temporarily abandon the city. The first two rulers of Dos Pilas continued to use the Mutal emblem [[glyph]] of Tikal, and they probably felt that they had a legitimate claim to the throne of Tikal itself. For some reason, Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil was not installed as the new ruler of Tikal; instead he stayed at Dos Pilas. Tikal counterattacked against Dos Pilas in 672, driving Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil into an exile that lasted five years.<ref>Webster 2002, p.276.</ref> Calakmul tried to encircle Tikal within an area dominated by its allies, such as El Peru, Dos Pilas, and Caracol.<ref>Hammond 2000, p.220.</ref>

In 682, [[Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I]] erected the first dated monument at Tikal in 120 years and claimed the title of ''kaloomteʼ'', so ending the hiatus. He initiated a program of new construction and turned the tables on Calakmul when, in 695, he captured the enemy noble and threw the enemy state into a long decline from which it never fully recovered. After this, Calakmul never again erected a monument celebrating a military victory.<ref name=w193>Webster 2002, p.193.</ref>

====Tikal after Teotihuacan====
By the 7th century, there was no active Teotihuacan presence at any Maya site and the center of Teotihuacan had been razed by 700. Even after this, formal war attire illustrated on monuments was Teotihuacan style.<ref>Miller 1999, p.105.</ref> Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I and his heir [[Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil]] continued hostilities against Calakmul and its allies and imposed firm regional control over the area around Tikal, extending as far as the territory around Lake Petén Itzá. These two rulers were responsible for much of the impressive architecture visible today.<ref name=w263/>

In 738, Quiriguá, a vassal of Copán, Tikal's key ally in the south, switched allegiance to Calakmul, defeated Copán and gained its own independence.<ref name=af407/> It appears that this was a conscious effort on the part of Calakmul to bring about the collapse of Tikal's southern allies.<ref>Looper 2003, p.79.</ref> This upset the balance of power in the southern Maya area and lead to a steady decline in the fortunes of Copán.<ref>Wyllys Andrews & Fash 2005, p.408.</ref>

In the 8th century, the rulers of Tikal collected monuments from across the city and erected them in front of the North Acropolis.<ref name="Miller 1999, p.33">Miller 1999, p.33.</ref> By the late 8th century and early 9th century, activity at Tikal slowed. Impressive architecture was still built but few hieroglyphic inscriptions refer to later rulers.<ref name=w263>Webster 2002, p.263.</ref>

===Terminal Classic===

By the 9th century, the crisis of the [[Classic Maya collapse]] was sweeping across the region, with populations plummeting and city after city falling into silence.<ref>Martin & Grube 2000, pp.52-3.</ref> Increasingly [[endemic warfare]] in the Maya region caused Tikal's supporting population to heavily concentrate close to the city itself, accelerating the use of [[Intensive farming|intensive agriculture]] and the corresponding [[Environmental degradation|environmental decline]].<ref>Webster 2002, p.340.</ref> Construction continued at the beginning of the century, with the erection of Temple 3, the last of the city's major [[pyramid]]s, and the erection of monuments to mark the 19th [[Kʼatun]] in 810.<ref name=mg52>Martin & Grube 2000, p.52.</ref> The beginning of the 10th [[Baktun|Bakʼtun]] in 830 passed uncelebrated, and marks the beginning of a 60-year hiatus, probably resulting from the collapse of central control in the city.<ref name=mg53>Martin & Grube 2000, p.53.</ref> During this hiatus, satellite sites traditionally under Tikal's control began to erect their own monuments featuring local rulers and using the Mutal emblem glyph, with Tikal apparently lacking the authority or the power to crush these bids for independence.<ref name=w263/> In 849, Jewel Kʼawiil is mentioned on a stela at [[Seibal]] as visiting that city as the Divine Lord of Tikal but he is not recorded elsewhere and Tikal's once-great power was little more than a memory. The sites of [[Ixlu]] and [[Jimbal]] had by now inherited the once exclusive Mutal [[Maya script#Emblem glyphs|emblem glyph]].<ref name=mg53/>

As Tikal and its hinterland reached peak population, the area suffered deforestation, soil erosion and nutrient loss followed by a rapid decline in population levels. Recent analysis also indicates that the city's freshwater sources became highly contaminated with [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[phosphate]] and [[cyanobacteria]] leading to the accumulation of toxins.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-03|title=The Mayan city of Tikal succumbed to 'water pollution'|url=https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/the-mayan-city-of-tikal-succumbed-to-water-pollution-experts-say/|access-date=2020-07-03|website=Sustainability Times|language=en-GB}}</ref> Tikal and its immediate surroundings seem to have lost most of their population between 830 and 950 and central authority seems to have collapsed rapidly.<ref name="w264">Webster 2002, p.264.</ref> There is not much evidence from Tikal that the city was directly affected by the endemic warfare that afflicted parts of the Maya region during the Terminal Classic, although an influx of refugees from the [[Petexbatún]] region may have exacerbated problems resulting from the already stretched environmental resources.<ref name="w273">Webster 2002, p.273.</ref>

[[File:Tikal12.jpg|thumb|left|The site core seen from the south, with Temple I at center, the North Acropolis to the left and Central Acropolis to the right]]
In the latter half of the 9th century, there was an attempt to revive royal power at the much-diminished city of Tikal, as evidenced by a stela erected in the Great Plaza by Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil II in 869. This was the last monument erected at Tikal before the city finally fell into silence. The former satellites of Tikal, such as Jimbal and Uaxactun, did not last much longer, erecting their final monuments in 889. By the end of the 9th century, the vast majority of Tikal's population had deserted the city, its royal palaces were occupied by [[Squatting|squatters]] and simple [[thatching|thatched]] dwellings were being erected in the city's ceremonial plazas. The squatters blocked some doorways in the rooms they reoccupied in the monumental structures of the site and left rubbish that included a mixture of domestic refuse and non-utilitarian items such as musical instruments. These inhabitants reused the earlier monuments for their own ritual activities, far removed from those of the royal dynasty that had erected them. Some monuments were vandalized and some were moved to new locations. Before its final abandonment all respect for the old rulers had disappeared, with the tombs of the North Acropolis being explored for [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|jade]] and the easier-to-find tombs were looted. After 950, Tikal was all but deserted, although a remnant population may have survived in perishable huts interspersed among the ruins. Even these final inhabitants abandoned the city in the 10th or 11th centuries and the rainforest claimed the ruins for the next thousand years. Some of Tikal's population may have migrated to the [[Peten Lakes]] region, which remained heavily populated in spite of a plunge in population levels in the first half of the 9th century.<ref name=w264/><ref name=mg53/><ref name=w273/>

The most likely cause of collapse at Tikal is overpopulation and agrarian failure. The fall of Tikal was a blow to the heart of Classic [[Maya civilization]], the city having been at the forefront of courtly life, [[Maya art|art]] and architecture for over a thousand years, with an ancient ruling dynasty.<ref>Webster 2002, p.274.</ref> However, new research regarding paleoenvironmental proxies from the Tikal reservoir system suggests that a meteorological drought may have led to the abandonment of Tikal,<ref>Tamberino 2013, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1377866689</ref> fouling some reservoirs near the temple and palace with [[algae bloom]]s, while other reservoirs remained drinkable. Buildings were painted with [[Mercury (element)|mercury]]-bearing [[cinnabar]], which were washed off by rain and polluted some reservoirs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lentz |first1=David L. |last2=Hamilton |first2=Trinity L. |last3=Dunning |first3=Nicholas P. |last4=Scarborough |first4=Vernon L. |last5=Luxton |first5=Todd P. |last6=Vonderheide |first6=Anne |last7=Tepe |first7=Eric J. |last8=Perfetta |first8=Cory J. |last9=Brunemann |first9=James |last10=Grazioso |first10=Liwy |last11=Valdez |first11=Fred |last12=Tankersley |first12=Kenneth B. |last13=Weiss |first13=Alison A. |title=Molecular genetic and geochemical assays reveal severe contamination of drinking water reservoirs at the ancient Maya city of Tikal |journal=Scientific Reports |date=25 June 2020 |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=10316 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-67044-z|pmid=32587274 |pmc=7316703 |bibcode=2020NatSR..1010316L |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Michael |title=Ancient Maya reservoirs contained toxic pollution: study |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-ancient-maya-reservoirs-toxic-pollution.html |website=phys.org |language=en |date=25 June 2020}}</ref> 
Works of Kohler and colleagues<ref>Kohler et al. (2017) Greater post-Neolithic wealth disparities in Eurasia than in North America and Mesoamerica. Nature (551) : 619–622 (30 November 2017) https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature24646</ref> showed that this city reached an unsustainable level of inequalities at the end.{{clarify|date=January 2018}}

