Mayan city-state ruins

Tika is one of the cultural and population centers of Mayan civilization. The earliest monument was built in the 4th century BC. The city reached its peak in the Mayan classical period-from 200 AD to 850 AD.

The history of Tikal can be traced back to BC 1 century. At first, it was only a second-rate city-state, and the northern city-state Mirrado was its ally. Tikal may have pursued a policy of friendship with Tiotihuacan, a big Central American country at that time, and successfully increased its national strength, thus becoming one of the most powerful city-states in the Mayan world.

The site of Tikal is located in the jungle in the northeast of Peté n province in northern Guatemala. It was one of the largest cities in ancient Maya. It is built on a hill surrounded by swamps. It consists of nine groups of buildings and a big square, which is connected by bridges and causeways. It covers an area of about 2.6 square kilometers. The city was abandoned between 800 and 900 AD. Like other Mayan city-states in the same period, Tikal declined rapidly. /kloc-at the end of 0/0, Tikal was completely abandoned in the jungle.

Tikal was the largest city-state in the Mayan classical period, when the center of Mayan civilization moved from the south to the middle. In the mid-6th century, the migration of immigrants from northern Mexico caused political turmoil and dynasty turmoil in Tikal, and urban construction once stopped. 100 years later, Tikal was resurrected; From the end of the 7th century to the 8th century, Tikal was the best in the world. The city covers an area of more than 65 square kilometers, with 50,000 residents and more than 3,000 pyramids, altars, stone tablets and other relics. The affected area is 500 square kilometers and the population is nearly 2 million. In the central area, there are more than a dozen large pyramids and more than 50 temples; The palace decorated with relief paintings next to the central square is very beautiful. Several stone avenues on the ground connect the religious centers. The early history of palenque can be traced back to Olmec civilization, and a dynasty may have been established here. During the classical period of Mayan civilization, palenque was a big state in western Maya, and the earliest known ruler ascended the throne of palenque in March 1 1.

After entering the 9th century, like other city-states of Mayan civilization in the classical period, the city of palenque declined rapidly and was abandoned in the jungle. Calakmul is a big country in the middle of Maya, and it maintains a competitive and antagonistic relationship with another big country, Tikal. Calakmul may have been founded in the 5th century A.D. Before the 6th century A.D., Tikal was powerful and was the actual overlord of Maya region in central China. In 562, it formed an alliance with neighboring caracol and defeated Tikal, so calakmul became the new overlord in central Maya. In 599 and 6 1 1 year, calakmul defeated palenque, a western Mayan state. Soon after, palenque regained its strength under the rule of King Bagar II, which limited the development of calakmul to the west.

600-700 AD was the heyday of calakmul. In 626, he fought against neighboring Naranjo twice and won great victories. In 63 1 year, he defeated Nalanyong again and executed Nalanyong king after extreme humiliation. Starting from the 7th century, Tikal became strong again, and calakmul's hegemony was challenged. In 695 AD, Tikal was defeated by King Aka of Tikal, and Tikal once again became the overlord of Maya region in central China. Calakmul's regime declined rapidly, but as a Mayan city-state, it was not abandoned in the jungle like other Mayan city-states until the 9th and10th centuries, for unknown reasons. As early as 1 100 BC, Copan Valley was inhabited, but during the four or five hundred years after about 300 BC, when other Mayan city-states flourished, Copan did not develop until 200 AD.

Archaeologists found an altar in Copan, named "Q altar", which depicts the image of 16 people. Archaeologists believe that 65,438+06 priests sat together to discuss problems. Later research results show that it is the image of 16 Copan king.

In 426 AD, Yakumao established a powerful Copan dynasty, and he was also the first king depicted in "Altar Q". Although he may not be the real first king of Copan, he certainly has a very lofty position in the future. In 628 AD, the "Smoke Leopard King" ascended the throne and reigned for 67 years, which was the heyday of Copan Dynasty, controlling a large area around it and becoming an "empire". She married palenque, a big city-state in the western Maya, and built a large number of historic sites in Copan. Through these remains, today's archaeologists can learn about the history of Copan.

In the 9th century, like all other city-states in the classical period of Mayan civilization, it suddenly declined and was abandoned in the jungle forever.

Copan Maya site is located in Copan province, northwest of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, about 225 kilometers away from Tegucigalpa. Copan Maya site is located in a canyon with a length of 13 km and a width of 2.5 km, with an area of 0. 15 km2 and an altitude of 600m. Copan Maya site is the site of ancient Maya city in Honduras in 7- BC 1 century. It is one of the religious and political centers of ancient Maya, and it is also the oldest and largest ancient city site in Mayan civilization. There are pyramids, squares, temples, sculptures, stone tablets and hieroglyphic stone steps in the site.

For more than 200 years BC, Copan was the capital of the Mayan kingdom and the center of scientific, cultural and religious activities at that time. 1576, Diego Garcia, Spain discovered the ruins of the ancient city. The core of the site is religious architecture, mainly including pyramid altars, squares, temples, stone steps, stone tablets and sculptures, which embodies the lofty status of religious sacrifice.

On the hill of the square, there is an altar pyramid, 30 meters high, made of 2500 square stones engraved with patterns and hieroglyphs. Each stone step is engraved with hieroglyphics. Patterns and words recorded important events in Maya.

In the center of the square, there are two temples, which are connected by tunnels and dedicated to the sun god and the moon god respectively. Each temple is 30m long and10m wide. There are colorful portraits on the walls and doorframes. There is a 14 stone tablet between the two temples, which was built from 6 13 to 783. The stone tablet is carved from a whole stone with symbolic carvings and thousands of hieroglyphs on it. Chichen itza was an important local city in 600 AD, that is, in the middle of Maya classical period, but its greatest development and influence reached its peak after the decline of Maya cities in the central lowlands and south. Around 987 AD, King Tortek led his troops to come here from central Mexico, and together with local Maya allies, he made chichen itza the capital and the second Tula. Therefore, the art and architecture of this period showed a mixed style of Maya and Tortek.

Mayan historical data recorded a large-scale uprising and civil war in 122 1, and archaeological evidence also showed that the wooden roofs of bazaars and samurai temples were burned around this period. As the ruling center of Zhujiatun moved to Maya Pan, chichen itza began to decline. Although chichen itza has not been completely abandoned, the urban population has decreased and no large-scale buildings have been built. Quiriguá is an ancient Mayan relic located in Isawar province in southeastern Guatemala. Along the lower reaches of the Motagua River, it covers an area of about 3 square kilometers and belongs to a medium-sized site, in which the etiquette center is located at the north bank 1 km. During the Mayan classical period (200-900 AD), Kirigua was located at the intersection of several important trade routes. There are 200 buildings in the Acropolis of the site, which began in about 550 AD, and large-scale construction began in the 8th century. All projects stopped around 850 AD, and only resumed briefly in the early post-classical era (about 900 AD-AD 1200). Kirigua site and the neighboring classical city Copan have the same architectural and sculpture style, and their historical development is closely related.