Introduction to Tikal

Tikal was the largest city-state in the Maya Classical Period. At this time, the center of Maya civilization had moved from the south to the center.

In 292 AD, King "Jaguar's Claw" founded a dynasty and made great achievements. This powerful Mayan king and heavenly being for sixty or seventy years laid a solid foundation for Tikal's future dominance. After him, the "Crooked Nose King" and the "Storm King" pushed Tikal to the pinnacle of prosperity and ushered in its first prosperous age. However, in the middle of the 6th century AD, due to the impact of the great migration wave of immigrants from northern Mexico, Tikal experienced great political turmoil. The dynasty was in turmoil and urban construction stopped for a time.

More than 100 years later, Tikal came back to life; from the end of the 19th century to the entire 8th century, Tikal once again became the most powerful king in the world, with three powerful kings appearing in succession: King Acre and King Jacques. and King Chitan. The beautiful Tikal city seen in today's archaeological excavations was built during the peaceful and prosperous days of these three kings.

In its second heyday, the city of Tikal covered an area of ??more than 65 square kilometers, with 50,000 residents. There were more than 3,000 pyramids, altars, stele and other ruins; the area affected was 500 square kilometers. , controlling a population of nearly 2 million. In its central area alone, there are more than a dozen large pyramids and more than 50 small temples; they are distributed around the ancient central square as the core, alongside palaces decorated with relief paintings and markets surrounded by corridors. Several stone avenues raised above the ground connect various religious centers.

The Tikal ruins include hundreds of important ancient buildings, only a small part of which have been excavated by archaeology. Notable structures include six step pyramids with temples on top. They were numbered by early explorers. They were built during Tikal's peak period, around the late 7th to early 9th century. Temple No. 1 was built around 695. Temple No. 3 was built in 810. The largest Temple No. 4 is 72 meters high and was built in 720. Temple No. 5 was completed around 750. Temple No. 6 was built in 766. There are also ruins of the ancient royal palace in the city. In addition, there are many small pyramids, palaces, residences, stone monuments, and some courts used for ancient Mayan ball games. There seems to be a place used as a prison, and the doors and windows there have signs of being crossed by wooden bars.

Tikal’s residential area covers an area of ??60 square kilometers, most of which has not yet been cleared and excavated. Tikal is surrounded by a 6-meter-wide ditch and walls. Only 9 kilometers have been explored, enclosing at least 125 square kilometers of land. Research has revealed that this was not only for defensive purposes but was also part of a canal system.

As a huge ancient site, the news about Tikal has never disappeared locally. Second- and third-hand accounts of Tikal began to become known in the seventeenth century. Because the site is so far away from modern cities, it was not until 1848 that the first scientific archaeological expedition came to Tikal. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many expeditions came to Tikal to study, map, and photograph.

In 1951, a small airport was built near the site, greatly improving the situation that previously required many days of walking or mule riding through the jungle. From 1956 to 1970, the University of Pennsylvania conducted large-scale archaeological excavations at the site. In 1979, the Guatemalan government began a long-term archaeological excavation plan that continues to this day.

Tikal is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is open to the public. Tikal National Park consists of three parts: Tikal ruins, San Miguel La Palotada Biotope (San Miguel La Palotada Biotope) and Maya Biosphere Reserve (Maya Biosphere Reserve).