Tikal: A rainforest city had towering stepped temples

Tikal is an important Maya city site, with tall stepped temples and plazas in a rainforest setting. They reflect the planning and power structures of the ancient city.

Inscriptions and archaeological objects help reconstruct dynastic activities. Its history includes growth, rivalry, and decline; the forest seen today does not show the full appearance of its prosperous period.

Architectural groups

The Great Plaza lies at the core of the site; it is flanked on the east and west sides by two great temple-pyramids. On the north side it is bordered by the North Acropolis and on the south by the Central Acropolis.

The North Acropolis, together with the Great Plaza immediately to the south, is one of the most studied architectural groups in the Maya area; the Tikal Project excavated a massive trench across the complex, thoroughly investigating its construction history. It is a complex group with construction beginning in the Preclassic Period, around 350 BC. It developed into a funerary complex for the ruling dynasty of the Classic Period, with each additional royal burial adding new temples on top of the older structures. After AD 400 a row of tall pyramids was added to the earlier Northern Platform, which measured 100 by 80 meters (330 by 260 ft), gradually hiding it from view. Eight temple pyramids were built in the 6th century AD, each of them had an elaborate roofcomb and a stairway flanked by masks of the gods.

By the 9th century AD, 43 stelae and 30 altars had been erected in the North Acropolis; 18 of these monuments were carved with hieroglyphic texts and royal portraits. The North Acropolis continued to receive burials into the Postclassic Period.

The South Acropolis is found next to Temple V. It was built upon a large basal platform that covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters (220,000 sq ft).

The Plaza of the Seven Temples is to the west of the South Acropolis. It is bordered on the east side by a row of nearly identical temples, by palaces on the south and west sides and by an unusual triple ballcourt on the north side.

Structures

There are thousands of ancient structures at Tikal and only a fraction of these have been excavated, after decades of archaeological work. The most prominent surviving buildings include six very large pyramids, labelled Temples I – VI, each of which support a temple structure on their summits. Some of these pyramids are over 60 meters (200 feet) high. They were numbered sequentially during the early survey of the site. It is estimated that each of these major temples could have been built in as little as two years.

Temple I (also known as the Temple of Ah Cacao or Temple of the Great Jaguar) is a funerary pyramid dedicated to Jasaw Chan Kʼawil, who was entombed in the structure in AD 734, the pyramid was completed around 740–750. The temple rises 47 meters (154 ft) high. The massive roofcomb that topped the temple was originally decorated with a giant sculpture of the enthroned king, although little of this decoration survives. The tomb of the king was discovered by Aubrey Trik of the University of Pennsylvania in 1962. Among items recovered from the Late Classic tomb were a large collection of inscribed human and animal bone tubes and strips with sophisticated scenes depicting deities and people, finely carved and rubbed with vermilion, as well as jade and shell ornaments and ceramic vessels filled with offerings of food and drink.

The shrine at the summit of the pyramid has three chambers, each behind the next, with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels fashioned from multiple beams. The outermost lintel is plain but the two inner lintels were carved, some of the beams were removed in the 19th century and their location is unknown, while others were taken to museums in Europe.

Temple II (also known as the Temple of the Mask) it was built around AD 700 and stands 38 meters (125 ft) high. Like other major temples at Tikal, the summit shrine had three consecutive chambers with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels, only the middle of which was carved. The temple was dedicated to the wife of Jasaw Chan Kʼawil, although no tomb was found. The queen's portrait was carved into the lintel spanning the doorway of the summit shrine. One of the beams from this lintel is now in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.