History of the Mayan site Tikal in Guatemala

History per se is never accurate. The only real account we have of history is what is left by opinion. This is especially true in the realm of Mayan history, where the most elaborate accounts of history are sourced from unskilled archaeologists, opinionated historians, inaccurate translations, biased Spanish Conquistador scripts. Other than such archaeologists, historians, and scripts, we are left with eroding hieroglyphics that aren’t always decipherable, even by those that speak one or two of over 30 dialects of Mayan. Thus, the following account, as with any historical account of Mayan history, should be read with a bit a constructive and inquisitive skepticism. Don’t take our word for it, seek the truth, or at least something close to it.


Chapters in this article:

The Period: Classic
Tikal and Tourism
The Word Tikal
Tikal History
Excavation and Archeology
Temple Descriptions
Mayan Timeline for Tikal
More Information
References

The Period: Classic

Classic Maya culture developed in three regions in Mesoamerica. By far the most important and most complete urban developments occurred in the lowlands in the "central region" of southern Guatemala. This region is a drainage basin about sixty miles long and twenty miles wide and is covered by tropical rain forest; the Mayas, in fact, are only one of two peoples to develop an urban culture in a tropical rainforest. [1]

The principal city in this region was Tikal, but the spread of urbanization extended south to Honduras; the southernmost Mayan city was Copan in northern Honduras. In the Guatemalan highlands to the north, Mayan culture developed less fully. The highlands are more temperate and seem to have been the main suppliers of raw materials to the central urban centers.[3] The other major region of Mayan development was the Yucatan peninsula making up the southern and eastern portions of modern-day Mexico. This is a dry region and, although urban centers were built in this region, including Chichen Itza and Uxmal (pronounced "Oosh-mal"), most scholars believe that this was a culturally marginal area.[4] After the abandonment of the Classic Mayan cities, the Yucatán peninsula became the principal region of a new, synthetic culture called Toltec-Mayan which was formed when Toltecs migrating from the north integrated with indigenous Maya peoples.[5]

Tikal and Tourism

Tikal, pronounced, “teeKhal” is the second largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Mayan World civilization, second only to Calakmul.[6] Located in El Petén, Guatemala, where regions are distinguished by departments rather than states, Tikal has recently become on of Guatemla’s most sought after tourist destination. Near the cities of Flores and Santa Elena Tikal is also one of the best preserved Mayan archaeological sites in South America alongside Chichen Itza and Machu pichu.

The Word Tikal

It is suggested that Tikal’s name derives from the word, “Ti-akal, a Mayan place name meaning "At the Reservoir.[7] Differences in Roman spelling aside, the name could simply be a hybrid of the original Proto-Mayan word. The term, nonetheless, refers to the several large and partially artificial water basins found near the center of the ruins.