Tikal, The Maya City

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Tikal, The Maya City
TikalAncient City of the Maya
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Introduction

• The ancient Maya city of Tikal is located deep in
  the heart of Guatemalas El Peten rainforest.
• Tikal was once the major cultural and population
  center of the Maya civilization
• Today Tikal National Park is a sanctuary for the
  archaeological monuments, and for endangered
  wildlife such as ocelots, monkeys, toucans,
  parrots, and jaguars.
• Tikal is one of the largest ancient Maya sites,
  covering 60 square miles

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Location
Tikal is located in modern day Guatemala
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A panorama time lapse at sunset overlooking the
Great Plaza from the North Acropolis.

• Some of the earliest temples at Tikal date back
  to 4th century BC
• Tikal is the modern name for the site.
  Hieroglyphic inscriptions show that the ancient
  Maya called the site Yax Mutal

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Location

• Tikals location between two rivers allowed Tikal
  to become a great trade, religious, and political
  center that dominated the region at times during
  the Classic Period (200 AD to 850 AD.)
• Tikal reached its peak population of
  approximately 55,000 people around AD 700.
• The city itself contained many different
  structures inside its boundaries. These
  structures included temples, pyramids, shrines,
  ball courts, cermonial structures and resident
  areas.

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Tikal Abandoned

• Site abandoned by the end of the 10 the century
• Possible reasons for the abandonment include
  overpopulation, environmental degradation,
  drought and the Maya's long history of warfare
• After site abandonment Tikal was overgrown by the
  jungle
• Tikal was largely forgotten, except as a legend
  about a lost city of the Maya

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Site Re-discovery

• Site was re-discovered in 1846 by a gum-collector
  named Ambrosio Tut
• Ambrosio spotted Tikals temple roof combs rising
  out of the jungle
• The discovery of the site was published in the
  1853 by the Berlin Academy of Science
• Many expeditions to study the site soon followed

Temples I and II rising out of the jungle
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First Archaeological Study of Tikal

• In 1956 The University of Pennsylvania began the
  first archaeological study and excavation of
  Tikal
• Before the excavation, much of the site was
  covered by the jungle
• Archaeologist created a map of Tikals 4,000
  structures
• Structures include temples, ball courts,
  palaces, residential complexes and causeways.

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Map of Tikal

• Map of the the site

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Panorama of the grand Plaza
Panorama photograph of the Great Plaza and
Central Acropolis
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Pyramids

• Tikal feature 6 large step pyramids, Temples I-VI
• Some of the pyramids are over 60 meters (200
  feet) tall

Temples served many purposes -Platforms used in
religious rituals -Observatories -Tombs for
rulers Temples constantly added to Whenever a new
ruler came in to power, he would build a new
layer on an existing pyramid or built a new
pyramid
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Maya Pyramids vs Egyptian Pyramids
Built of small cut stones on a rubble core
Served many functions-temple, tombs, platform
for public ceremonies Often built on top of
older, existing temples and pyramids
Built of large blocks of cut stone Built as as
a tomb for pharaohs
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Technology

• Maya buildings were typically made from limestone
• Stone was cut in quarries and then moved to the
  sites
• Limestone in its bed is soft enough to be cut by
  stone tools. Limestone hardens in the sun.
• Pyramids build without metal tools, pulleys or
  wheels

Maya pyramids have very steep steps
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3-D Tour of Grand Plaza

• 3-D tour of the Grand Plaza

Movie 3-D Tour of the Grand Plaza
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Temple I
Large carved piece of stone, or stelae often
depicted historical events or religious stories
Temple 1, or Temple of the Jaguar Temple I was
built for the 26th ruler of Tikal, Jasaw. The
building date is unknown as it is unclear if
Jasaw built it for himself or if his son,
Yikin, constructed it in honor of his deceased
father.
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Temple II
Temple II, or Temple of the Moon Built in the
eighth-century Tikal ruler Jasaw Chan Kawiil

• Temple II is dedicated to King Jasas wife, Lady
  Twelve Macaw (died 704 A.D.)
• Lady Twelve Macaw is buried inside this temple.

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• Temple IV is the tallest structure at Tikal.
• Temples IV is 70 meters in height and is the
  second tallest structure built by the Maya.
• Built by Yikin Chan Kawil, son of Jasaw, in the
  mid-8th century.
• Temple contains a tomb, however, archaeologists
  have not identified the owner of the tomb

Temple IV is currently undergoing restoration.
It has not been fully excavated. In this picture
you can see the jungle still covering part of the
temple
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The Central Acropolis

• The Central Acropolis

Central Acropolis The Central Acropolis, on the
right Temple II to the left
Most of its buildings are of the so-called palace
type, probably used for daily functions of the
royal court.
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The North Acropolis

• The North Acropolis was the focus of the citys
  religious architecture and the preferred place of
  burial for rulers
• Dozens of tombs dating back well into the
  Preclassic period.

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• Maya architectural features
• Roof Comb
• Decorative structure that sit on top of a
  building
• Roofcombs were elaborately decorated with images
  important to the Maya people
• Roof combs acts as billboards projecting poltical
  and religious messages to the people

The roof comb of Temple II, also known as the
Temple of the Mask has a very large roof comb.
The roof comb still contain traces of the oringal
jaguars, mask etc
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Ball courts

• Tikal has five ball courts.
• Ball games played as a a sacred ritual and had an
  important role in Maya religion and culture

Ball courts are often located in or adjacent to
important ceremonial and monumental areas.
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• Ballgames played as an important ritual ceremony
• Exact rules of the game are unknown, but some
  rules have been learned from images of the
  ballgame on carved stone and painted on pottery
• Game played with a heavy solid rubber ball
• Object of the game was probably to keep the ball
  in play using hips and forearms
• Courts had stone rings which may have been used
  as goals

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