===Modern history===
[[File:Tikal1882.jpeg|thumb|right|One of Maudsley's photos of Tikal from 1882, taken after vegetation had been cleared]]
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Tikal (Eusebio Lara).jpg
| width1            = 185
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Drawing of Tikal by mid-19th-century visitor Eusebio Lara
| image2            = EdShookCropped.jpg
| width2            = 250
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = Archeologist [[Edwin M. Shook]], field director of the Tikal Project; Shook was also instrumental in having Tikal established as Guatemala's first National Park.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040829163820/http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/obits/misc/anthro16.htm Edwin Shook at ObitCentral.]}}</ref>
| footer            = 
}}

In 1525, the Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Hernán Cortés]] passed within a few kilometers of the ruins of Tikal but did not mention them in his letters.<ref>Webster 2002, pp.83–4.</ref> After Spanish friar Andrés de Avendaño became lost in the Petén forests in early 1696 he described a ruin that may well have been Tikal.<ref>Jones 1998, pp. 218–219. Means 1917, p. 167.</ref>

As is often the case with huge ancient ruins, knowledge of the site was never completely lost in the region. It seems that local people never forgot about Tikal and they guided Guatemalan expeditions to the ruins in the 1850s.<ref name=w261/> Some second- or third-hand accounts of Tikal appeared in print starting in the 17th century, continuing through the writings of [[John Lloyd Stephens]] in the early 19th century (Stephens and his illustrator [[Frederick Catherwood]] heard rumors of a lost city, with white building tops towering above the jungle, during their 1839–40 travels in the region). Because of the site's remoteness from modern towns, however, no explorers visited Tikal until Modesto Méndez and Ambrosio Tut, respectively the commissioner and the governor of [[Petén Department|Petén]], visited it in 1848. Artist Eusebio Lara accompanied them and their account was published in [[Germany]] in 1853.<ref name=k139/> Several other expeditions came to further investigate, map, and photograph Tikal in the 19th century (including [[Alfred P. Maudslay]] in 1881–82) and the early 20th century. Pioneering archaeologists started to clear, map and record the ruins in the 1880s.<ref name=w261/>

In 1951, a small airstrip was built at the ruins,<ref name=k140/> which previously could only be reached by several days' travel through the jungle on foot or [[mule]]. In 1956 the Tikal project began to map the city on a scale not previously seen in the Maya area.<ref>Adams 2000, p.19.</ref> From 1956 through 1970, major archaeological excavations were carried out by the [[University of Pennsylvania]] Tikal Project.<ref name=a30>Adams 2000, p.30.</ref> They mapped much of the site and excavated and restored many of the structures.<ref name=w261/> Excavations directed by [[Edwin M. Shook]] and later by [[William Robertson Coe II|William Coe]] of the university investigated the North Acropolis and the Central Plaza from 1957 to 1969.<ref name=mg43/> The Tikal Project recorded over 200 monuments at the site.<ref name=w261/> In 1979, the Guatemalan government began a further archaeological project at Tikal, which continued through to 1984.<ref name=a30/>

Filmmaker [[George Lucas]] used Tikal as a filming location for the fictional moon [[Yavin 4]] in the first ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' film, which premiered in 1977.<ref>Webster 2002, p.29.</ref><ref>StarWars.com</ref> Subsequent Star Wars movie [[Rogue One]] (2016)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/the-architecture-of-rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/ |title=The Architecture of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" |date=2016-12-15 |access-date=2025-05-19}}</ref> and [[Andor season 2|season 2 of TV series Andor]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/andor-season-2-star-wars-yavin-4-canon |title=Andor Season 2 Will Forever Change One Iconic Star Wars Location |date=2025-02-25 |access-date=2025-05-19 }}</ref> (2025) were also filmed at Tikal for the same fictional location.

Temple I at Tikal was featured on the reverse of the [[Guatemalan quetzal|50 centavo banknote]].<ref>Banco de Guatemala.</ref>

[[Eon Productions]] used the site for the James Bond film ''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]''.<ref name="DVD booklet">{{cite book|title =Moonraker Special Edition, Region 2 booklet|year=2000<!-- |access-date = 3 October 2008--> |publisher=United Artists}}</ref>

Tikal is now a major tourist attraction surrounded by its own national park.<ref name=w261/> A site museum has been built at Tikal; it was completed in 1964.<ref>Coe 1967, 1988, p.10.</ref>

==Site description==
[[File:Tikal map vector.svg|thumb|The site core]]

Tikal has been partially restored by the University of Pennsylvania and the government of Guatemala.<ref name=c97/> It was one of the largest of the Classic period Maya cities and was one of the largest cities in the [[Americas]].<ref name=c123/> The [[Maya architecture|architecture]] of the ancient city is built from [[limestone]] and includes the remains of temples that tower over {{convert|70|m|ft|sp=us}} high, large royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller [[Mesoamerican pyramids|pyramids]], palaces, residences, administrative buildings, platforms and inscribed stone monuments.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.1"/><ref>Drew 1999, p.183.</ref> There is even a building which seemed to have been a jail, originally with wooden bars across the windows and doors. There are also seven courts for playing the [[Mesoamerican ballgame]], including a set of 3 in the Seven Temples Plaza, a unique feature in Mesoamerica.

The limestone used for construction was local and quarried on-site. The depressions formed by the extraction of stone for building were plastered to waterproof them and were used as [[reservoir]]s, together with some waterproofed natural depressions. The main plazas were surfaced with [[stucco]] and laid at a gradient that channelled rainfall into a system of [[Aqueduct (water supply)|canals]] that fed the reservoirs.<ref name=d186>Drew 1999, p.186.</ref>

The residential area of Tikal covers an estimated {{convert|60|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}, much of which has not yet been cleared, mapped, or excavated. The {{convert|16|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} area around the site core has been intensively mapped;<ref name=w263/> it may have enclosed an area of some {{convert|125|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} (see below). A huge set of [[earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] discovered by [[Dennis E. Puleston]] and Donald Callender in the 1960s rings Tikal with a {{convert|6|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} wide trench behind a [[Defensive wall|rampart]].<ref>Puleston & Callender 1967, p. 40–48.</ref> Recently, a project exploring the defensive earthworks has shown that the scale of the earthworks is highly variable and that in many places it is inconsequential as a defensive feature. In addition, some parts of the earthwork were integrated into a canal system. The earthwork of Tikal varies significantly in coverage from what was originally proposed and it is much more complex and multifaceted than originally thought.<ref>Martínez et al. 2004, pp.639-640.</ref>

===Causeways===

By the Late Classic, a network of ''[[sacbe]]ob'' (causeways) linked various parts of the city, running for several kilometers through its urban core. These linked the Great Plaza with Temple 4 (located about {{convert|750|m|ft|lk=out|abbr=off|sp=us}} to the west) and the Temple of the Inscriptions (about {{convert|1|km|mi|sp=us}} to the southeast).<ref name=h227>Hammond 2000, p.227.</ref> These broad causeways were built of packed and plastered limestone and have been named after early explorers and archaeologists; the [[Teoberto Maler|Maler]], [[Alfred Maudslay|Maudslay]], [[Alfred Tozzer|Tozzer]] and Méndez causeways. They assisted the passage of everyday traffic during the [[Wet season|rain season]] and also served as dams.<ref name=d185/>

The '''Maler Causeway''' runs north from behind Temple I to Group H. A large [[bas-relief]] is carved onto limestone [[bedrock]] upon the course of the causeway just south of Group H. It depicts two bound captives and dates to the Late Classic.<ref name=k138>Kelly 1996, p.138.</ref>

The '''Maudsley Causeway''' runs {{convert|0.8|km|mi|sp=us}} northeast from Temple IV to Group H.<ref name=k138/>

The '''Mendez Causeway''' runs southeast from the East Plaza to Temple VI, a distance of about {{convert|1.3|km|mi|sp=us}}.<ref name=k139>Kelly 1996, p.139.</ref><ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.24">Martin & Grube 2000, p.24.</ref>

The '''Tozzer Causeway''' runs west from the Great Plaza to Temple IV.<ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.302.</ref>

=== Water reservoirs ===
Water reservoirs played a critical role in the development and maintenance of both Tikal and other [[Maya civilization|Maya]] cities. Though evidently serving as a body of water to draw from during the dry season and drought periods, water reservoirs also possessed a cultural and political significance.<ref name="Lucero-2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Lucero |first1=Lisa J. |last2=Gunn |first2=Joel D. |last3=Scarborough |first3=Vernon L. |date=June 2011|title=Climate Change and Classic Maya Water Management |journal=Water |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=479–494 |doi=10.3390/w3020479 |issn=2073-4441 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011Water...3..479L }}</ref> Hence, noteworthy investment was made by Maya societies into their reservoirs to ensure high water quality as well as consolidate political power.

