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Tikal, at Guatemala

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Editor’s Note: Each week, Mas magazine will present a bilingual lesson on Latin American history, followed by a quiz that parents and children can answer together.

     Tikal is the largest of ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. It is located in the Peten region of Guatemala.

     Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Mayans. Monumental architecture was built here as early as the fourth century BC. The city was at its peak in the Maya Classic Period, approximately 200 AD to 850 AD, after which no new major monuments were built. Some of the elite palaces were burned, and the population slowly declined until the site was abandoned at the end of the 10th century.

   The name “Tikal” means “Place of Voices” or “Place of Tongues” in Mayan language, which may be an ancient name for the city, although ancient hieroglyphics usually refer to it as Mutal or Yax Mutal, meaning “Green Bundle.”

     Scholars estimate Tikal had a population from 100,000 to 200,000 at its peak.

    The site presents hundreds of  significant ancient buildings,  only a fraction of

                   which have been excavated

                    in decades of arqueological

                 work.

     The most prominent surviving buildings include six very large step pyramids supporting temples on their tops. They were numbered geographically by early explorers. They were built during the city’s height from the late seventh and early ninth century. Temple I was built around 695 AD; Temple III in 810 AD. The largest, Temple-pyramid IV, was dedicated in 720 AD. Temple V is from about 750 AD. Temple VI was dedicated in 766 AD.

     The ancient city also has the remains of royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller pyramids, palaces, residences, and inscribed stone monuments. There are also several courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame.

     The residential area of Tikal covers an estimated 23 square miles, much of which has not yet been excavated.

    Among  the main  buildings, the

highest, at some 230 feet, is the Temple  of  the  Two  Headed  Snake (Temple IV), which  was  built  by  King Yaxkin Caan Chac around 470 AD.

       The base of the pyramid is a tangle of trees and vines with wooden steps leading steeply upward. At the halfway terrace is an entrance to a tomb.

       Jungle tops  stretch  to  the  horizon,

                punctuated by the summits of  

                four stone temples. At a distant is the Great Plaza, where the ruler Ah Cacao, alias King Chocolate, built the Temple of the Masks (Temple II) and the Temple of the Great Jaguar (Temple I) around 700 AD.

      Tikal dominated the central Maya lowlands, but was often at war.  During the Classic Period 300 - 900 AD, the city prospered through trade and military conquest. This period began with King Yax Moch Xoc, followed by King Great Jaguar Paw, Lord Water, and Lord Chocolate.

     This civilization suffered a mysterious collapse after 900 AD when the cities were deserted and the jungle took over. Remnant Maya settled around Lake Petén Itzá and on the island now occupied by Flores. Their ivillage of Tayasal was captured by the Spanish in 1697.

     The lost world of the Maya was rediscovered by European explorers in the 1840s and rapidly became a focus for archeological research which is continuing today.

   Tikal is now one of Guatemala’s premiere tourist attractions.

   Tikal lies 71 km (some 44 miles) northeast of Flores, the capital of El Petén Province. Being surrounded by jungle makes Tikal so different from the other famous Mayan on the Mexican  peninsula of Yucatán.

     Its climate is tropical and humid.  The hottest month is April, and the rainy season runs from May to October.

    The tourist boom is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Today the Tikal National Park with its thousands of preserved stone structures is there for all to explore and enjoy.

     Tikal was declared Tikal National Park by the Guatemalan Government in May 1955, and a National Monument in 1970. It was the first National Park established in Central America.

Source:  Wikipedia

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Today’s Lesson

1)  Tikal is the largest of ancient ruined cities of the ___________ civilization.

2)  Tikal means ____________________ or ______________________ in the Mayan language.

3)  Scholars estimate when Tikal was at its peak, it had a population from ____________ to_______________

4)  The highest temple of Tikal is  _____________________________.

5)  Tikal was declared a National Park in ______________ and a National Monument in ________________.

Answers:  1)  Mayan  2) “Place of Voices” or “Place of Tongues”.  3) 100,000  to 200,000.  4)  The temple of  Two Headed  Snake.  5)  May, 1955.  1970.