Tikal (or
Tik’al, according to the more current orthography) is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the
Mayan civilization. It is located in the
El Petén department of
Guatemala at
17°13'19?N 89°37'22?W? / ?17.22194, -89.62278Coordinates 17°13'19?N 89°37'22?W? / ?17.22194, -89.62278. Now part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park, it is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist spot. The closest large towns are
Flores and
Santa Elena, approximately 64&_160;kilometres (40&_160;mi) by road to the southwest.
[1]Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. Though monumental architecture at the site dates to the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 AD to 900 AD, during which time the site dominated the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as central Mexican center of Teotihuacan. There is also evidence that Tikal was even conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century A.D. [2] Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.
The ruins lie on lowland rainforest. Conspicuous trees at the Tikal park include gigantic ceiba (Ceiba pentandra) the sacred tree of the Maya; tropical cedar (Cedrela odorata), and mahogany (Swietenia). Regarding the fauna, agouti, coatis, gray foxes, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, Harpy Eagles, Falcons, ocellated turkeys, guans, toucans, green parrots and leaf-cutting ants can be seen there regularly. Jaguars Jaguarundis and Cougars are also said to roam in the park.
The largest of the Classic Maya cities, Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in underground storage facilities (termed chultuns). Archaeologists working in Tikal during the last century utilized the ancient underground facilities to store water for their own use. The absence of springs, rivers, and lakes in the immediate vicinity of Tikal highlights a prodigious feat building a major city with only supplies of stored seasonal rainfall. Tikal prospered with intensive agricultural techniques, which were far more advanced than the slash and burn methods originally theorized by archeologists. The reliance on seasonal rainfall left Tikal vulnerable to prolonged drought, which is now thought to play a major role in the Classic Maya Collapse.