Aside from Tikal, notable reservoirs are also present at '''[[Calakmul]]''', '''[[Caracol]]''', and '''[[Naranjo]]''', among others.<ref name="Lucero-2011"/>

==== Water quality maintenance ====
Human manipulation of the natural environment can result in unintended consequences. For instance, storing water not only can result in decreased [[water quality]] but also enable endemic diseases and pests, such as parasite-ridden flies and [[Malaria|malaria-bearing mosquitoes]], to flourish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miksic |first=John N. |title=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 9.1 |year=1999 |pages=167–184}}</ref> Additionally, fungal species can proliferate in improperly stored or stressed maize which can produce chemicals like [[aflatoxin]], a deadly liver [[carcinogen]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Normile |first=Dennis |date=2010-02-12 |title=Spoiling for a Fight With Mold |journal=Science |language=en |volume=327 |issue=5967 |pages=807 |doi=10.1126/science.327.5967.807 |pmid=20150484 |bibcode=2010Sci...327..807N |issn=0036-8075|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, the Maya were adept in constructing reservoirs that could guarantee high water quality. The Maya applied their knowledge of wetland biosphere ecology and ensured a balance of hydrophytic and macrophytic plants and other organisms. For example, the Maya widely adopted the dotleaf waterlily, ''[[Nymphaea ampla]],'' in their reservoirs' bodies of water. Dotleaf waterlilies, have bluish undersides that prevent passage of light and thus minimizes [[algae]] growth, inhibits evaporation, provides shade for predators of pests, removes nitrogen through their roots, and serves as an indicator of acidic conditions as water lilies cannot tolerate low pH levels;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaminsky |first=Amy K |url=https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/water-liliesflores-del-agua-anthology-of-spanish-women-writers-fr |title=Water Lilies/Flores del agua: Anthology of Spanish Women Writers from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century |date=1995 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearce |first=Jill J. |title=A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Water Hyacinth on Algal Growth and Water Quality. |publisher=Water Research Commission (Suid-Afrika) |year=1987}}</ref> low pH levels have been linked to tooth corrosion and disruption of gut homeostasis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Tue H. |last2=Thomassen |first2=Mette T. |last3=Madsen |first3=Mia L. |last4=Kern |first4=Timo |last5=Bak |first5=Emilie G. |last6=Kashani |first6=Alireza |last7=Allin |first7=Kristine H. |last8=Hansen |first8=Torben |last9=Pedersen |first9=Oluf |date=2018-11-09 |title=The effect of drinking water pH on the human gut microbiota and glucose regulation: results of a randomized controlled cross-over intervention |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=16626 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-34761-5 |pmid=30413727 |pmc=6226457 |bibcode=2018NatSR...816626H |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> Lastly, lining the reservoir with clay was also intelligently applied to help stabilize water pH.<ref name="Lucero-2011" /> 

The Corriental reservoir at Tikal contained a novel water filtration system that removed harmful microbes and insoluble or soluble toxins. Between ~ 2185 and 965 cal yr B.P. the drinking water in the Corriental reservoir was filtered through layers of Clinoptilolite and Mordenite zeolites, in addition to coarse to very coarse sand-sized quartz crystals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tankersley |first1=Kenneth |title=Zeolite water purification at Tikal, an ancient Maya city in Guatemala |journal=Scientific Reports |date=2020 |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=18021 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-75023-7 |pmid=33093562 |pmc=7582844 }}</ref>

==== Role in political power ====
A significant proportion of royal power rested in what the ruling party could materially provide for their subjects (i.e. water during annual drought through massive artificial [[reservoir]]s). Hence, water and by extension, reservoirs became a significant part of the Maya [[power structure]]. This also means that a way for [[Maya Kings and Queens|Maya rulers]] to concentrate their power would be through proper water management.<ref name="Lucero-2008">{{Cite journal |last=Lucero |first=Lisa J. |date=2008-06-28 |title=Water Control and Maya Politics in the Southern Maya Lowlands |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1525/ap3a.1999.9.1.35 |journal=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=35–49 |doi=10.1525/ap3a.1999.9.1.35|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This created a feedback loop in which tools associated with water management became associated with Maya rulers. The association of clean water, [[Nymphaeaceae|water lilies]], and royal power is amply illustrated in the [[iconography]].<ref>Ford, A. Critical Resource Control and the Rise of the Classic Period Maya. In ''The Managed Mosaic: Ancient Maya Agriculture and Resource Use''; Fedick, S.L., Ed.; University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City, UT, USA; pp. 297–303.</ref><ref name="Lucero-2008" />

This also means that when water was mismanaged, the rulers were blamed for it. For example, in the Maya city of [[Caracol]] droughts peaked in the years 806, 829, 842, 857, 895, 909 921 and 935 A.D. Most importantly, the years between A.D. 804 and 938 show a 36% to 56% drop in precipitation. While the rulers were blamed and eventually moved away, the common people stayed.<ref name="Lucero-2011"/>

===Architectural groups===
[[File:Tikal9.jpg|thumb|left|The North Acropolis]]
The '''Great Plaza''' lies at the core of the site; it is flanked on the east and west sides by two great temple-pyramids. On the north side it is bordered by the North [[Acropolis]] and on the south by the Central Acropolis.<ref name=c123/>

The '''[[Central Acropolis]]''' is a palace complex just south of the Great Plaza.<ref name=c123/>

The '''[[North Acropolis, Tikal|North Acropolis]]''', together with the Great Plaza immediately to the south, is one of the most studied architectural groups in the Maya area; the Tikal Project excavated a massive trench across the complex, thoroughly investigating its construction history. It is a complex group with construction beginning in the Preclassic Period, around 350 BC. It developed into a funerary complex for the ruling dynasty of the Classic Period, with each additional royal burial adding new temples on top of the older structures. After AD 400 a row of tall pyramids was added to the earlier Northern Platform, which measured {{convert|100|by|80|m|ft|sp=us}}, gradually hiding it from view. Eight temple pyramids were built in the 6th century AD, each of them had an elaborate [[Roof comb|roofcomb]] and a stairway flanked by masks of the gods. By the 9th century AD, 43 stelae and 30 altars had been erected in the North Acropolis; 18 of these monuments were carved with [[Maya script|hieroglyphic texts]] and royal portraits. The North Acropolis continued to receive burials into the Postclassic Period.<ref name=mg43/><ref name=d186/>

[[File:Mundo Perdido pyramid 5C-54, Tikal.jpg|thumb|The Lost World Pyramid in the Mundo Perdido complex]]
The '''South Acropolis''' is found next to Temple V. It was built upon a large basal platform that covers an area of more than {{convert|20000|m2|sqft|sp=us}}.<ref name=d185/>

The '''[[Plaza of the Seven Temples]]''' is to the west of the South Acropolis. It is bordered on the east side by a row of nearly identical temples, by palaces on the south and west sides and by an unusual triple [[Mesoamerican ballcourt|ballcourt]] on the north side.<ref name=d185/><ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.304.</ref>

The '''[[Mundo Perdido, Tikal|Mundo Perdido]]''' is to the west of the Plaza of the Seven Temples.<ref name="Coe 1967, 1988, pp.90–91">Coe 1967, 1988, pp.90–91.</ref> It is the largest ceremonial complex dating from the Preclassic period at Tikal.<ref name="MartinGrube00p28">Martin and Grube 2000, p.28.</ref> The complex was organized as a large [[E-Group]] consisting of a pyramid aligned with a platform to the east that supported three temples.<ref name="MartinGrube00p28"/> The Mundo Perdido complex was rebuilt many times over the course of its history. By AD 250–300 its architectural style was influenced by the great metropolis of [[Teotihuacan]] in the [[Valley of Mexico]], including the use of the ''[[talud-tablero]]'' form.<ref>Martin and Grube 2000, p. 29. Sharer and Traxler 2006, p.321.</ref> During the Early Classic period (c. 250–600) the Mundo Perdido became one of the twin foci of the city, the other being the North Acropolis.<ref name="MartinGrube00p29">Martin and Grube 2000, p.29.</ref> From AD 250 to 378 it may have served as the royal necropolis.<ref name="MartinGrube00p29"/> The Mundo Perdido complex was given its name by the archaeologists of the University of Pennsylvania; it is centered upon the Lost World Pyramid and a small platform to the west of it.<ref name="Coe 1967, 1988, pp. 90–91"/> To the south of Mundo Perdido, recent 2021 excavations have revealed a one-third size replication of La Ciudadela, or The Citadel, in Teotihuacan. This area may have been used as a diplomatic headquarters and as an effort to further stamp Teotihuacan culture upon the residents of Tikal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Copy of famous Teotihuacan structure discovered in Maya city |url=https://www.livescience.com/teotihuacan-maya-embassy-in-tikal.html |website=Live Science|date=29 April 2021 }}</ref>

