Tikal, located in modern Guatemala, is the ruin of arguably the greatest Mayan city of all time. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, a National Park, is the most extensive known Mayan city and contains the tallest surviving pre-Columbian structure in the Americas. The name Tikal is of modern origin; the residents probably called their state Mutal and their capital Yax Mutal.

Like most Mayan sites, Tikal is now overgrown by rainforest. Architecturally, it is distinguished by having unusually steep pyramids with very large roof combs¹. The pyramids are usually found in pairs facing each-other, with a selection of stelas in a plaza between them. This arrangement is called a 'twin pyramid complex'. The pyramids are notable otherwise for their sheer numbers, and for their uniformity; aside from a complex palace-like structure called the Acropolis, there is no single emblematic feature like Chichen Itza's columns, Palenque's Observatory or Uxmal's Pyramid of the Wizard.

Nowadays, the site is one of Guatemala's leading tourist attractions. Until only a few decades ago, access required a gruelling four-day trek through the rainforest, but now tour busses run from the nearby island-city of Flores. The blackened tips of the pyramids rise above the trees, and howler monkeys make dinosaurian noises from their hidey-holes in the branches. Although the ruins themselves might be said to lack variety, they are more firmly a part of the jungle than most other major Mayan sites and the atmosphere sitting atop the Great Pyramid in the Lost World section of the site is unique.

History

The earliest origins of Tikal go right back to the dawn of Maya civilisation; indeed, so far back that it is not clear whether the earliest settlers in the region were ethnic Mayans at all. There are traces of settlements at around 700 BC, and by 200 BC the first versions of the structure now known as the North Acropolis were being built. Culturally, Tikal was a specialist in the production of flint items, as it was one of the few Mayan cities with access to flint deposits. Since the Mayan culture never developed metal tools, this was a valuable resource indeed.

The earliest dated monument at Tikal bears glyphs stating it was constructed in 292 AD. At first, Tikal was a small city dominated by the first Maya superpower, El Mirador. El Mirador's power declined rapidly after the disruption caused by the eruption of Ilopango in 260 AD. This created a power vacuum that was filled by Tikal and Uaxactún, 24 km to the north. The two cities would be great rivals until around 378 or 379 AD, when they were two of a number of Mayan cities captured by the Teotihuacáno warlord Siyaj K'ak'(sometimes known as 'Smoking Frog'). Tikal stayed under northern control until at least 411, and the cultural influence of the northern state lasted even longer.

By the start of the era from roughly 500 AD to 900 AD, known as the Classic Period, Tikal had steadily grown to be one of the two great regional superpowers. Although this period was one characterised by wars between numerous city-states, evidence has recently been uncovered from finds at Dos Pilas that many of these were in fact 'proxy wars' between Tikal and its arch rival Calakmul (reminiscent of Vietnam or Korea in the 20th Century Cold War between the USA and the USSR).

This war against Calakmul (at the time allied to Dos Pilas and Naranjo) started poorly for Tikal, with lord Wak Chan K'awiil leading Tikal to defeat by Caracol in 562. It would be many years before Tikal recovered. The nadir was the city's capture by Dos Pilas in 679, and the sacrifice of its (unnamed) ruler. These military defeats were accompanied by a lack of building at Tikal, referred to as the Tikal Hiatus or the Middle Classic Hiatus, lasting from 557 to 692. The causes of Tikal's struggles are unclear and may have been tied into the shift in power caused by the collapse of Teotihuacán.

Just as it seemed that Tikal was in terminal decline, it underwent a sudden and massive reversal of fortunes. By 682 - just three years after its destruction - Tikal's building hiatus ended in a massive building boom, and the new ruler Jasaw Chan K'awiil I (sometimes known as Ah Cacaw, or Lord Chocolate) would go on to lead his rejuvenated city in battle to defeat Calakmul in 695². Most of the structures now visible at Tikal were built during this Late Classic period (roughly 700 - 900 AD).

Tikal remained a major power until the entire Mayan civilisation suddenly declined at around 900 AD³. At its height, the city had subsumed several neighbouring cities into its suburbs, and would have taken around five hours to walk across. The excavated section is just a fraction of the total, and it remains an open question whether it was a city centre in the modern sense or a place of pilgrimage consisting entirely of temples with little or no permanent population.

The causes of the final collapse of Tikal are not totally clear, but there is evidence of warfare prior to the collapse of the city, with improvised defensive walls having been built around some of the twin pyramid complexes. There was also a major drought, lasting almost two centuries, and it seems likely that these two factors in combination were the main causes. Other possible suggestions include a peasant uprising against the cumbersome and unproductive elite, or over-farming of the surrounding lands leading to famine and epidemics.

The Ruins Today

The pyramids have been numbered by archaeologists, with the main central pair being the first. Temple I, also known as the Temple of the Jaguar, is the best known. The slightly smaller Temple II, or Temple of the Masks faces it across the Great Plaza, with Temple III just outside. Temple IV has been the tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas since the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán lost its crowning temple. The palace structures, or Acropolises, are particularly elaborate, and range over many levels with areas that are quite secluded even now that most of the walls have gone. Temple V stands a fair way from the main plaza; neither as tall not as steep-sided as Temple I, it is considerably more massive and dominates aerial views. Temple VI is also known as the Temple of the Inscriptions due to the long series of glyphs on the reverse of its roof comb.

Seven twin pyramid complexes survive. These appear to have been built to celebrate the end of a katun (20 years) in the Maya calendar. These are found only at Tikal and Nakún, and consist of a pair of pyramids aligned east-west and facing each other, with lower buildings to the north and south enclosing a central plaza filled with stelas showing nobles. Each pair is designated by a letter, and Complex Q and Complex R are the most recent major constructions at the site.

Scattered among the main temples are a series of other structures. There is a good example of a Mayan sauna or Sweat House and an unusual set of three adjacent Ball Courts. The Central Acropolis may have been used as law courts, administrative offices, a retreat or a palace. The Bat Palace or Palace of the Windows consists of a series of vaulted chambers and corridors. All these ruins are linked by a series of causeways, with the group of temples known as the Lost World surrounding the Plaza of the Seven Temples to the south west of the central plaza. The Lost World's Great Pyramid has superb views over the rainforest and the rest of the site.

Perhaps like no other major Mayan site, the ruins at Tikal reward walking from pyramid to pyramid, rather than a close inspection of each structure; what was once the centre of political and military power in the region has become as much a wildlife sanctuary as an archaeological park.