'''Group G''' lies just south of the Mendez Causeway. The complex dates to the Late Classic and consists of palace-type structures and is one of the largest groups of its type at Tikal. It has two stories but most of the rooms are on the lower floor, a total of 29 [[Vault (architecture)|vaulted]] chambers. The remains of two further chambers belong to the upper story. One of the entrances to the group was framed by a gigantic mask.<ref name=k139/>

'''Group H''' is centered on a large plaza to the north of the Great Plaza. It is bordered by temples dating to the Late Classic.<ref name=k138/>

[[File:Tikal Plaza of the Seven Temples.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Plaza of the Seven Temples]]
There are nine '''[[Twin-pyramid complex]]es''' at Tikal, one of which was completely dismantled in ancient times and some others were partly destroyed. They vary in size but consist of two pyramids facing each other on an east–west axis.<ref name=k138/> These pyramids are flat-topped and have stairways on all four sides. A row of plain stelae is placed immediately to the west of the eastern pyramid and to the north of the pyramids. Lying roughly equidistant from them, there is usually a sculpted stela and altar pair. On the south side of these complexes there is a long vaulted building containing a single room with nine doorways. The entire complex was built at once and these complexes were built at 20-year (or ''k'atun'') intervals during the Late Classic.<ref name=k139/> The first twin-pyramid complex was built in the early 6th century in the East Plaza. It was once thought that these complexes were unique to Tikal but rare examples have now been found at other sites, such as [[Yaxha]] and [[Ixlu]], and they may reflect the extent of Tikal's political dominance in the Late Classic.<ref name=mg51>Martin & Grube 2000, p.51.</ref>

'''Group Q ''' is a twin-pyramid complex, and is one of the largest at Tikal. It was built by Yax Nuun Ayiin II in 771 in order to mark the end of the 17th K'atun.<ref name=mg51/> Most of it has been restored and its monuments have been re-erected.<ref name=k139/>

'''Group R''' is another twin-pyramid complex, dated to 790. It is close to the Maler Causeway.<ref name=k139/>

===Structures===
[[File:Belize-tikal.jpg|thumb|upright|Temple II on the main plaza]]

There are thousands of ancient structures at Tikal and only a fraction of these have been [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]], after decades of [[Archeology|archaeological]] work. The most prominent surviving buildings include six very large pyramids, labelled Temples I – VI, each of which support a [[temple]] structure on their summits. Some of these pyramids are over {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} high. They were numbered sequentially during the early survey of the site. It is estimated that each of these major temples could have been built in as little as two years.<ref name=k133>Kelly 1996, p.133.</ref>

'''[[Tikal Temple I|Temple I]]''' (also known as the ''Temple of Ah Cacao'' or ''Temple of the Great Jaguar'') is a funerary pyramid dedicated to Jasaw Chan Kʼawil, who was entombed in the structure in AD 734,<ref name=mg43>Martin & Grube 2000, p.43.</ref><ref name=c123/> the pyramid was completed around 740–750.<ref>Webster 2002, pl.15.</ref> The temple rises {{convert|47|m|ft|sp=us}} high.<ref name=mg47>Martin & Grube 2000, p.47.</ref> The massive roofcomb that topped the temple was originally decorated with a giant sculpture of the enthroned king, although little of this decoration survives.<ref>Miller 1999, p.27.</ref> The tomb of the king was discovered by Aubrey Trik of the University of Pennsylvania in 1962.<ref name=c124>Coe 1999, p.124.</ref> Among items recovered from the Late Classic tomb were a large collection of inscribed human and animal bone tubes and strips with sophisticated scenes depicting deities and people, finely carved and rubbed with [[vermilion]], as well as jade and shell ornaments and ceramic vessels filled with offerings of food and drink.<ref name=c124/><ref name=m78>Miller 1999, p.78.</ref> The shrine at the summit of the pyramid has three chambers, each behind the next, with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels fashioned from multiple beams. The outermost lintel is plain but the two inner lintels were carved, some of the beams were removed in the 19th century and their location is unknown, while others were taken to museums in Europe.<ref name=k133/>

[[File:Tikal temple 4 cyark.jpg|thumb|left|Contrasting photo, scan shot, and isometric images for the roof comb of Temple IV, using data acquired by a [[3D scanner|laser scan]] collected by nonprofit [[CyArk]]]]
'''[[Tikal Temple II|Temple II]]''' (also known as the ''Temple of the Mask'') it was built around AD 700 and stands {{convert|38|m|ft|sp=us}} high. Like other major temples at Tikal, the summit shrine had three consecutive chambers with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels, only the middle of which was carved. The temple was dedicated to the wife of Jasaw Chan Kʼawil, although no tomb was found. The queen's portrait was carved into the lintel spanning the doorway of the summit shrine. One of the beams from this lintel is now in the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in New York City.<ref name="Miller 1999, p.33"/><ref name=k134>Kelly 1996, p.134.</ref>

'''[[Tikal Temple III|Temple III]]''' (also known as the ''Temple of the Jaguar Priest'') was the last of the great pyramids to be built at Tikal. It stood {{convert|55|m|ft|sp=us}} tall and contained an elaborately sculpted but damaged roof lintel, possibly showing Dark Sun engaged in a ritual dance around AD 810.<ref name=mg52/> The temple shrine possesses two chambers.<ref name=k136>Kelly 1996, p.136.</ref>

'''[[Tikal Temple IV|Temple IV]]''' is the tallest temple-pyramid at Tikal, measuring {{convert|70|m|ft|sp=us}} from the plaza floor level to the top of its roof comb.<ref name=c123>Coe 1999, p.123.</ref> Temple IV marks the reign of Yikʼin Chan Kawil (Ruler B, the son of Ruler A or Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I) and two carved wooden lintels over the doorway that leads into the temple on the pyramid's summit record a long count date (9.15.10.0.0) that corresponds to CE 741 (Sharer 1994:169). Temple IV is one of the largest pyramids built anywhere in the Maya region in the 8th century,<ref name=m32>Miller 1999, p.32.</ref> and it stands as one of the tallest pre-Columbian structures in the Americas,<ref name="Kelly 1996, p.137">Kelly 1996, p.137.</ref> only surpassed by the Great Pyramid of [[Toniná]] (75 meters) and La Danta pyramid of El Mirador (72 meters) while the [[Pyramid of the Sun]] at Teotihuacan may originally have been taller (71 meters).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tonina |url=https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/tonina.html |website=Maya Ruins Website}}</ref>

'''[[Tikal Temple V|Temple V]]''' stands south of the Central Acropolis and is the mortuary pyramid of an as yet unidentified ruler. The temple stands {{convert|57|m|ft|sp=us}} high, making it the second tallest structure at Tikal – only Temple IV is taller.<ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.303-304.</ref> The temple has been dated to about AD 700, in the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Late Classic]] period, via [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon analysis]] and the dating of ceramics associated with the structure places its construction during the reign of Nun Bak Chak in the second half of the 7th century.<ref>Coe 1967, 1988, p.92. Valdés & Fahsen 2005, p.142.</ref>

'''[[Tikal Temple VI|Temple VI]]''' is also known as the ''Temple of the Inscriptions'' and was dedicated in AD 766. It is notable for its {{convert|12|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} high roof-comb. Panels of hieroglyphs cover the back and sides of the roof-comb. The temple faces onto a plaza to the west and its front is unrestored.<ref name=k139/>

'''[[Tikal Temple 33|Temple 33]]''' was a funerary pyramid erected over the tomb of Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil I (known as Burial 48) in the North Acropolis. It started life in the Early Classic as a wide basal platform decorated with large stucco masks that flanked the stairway. Later in the Early Classic a new superstructure was added, with its own masks and decorated panels. During the Hiatus a third stage was built over the earlier constructions, the stairway was demolished and another royal burial, of an unidentified ruler, was set into the structure (Burial 23). While the new pyramid was being built another high ranking tomb (Burial 24) was inserted into the rubble core of the building. The pyramid was then completed, standing {{convert|33|m|ft|sp=us}} tall.<ref name=mg36>Martin & Grube 2000, p.36.</ref> The final version of Temple 33 was completely dismantled by archaeologists in 1965 in order to arrive at the earlier stages of construction.<ref>Coe 1967, 1988, p.46. Berlin 1967, p.241.</ref>

'''Structure 34''' is a pyramid in the North Acropolis that was built by Siyaj Chan K'awiil II over the tomb of his father, Yax Nuun Ayiin I. The pyramid was topped by a three chambered shrine, the rooms situated one behind the other.<ref name=m32/>

[[File:Tikal Structure 5D-43 detail.jpg|thumb|Detail of Teotihuacan-related imagery decorating the sloping ''talud'' sections of the ''talud-tablero'' sides of Structure 5D-43<ref name=sm72>Schele & Mathews 1999, p.72.</ref>]]
'''Structure 5D-43''' is an unusual radial temple in the East Plaza, built over a pre-existing twin-pyramid complex. It is built into the end of the East Plaza Ballcourt and possessed four entry doorways and three stairways, the fourth (south) side was too close to the Central Acropolis for a stairway on that side.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, p.71.</ref> The building has a ''[[talud-tablero]]'' platform profile, modified from the original style found at Teotihuacan. In fact, it has been suggested that the style of the building has closer affinities with [[El Tajín]] and [[Xochicalco]] than with Teotihuacan itself. The vertical ''tablero'' panels are set between sloping ''talud'' panels and are decorated with paired disc symbols. Large flower symbols are set into the sloping ''talud'' panels, related to the Venus and star symbols used at Teotihuacan. The roof of the structure was decorated with [[frieze]]s although only fragments now remain, showing a monstrous face, perhaps that of a jaguar, with another head emerging from the mouth.<ref name=sm72/> The second head possesses a bifurcated tongue but is probably not that of a snake.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, pp.72-3.</ref> The temple, and its associated ballcourt, probably date to the reign of Nuun Ujol Chaak or that  Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I, in the later part of the 7th century.<ref>Schele & Mathews 1999, pp.70-1.</ref>

'''Structure 5C-49''' possesses a clear Teotihuacan-linked architectural style; it has [[balustrade]]s, an architectural feature that is very rare in the Maya region, and a ''[[talud-tablero]]'' façade; it dates to the 4th century AD.<ref name=h228/> It is located near to the Lost World pyramid.<ref>Miller 1999, p.30.</ref>

'''Structure 5C-53''' is a small Teotihuacan-style platform that dates to about AD 600. It had stairways on all four sides and did not possess a superstructure.<ref name=k136/>

[[File:DSC03332TikalUnderjordiskSteinansikt.JPG|thumb|left|A large stucco mask adorning the substructure of Temple 33]]
The '''Lost World Pyramid''' (Structure 5C-54) is the largest structure in the Mundo Perdido complex.<ref>Coe 1967, 1988, p.90.</ref> It lies in the southwest portion of Tikal's central core, south of Temple III and west of Temple V.<ref name=h227/><ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.24"/><ref>Kelly 1996, p.130.</ref> It was decorated with stucco masks of the sun god and dates to the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Late Preclassic]];<ref name=d185/> this pyramid is part of an enclosed complex of structures that remained intact and un-impacted by later building activity at Tikal. By the end of the Late Preclassic this pyramid was one of the largest structures in the Maya region.<ref name=h227/> It attained its final form during the reign of Chak Tok Ichʼaak in the 4th century AD, in the Early Classic, standing more than {{convert|30|m|ft|sp=us}} high with stairways on all four sides and a flat top that possibly supported a superstructure built from perishable materials.<ref name=h228>Hammond 2000, p.228.</ref><ref name=d188/> Although the plaza later suffered significant alteration, the organization of a group of temples on the east side of this complex adheres to the layout that defines the so-called [[E-Group]]s, identified as solar observatories.<ref>Hammond 2000, pp.227-8.</ref>

'''Structure 5D-96''' is the central temple on the east side of the Plaza of the Seven Temples. It has been restored and its rear outer wall is decorated with skull-and-crossbones motifs.<ref>Kelly 1996, p.135.</ref>

'''Group 6C-16''' is an elite residential complex that has been thoroughly excavated. It lies a few hundred m south of the Lost World Complex and the excavations have revealed elaborate stucco masks, ballplayer murals, relief sculptures and buildings with Teotihuacan characteristics.<ref name=h228/>

The '''Great Plaza Ballcourt''' is a small ballcourt that lies between Temple I and the Central Acropolis.<ref name=k134/>

The '''Bat Palace''' is also known as the Palace of Windows and lies to the west of Temple III.<ref>Kelly 1996, pp.130, 136.</ref> It has two storeys, with a double range of chambers on the lower storey and a single range in the upper storey, which has been restored. The palace has ancient graffiti and possesses low windows.<ref name=k136/>

'''Complex N''' lies to the west of the Bat Palace and Temple III. The complex dates to AD 711.<ref>Kelly 1996, pp. 136-7.</ref>

In 2018, 60,000 uncharted structures were revealed by archaeologists with help of [[Lidar]]. Thanks to the new findings, some archaeologists believe that 7–11 million [[Maya peoples|Maya people]] inhabited in the northern [[Guatemala]] during the late classical period from 650 to 800 A.D. Lidar digitally removed the tree canopy to reveal ancient remains and showed that Maya cities like Tikal were bigger than previously thought. The project was mapped near the [[Maya Biosphere Reserve]] in the [[Petén Department|Petén]] region of Guatemala.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world/archaeologists-find-ancient-lost-cities-using-lasers/ar-BBNIdqB|title=Archaeologists Find Ancient Lost Cities Using Lasers|website=msn.com|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/maya-laser-lidar-guatemala-pacunam/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807025257/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/maya-laser-lidar-guatemala-pacunam/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 August 2019|title=This Ancient Civilization Was Twice As Big As Medieval England|date=1 February 2018|website=National Geographic News|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42916261|title=Sprawling Maya network discovered under Guatemala jungle|publisher=BBC News |date=2 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/archaeologists-find-ancient-cities-using-lasers-1145042|title=Archaeologists Find Ancient Mayan Lost Cities in Guatemala Using Lasers|website=NEWSWEEK|date=29 September 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/ancient-maya-structures-guatemala-lasers|title=Lasers Reveal 60,000 Ancient Maya Structures in Guatemala|last=Little|first=Becky|website=HISTORY|language=en|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/hidden-ancient-mayan-apos-megalopolis-110002872.html|title=Hidden Ancient Mayan 'Megalopolis' With 60,000 Structures Discovered in Guatemala Using Lasers|website=yahoo.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-10|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905113109/https://www.yahoo.com/news/hidden-ancient-mayan-apos-megalopolis-110002872.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/60000-lost-mayan-structures-found-beneath-guatemalan-jungle-2018-2|title=Archaeologists found thousands of hidden structures in the Guatemalan jungle – and it could re-write human history|last=Berke|first=Jeremy|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/hidden-ancient-mayan-megalopolis-60000-structures-discovered-guatemala-using-797865|title=Hidden Ancient Mayan 'Megalopolis' With 60,000 Structures Discovered in Guatemala Using Lasers|website=NEWSWEEK|date=2 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://olodonation.com/2018/09/30/archaeologists-discover-ancient-mayan-lost-city-in-northern-guatemala-using-lasers/|title=Archaeologists Discover Ancient Mayan Lost City in Northern Guatemala Using Lasers|last=Chukwurah|first=Precious|date=30 September 2018|website=Nigeria’s Entertainment News, Music, Video, Lifestyle|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bgr.com/2018/02/02/mayan-megacity-discovered-guatemala-jungle/|title=Archaeologists discovered an ancient Mayan megacity hidden in a Guatemalan jungle|date=2 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2018/09/27/this-major-discovery-upends-long-held-theories-about-maya-civilization/?_ga=2.164638527.1462411402.1566373807-1089594517.1566373807&noredirect=on|title=This major discovery upends long-held theories about the Maya civilization|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

===Altars===

'''Altar 5''' is carved with two nobles, one of whom is probably Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I. They are performing a ritual using the bones of an important woman.<ref>Webster 2002, pl.14.</ref> Altar 5 was found in Complex N, which lies to the west of Temple III.<ref name="Kelly 1996, p.137"/>

'''Altar 8''' is sculpted with a bound captive.<ref name=m130/> It was found within Complex P in Group H and is now in the [[Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología]] in [[Guatemala City]].<ref name=k138/>

'''Altar 9''' is associated with Stela 21 and bears the sculpture of a bound captive. It is located in front of Temple VI.<ref name=k139/>

'''Altar 10''' is carved with a captive tied to a scaffold.<ref name=m130>Miller 1999, p.130.</ref> It is in the northern enclosure of Group Q, a twin-pyramid complex and has suffered from erosion.<ref name=k139/>

'''Altar 35''' is a plain monument associated with Stela 43. The stela-altar pair is centrally located at the base of the stairway of Temple IV.<ref name="Morales08p422">Morales et al 2008, p.422.</ref>

===Lintels===
[[File:Tikal Temple IV lintel, cropped.jpg|thumb|left|The elaborately carved wooden Lintel 3 from Temple IV. It celebrates a military victory by Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil in 743.<ref name="Miller 1999, p.131">Miller 1999, p.131.</ref>]]
At Tikal, beams of [[sapodilla]] wood were placed as lintels spanning the inner doorways of temples. These are the most elaborately carved wooden lintels to have survived anywhere in the Maya region.<ref>Miller 1999, pp.130-1.</ref>

'''Lintel 3''' from Temple IV was taken to [[Basel]] in Switzerland in the 19th century. It was in almost perfect condition and depicts Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil seated on a [[palanquin]].<ref name="Miller 1999, p.131"/>

===Stelae===

[[Maya stelae|Stelae]] are carved stone shafts, often sculpted with figures and hieroglyphs. A selection of the most notable stelae at Tikal follows:

'''Stela 1''' dates to the 5th century and depicts the king Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil II in a standing position.<ref>Miller 1999, p.153.</ref>

'''Stela 4''' is dated to AD 396, during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin after the intrusion of Teotihuacan in the Maya area.<ref>Miller 1999, p.94.</ref> The stela displays a mix of Maya and Teotihuacan qualities, and deities from both cultures. It has a portrait of the king with the Underworld Jaguar God under one arm and the Mexican Tláloc under the other. His helmet is a simplified version of the Teotihuacan War Serpent. Unusually for Maya sculpture, but typically for Teotihuacan, Yax Nuun Ayiin is depicted with a frontal face, rather than in profile.<ref>Miller 1999, p.95.</ref>

'''Stela 5''' was dedicated in 744 by Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil.<ref name=m129>Miller 1999, p.129.</ref>

'''Stela 6''' is a badly damaged monument dating to 514 and bears the name of the "Lady of Tikal" who celebrated the end of the 4th Kʼatun in that year.<ref name=mg38>Martin & Grube 2000, p.38.</ref>

'''Stela 10''' is twinned with Stela 12 but is badly damaged. It described the accession of Kaloomteʼ Bʼalam in the early 6th century and earlier events in his career, including the capture of a prisoner depicted on the monument.<ref name=mg39>Martin & Grube 2000, p.39.</ref>

'''Stela 11''' was the last monument ever erected at Tikal; it was dedicated in 869 by Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil II.<ref name=mg53/>

'''Stela 12''' is linked to the queen known as the "Lady of Tikal" and king Kaloomteʼ Bʼalam. The queen is described as performing the year-ending rituals but the monument was dedicated in honor of the king.<ref name=mg38-9>Martin & Grube 2000, pp.38–9.</ref>

'''Stela 16''' was dedicated in 711, during the reign of Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I. The sculpture, including a portrait of the king and a hieroglyphic text, are limited to the front face of the monument.<ref name=m129/> It was found in Complex N, west of Temple III.<ref name="Kelly 1996, p.137"/>

'''Stela 18''' was one of two stelae erected by Yax Nuun Ayiin I to celebrate the ''kʼatun''-ending of AD 396. It was re-erected at the base of Temple 34, his funerary shrine.<ref>Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 33–34.</ref>

'''Stela 19''' was dedicated in 790 by Yax Nuun Ayiin II.<ref name=m129/>

'''Stela 20''' was found in Complex P, in Group H, and was moved to the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología in Guatemala City.<ref name=k138/>

'''Stela 21''' was dedicated in 736 by Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil.<ref name=m129/> Only the bottom of the stela is intact, the rest having been mutilated in ancient times. The surviving sculpture is of fine quality, consisting of the feet of a figure and of accompanying hieroglyphic text. The stela is associated with Altar 9 and is located in front of Temple VI.<ref name=k139/>

'''Stela 22''' was dedicated in 771 by Yax Nuun Ahiin II in the northern enclosure of Group Q, a twin-pyramid complex.<ref name=m129/> The face of the figure on the stela has been mutilated.<ref name=k139/>

'''Stela 23''' was broken in antiquity and was re-erected in a residential complex. The defaced portrait on the monument is that of the so-called "Lady of Tikal", a daughter of Chak Tok Ichʼaak II who became queen at the age of six but never ruled in her own right, being paired with male co-rulers. It dates to the early 6th century.<ref name=mg38/>

'''Stela 24''' was erected at the foot of Temple 3 in 810, accompanied by Altar 7. Both were broken into fragments in ancient times, although the name of Dark Sun survives on three fragments.<ref name=mg52/>

'''Stela 26''' was found in the summit shrine of Temple 34, underneath a broken masonry altar. The monument had originally been erected at the base of the temple during the Early Classic period and was later broken, probably at the beginning of the Late Classic. Its remains were then interred within the temple shrine.<ref>Coe 1967, 1988, p. 45.</ref>

'''Stela 29''' bears a Long Count (8.12.14.8.15) date equivalent to AD 292, the earliest surviving Long Count date from the Maya lowlands.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.27"/> The stela is also the earliest monument to bear the Tikal emblem glyph. It bears a sculpture of the king facing to the right, holding the head of an underworld jaguar god, one of the patron deities of the city. The stela was deliberately smashed during the 6th century or some time later, the upper portion was dragged away and dumped in a rubbish tip close to Temple III, to be uncovered by archaeologists in 1959.<ref>Miller 1999, p.91.</ref><ref>Drew 1999, pp.187–8.</ref>

'''Stela 30''' is the first surviving monument to be erected after the Hiatus. Its style and iconography is similar to that of Caracol, one of the more important of Tikal's enemies.<ref name=m129/>

[[File:Tikal Stela 31.jpg|thumb|upright|Stela 31, with the sculpted image of Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil II<ref name=m97>Miller 1999, p.97.</ref>]]
'''Stela 31''' is the accession monument of Siyaj Chan K'awiil II, also bearing two portraits of his father, Yax Nuun Ayiin, as a youth dressed as a Teotihuacan warrior. He carries a spearthrower in one hand and bears a shield decorated with the face of [[Tláloc]], the Teotihuacan [[war god]].<ref>Coe 1999, pp.91-2.</ref> In ancient times the sculpture was broken and the upper portion was moved to the summit of Temple 33 and ritually buried.<ref name=m96>Miller 1999, p.96.</ref> Stela 31 has been described as the greatest Early Classic sculpture to survive at Tikal. A long hieroglyphic text is carved onto the back of the monument, the longest to survive from the Early Classic,<ref name=m97/> which describes the arrival of Siyah Kʼakʼ at El Peru and Tikal in January 378.<ref name=d199>Drew 1999, p.199.</ref> It was also the first stela at Tikal to be carved on all four faces.<ref>Miller 1999, p.98.</ref>

'''Stela 32''' is a fragmented monument with a foreign Teotihuacan-style sculpture apparently depicting the lord of that city with the attributes of the central Mexican storm god Tláloc, including his goggle eyes and tasselled headdress.<ref>Martin & Grube 2000, p.31.</ref>

'''Stela 39''' is a broken monument that was erected in the Lost World complex. The upper portion of the stela is missing but the lower portion shows the lower body and legs of Chak Tok Ichʼaak, holding a flint axe in his left hand. He is trampling the figure of a bound, richly dressed captive. The monument is dated to AD 376. The text on the back of the monument describes a bloodletting ritual to celebrate a [[Kʼatun]]-ending.<ref name=d188>Drew 1999, p.188.</ref> The stela also names Chak Tok Ichʼaak I's father as Kʼinich Muwaan Jol.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.27"/>

'''Stela 40''' bears a portrait of Kan Chitam and dates to AD 468.<ref>Martin & Grube 2000, p.37.</ref>

'''Stela 43''' is paired with Altar 35. It is a plain monument at the base of the stairway of Temple IV.<ref name="Morales08p422"/>

===Burials===

[[File:Burial 10 vessel.jpg|thumb|upright|A ceramic censer representing an elderly deity, found in Burial 10<ref>Martin & Grube 2000, p.33.</ref>]]
'''Burial 1''' is a tomb in the Lost World complex. A fine ceramic bowl was recovered from the tomb, with the handle formed from three-dimensional head and neck of a bird emerging from the two-dimensional body painted on the lid.<ref>Miller 1999, pp.193-4.</ref>

'''Burial 10''' is the tomb of [[Yax Nuun Ahiin I]].<ref name=c90/> It is located beneath Structure 34 in the North Acropolis. The tomb contained a rich array of offerings, including ceramic vessels and food, and nine youths were sacrificed to accompany the dead king.<ref name=m32/> A [[Dogs in Mesoamerica|dog]] was also entombed with the deceased king. Pots in the tomb were stuccoed and painted and many demonstrated a blend of Maya and Teotihuacan styles.<ref name=m96/> Among the offerings was an incense-burner in the shape of an elderly underworld god, sitting on a stool made of human bones and holding a severed head in his hands.<ref>Drew 1999, p.197.</ref> The tomb was sealed with a corbel vault, then the pyramid was built on top.<ref name=m32/>

'''Burial 48''' is generally accepted as the tomb of [[Sihyaj Chan Kʼawiil II]]. It is located beneath Temple 33 in the North Acropolis.<ref name=mg36/><ref name=c91>Coe 1999, p.91.</ref> The chamber of the tomb was cut from the bedrock and contained the remains of the king himself together with those of two adolescents who had been sacrificed in order to accompany the deceased ruler.<ref name=c91/> The walls of the tomb were covered with white stucco painted with hieroglyphs that included the Long Count date equivalent to 20 March 457, probably the date of either the death or interment of the king.<ref name=c94>Coe 1999, p.94.</ref> The king's skeleton was missing its skull, its [[femur]]s and one of its hands while the skeletons of the sacrificial victims were intact.<ref name=m78/>

'''Burial 85''' dates to the Late Preclassic and was enclosed by a platform, with a primitive corbel vault. The tomb contained a single male skeleton, which lacked a skull and its thighbones.<ref name=d187>Drew 1999, p.187.</ref><ref name=c75>Coe 1999, p.75.</ref> The dynastic founder of Tikal, [[Yax Ehb Xook]], has been linked to this tomb, which lies deep in the heart of the North Acropolis.<ref name=d187/> The deceased had probably died in battle with his body being mutilated by his enemies before being recovered and interred by his followers. The bones were wrapped carefully in textiles to form an upright bundle.<ref>Coe 1999, pp.75-6.</ref> The missing head was replaced by a small [[greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]] mask with shell-inlaid teeth and eyes and bearing a three-pointed royal headband.<ref name=d187/><ref name=c76>Coe 1999, p.76.</ref> This head wears an emblem of rulership on its forehead and is a rare Preclassic lowland Maya portrait of a king.<ref name=m89/> Among the contents of the tomb were a [[stingray]] spine, a [[spondylus]] shell and twenty-six ceramic vessels.<ref name=c76/>

'''Burial 116''' is the tomb of [[Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I]]. It is a large vaulted chamber deep within the pyramid, below the level of the Great Plaza. The tomb contained rich offerings of [[jadeite]], ceramics, shell and works of art. The body of the king was covered with large quantities of jade ornaments including an enormous necklace with especially large beads, as depicted in sculpted portraits of the king. One of the outstanding pieces recovered from the tomb was an ornate jade [[mosaic]] vessel with the lid bearing a sculpted portrait of the king himself.<ref>Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp.397-399.</ref>

'''Burial 195''' was flooded with mud in antiquity. This flood had covered wooden objects that had completely rotted away by the time the tomb was excavated, leaving hollows in the dried mud. Archaeologists filled these hollows with stucco and thus excavated four effigies of the god [[Kʼawiil]], the wooden originals long gone.<ref>Martin & Grube 2000, p.41.</ref><ref>Miller 1999, p.216.</ref>

'''Burial 196''' is a Late Classic royal tomb that contained a jade mosaic vessel topped with the head of the Maize God.<ref name="Coe 1999, p.104"/>

==See also==
*[[El Zotz]]
*[[List of Mesoamerican pyramids]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
<!--BEGIN biblio format -->
* {{cite book |author=Adams, Richard E.W. |year=2000 |chapter=Introduction to a Survey of the Native Prehistoric Cultures of Mesoamerica |editor=Richard E.W. Adams |editor2=Murdo J. Macleod |title=The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas |volume=II: Mesoamerica, part 1 |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=1–44|isbn=978-0-521-35165-2 |oclc=33359444}}
* {{cite book |author=Andrews, E. Wyllys |author2=William L. Fash |year=2005 |chapter=Issues in Copán Archaeology|editor=E. Wyllys Andrews|editor2=William L. Fash |title=Copán: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom |pages=395–425 |location=Santa Fe and Oxford|publisher=[[School of American Research]] Press and James Currey Ltd. |isbn=978-0-85255-981-9|oclc=56194789}}
* {{cite web |author=Banco de Guatemala |url=http://www.banguat.gob.gt/inc/ver.asp?id=/monedasybilletes/ilustraciones-11-denominaciones.htm&e=40306 |title=Monedas |access-date=13 November 2009 |publisher=Banco de Guatemala |language=es |archive-date=27 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527223624/http://www.banguat.gob.gt/inc/ver.asp?id=/monedasybilletes/ilustraciones-11-denominaciones.htm |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |title=The Destruction of Structure 5D-33-1st at Tikal |author=Berlin, Heinrich |journal=American Antiquity |volume=32 |issue=2 |date=April 1967 |pages=241–242 |jstor=277915 |issn=0002-7316 |oclc=754651089 |doi=10.2307/277915|s2cid=163207109 }}
* {{cite book |author=Coe, Michael D. |author-link=Michael D. Coe |year=1999 |title=The Maya |edition=6th, fully revised and expanded |series=Ancient peoples and places series|location=London and New York |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-28066-9 |oclc=59432778}}
* {{cite book |author=Coe, William R. |author-link=William R. Coe (archaeologist) |orig-year=1967|year=1988 |title=Tikal: Guía de las Antiguas Ruinas Mayas |location=Guatemala |publisher=Piedra Santa |isbn=978-84-8377-246-1|language=es}}
* {{cite book |author=Drew, David |year=1999 |title=The Lost Chronicles of the Mayan Kings |publisher=University of California Press |location=Los Angeles}}
* {{cite book |author=Fash, William L. |author2=Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle |year=2005 |chapter=Contributions and Controversies in the Archaeology and History of Copán |editor=E. Wyllys Andrews |editor2=William L. Fash |title=Copán: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom |pages=3–32 |location=Santa Fe and Oxford|publisher=[[School of American Research]] Press and James Currey Ltd. |isbn=978-0-85255-981-9|oclc=56194789}}
* {{cite book |author=Gill, Richardson B. |year=2000 |title=The Great Maya Droughts: Water, Life, and Death |location=Albuquerque |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-2194-7 |oclc=43567384}}
* {{cite book |author=Hammond, Norman |year=2000 |chapter=The Maya Lowlands: Pioneer Farmers to Merchant Princes |editor=Richard E.W. Adams |editor2=Murdo J. Macleod |title=The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas |volume=II: Mesoamerica, part 1 |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=197–249|isbn=978-0-521-35165-2 |oclc=33359444}}
* {{cite book |author=Harrison, Peter D. |year=2006 |chapter=Maya Architecture at Tikal |pages=218–231 |editor= Nikolai Grube |editor-link=Nikolai Grube |others=Eva Eggebrecht and Matthias Seidel (assistant eds.) |title=Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest |location=Köln |publisher=Könemann |isbn=978-3-8331-1957-6 |oclc=71165439}}
* {{cite journal |author=Hidinger, Lori A. |year=1996 |title=Measuring the Impacts of Ecotourism on Animal Populations: A Case Study of Tikal National Park, Guatemala |url=http://gip.uniovi.es/docume/ecotu.pdf |journal=Yale Forestry & Environment Bulletin |pages=45–59 |volume=99 |issue=1 }}
* {{cite book |author=Jones, Grant D. |year=1998 |title=The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeOWl54Mt7UC&pg=RA2-PT82 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, California, US |isbn=9780804735223 |oclc=38747674 }}
* {{cite book |author=Kelly, Joyce |year=1996 |title=An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador |location=Norman |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-2858-0 |oclc=34658843}}
* {{cite web |author=Kerr, Justin |author-link=Justin Kerr |year=n.d. |title=A Precolumbian Portfolio |url=http://research.famsi.org/kerrportfolio.html |work=FAMSI Research Materials |format=online database |publisher=Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. |access-date=13 June 2007 }}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S0956536199101135|author=Looper, Matthew G. |year=1999 |title=New Perspectives on the Late Classic Political History of Quirigua, Guatemala |journal=Ancient Mesoamerica |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=263–280 |s2cid=161977572 |issn=0956-5361 |oclc=86542758}}
* {{cite book |author=Looper, Matthew G. |year=2003 |title=Lightning Warrior: Maya Art and Kingship at Quirigua |series=Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-70556-2 |oclc=52208614 |url=https://archive.org/details/lightningwarrior0000loop }}
* {{cite book |author=Martin, Simon |author-link=Simon Martin (Mayanist) |author2=Nikolai Grube |author2-link=Nikolai Grube |year=2000 |title=Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya |location=London and New York |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-05103-0 |oclc=47358325 |url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleofmayak00mart }}
* {{cite book|author=Martin, Simon |author-link=Simon Martin (Mayanist)|author2=Nikolai Grube|author2-link=Nikolai Grube |year=2008 |title=Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya |edition=2nd revised |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London and New York |isbn=978-0-500-28726-2 |oclc=191753193}}
* {{cite web |author=Martínez, Horacio |author2=David Webster |author3=Jay Silverstein |author4=Timothy Murtha |author5=Kirk Straight |author6=Irinna Montepeque |year=2004 |title=Reconocimiento en la periferia de Tikal: Los Terraplenes Norte, Oeste y Este, nuevas exploraciones y perspectivas |url=http://www.asociaciontikal.com/pdf/56.03%20-%20Horacio%20-%20en%20PDF.pdf |work=XVII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2003 |editor=J.P. Laporte |editor2=B. Arroyo |editor3=H. Escobedo |editor4=H. Mejía |pages=635–641 |publisher=Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala |access-date=24 June 2009 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914060753/http://www.asociaciontikal.com/pdf/56.03%20-%20Horacio%20-%20en%20PDF.pdf |archive-date=14 September 2011 }}
* {{cite book |author=Means, Philip Ainsworth |author-link=Philip Ainsworth Means |year=1917 |title=History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas |series=Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University |volume=VII |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts, US |publisher=Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology |oclc=681599|title-link=Wikisource:History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas }}
* {{cite book |author=Miller, Mary Ellen |author-link=Mary Miller (art historian) |year=1999 |title=Maya Art and Architecture |location=London and New York |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-20327-9 |oclc=41659173 |url=https://archive.org/details/mayaartarchitect00mill }}
* {{cite book |author=Miller, Mary |author-link=Mary Miller (art historian) |author2=Karl Taube |author2-link=Karl Taube |year=1993 |title=The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |isbn=978-0-500-05068-2 |oclc=27667317 |url=https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill }}
* {{cite journal |author=Morales, Tirso |author2=Benito Burgos |author3=Miguel Acosta |author4=Sergio Pinelo |author5=Marco Tulio Castellanos |author6=Leopoldo González |author7=Francisco Castañeda |author8=Edy Barrios |author9=Rudy Larios |display-authors=9 |author10=Cruz Jau |year=2008 |title=Trabajos realizados por la Unidad de Arqueología del Parque Nacional Tikal, 2006-2007. |journal=XXI Simposio de Arqueología en Guatemala, 2007 |editor=J.P. Laporte |editor2=B. Arroyo |editor3=H. Mejía |pages=413–436 |url=http://asociaciontikal.com/pdf/27_-_Tirso_et_al.07.pdf |access-date=21 June 2011 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914041426/http://www.asociaciontikal.com/pdf/27_-_Tirso_et_al.07.pdf |archive-date=14 September 2011 }}
* {{Cite journal |author=Puleston, Dennis E.|author2=Donald W. Callender, Jr. |title=Defensive Earthworks at Tikal |date=1967 |journal=Expedition |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=40–48 |issn=0014-4738 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |oclc=1568625}}
* {{cite journal |author=Salisbury, David |author2=Mimi Koumenalis |author3=Barbara Moffett |date=19 September 2002 |title=Newly revealed hieroglyphs tell story of superpower conflict in the Maya world |url=http://exploration.vanderbilt.edu/print/pdfs/news/news_dospilas_feature.pdf |format=[[PDF]] online publication |journal=Exploration: The Online Research Journal of Vanderbilt University |oclc=50324967 |access-date=22 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102134600/http://exploration.vanderbilt.edu/print/pdfs/news/news_dospilas_feature.pdf |archive-date=2 November 2014 }}
* {{cite book |author=Schele, Linda |author-link=Linda Schele |author2=Peter Mathews |year=1999 |title=The Code of Kings: The language of seven Maya temples and tombs |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-684-85209-6 |oclc=41423034 |url=https://archive.org/details/codeofkingslangu00lind }}
* {{cite book |author=Sharer, Robert J. |author-link=Robert Sharer |author2=Loa P. Traxler |year=2006 |title=The Ancient Maya |edition=6th, fully revised |location=Stanford, CA |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-4817-9 |oclc=57577446 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientmaya0006shar }}
* {{cite book |author=Silverstein, Jay |author2=David Webster |author3=Horacio Martinez |author4= Alvaro Soto |year=2009 |title=Rethinking the Earthworks of Tikal: A Hydraulic Hypothesis for the Classic Maya Polity |publisher=Ancient Mesoamerican 20(1), Cambridge Journals}}
* {{cite web |author=StarWars.com |url=https://www.starwars.com/movies/episode-iv/ |title=Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope |access-date=13 November 2009 |publisher=Lucasfilm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229025542/http://www.starwars.com/movies/episode-iv/ |archive-date=29 December 2009 }}
* {{cite web|author=Torres, Estuardo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218014941/http://www.mcd.gob.gt/2009/04/03/parque-nacional-tikal|url=http://www.mcd.gob.gt/2009/04/03/parque-nacional-tikal/|archive-date=18 December 2009|title=Parque Nacional Tikal|access-date=30 July 2014|publisher=Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes|language=es}}
* {{cite web |author=UNESCO World Heritage Center |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/64 |title=Tikal National Park |access-date=13 November 2009 |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Center }}
* {{cite book |author=Valdés, Juan Antonio |author2=Fahsen, Federico |year=2005 |chapter=Disaster in Sight: The Terminal Classic at Tikal and Uaxactun |editor=Arthur A. Demarest |editor2=Prudence M. Rice |editor3=Don S. Rice |title=The Terminal Classic in the Maya lowlands: Collapse, transition, and transformation |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/terminalclassici00arth |chapter-url-access=registration |location=Boulder |publisher=University Press of Colorado |pages=[https://archive.org/details/terminalclassici00arth/page/162 162–194] |isbn=978-0-87081-822-6 |oclc=61719499 }}
* {{cite book |author=Webster, David L. |year=2002 |title=The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-05113-9 |oclc=48753878 |url=https://archive.org/details/fallofancientmay0000webs }}
{{refend}}<!-- END biblio format style -->

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tikal}}
{{wikivoyage|Tikal}}
*[http://mcd.gob.gt/tikal/ Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509234956/http://mcd.gob.gt/tikal/ |date=9 May 2017 }}, Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala {{in lang|es}}
*[https://www.cyark.org/projects/tikal Tikal Digital Media Archive at CyArk]
*[http://www.topworldimages.com/streetview/Tikal Tikal Google Street View]
*[https://mayansandtikal.com Mayans and Tikal]

{{clear}}
{{Tikal}}
{{Maya sites}}
{{National parks of Guatemala}}
{{Empires}}
{{Authority control}}
{{good article}}

[[Category:Tikal| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Maya sites in Petén Department]]
[[Category:10th-century disestablishments in the Maya civilization]]
[[Category:National parks of Guatemala]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Guatemala]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Guatemala]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 4th century BC]]
[[Category:4th-century BC establishments in the Maya civilization]]
[[Category:Petén–Veracruz moist forests]]