31 Facts About Tikal

Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala.

Tikal is not the ancient name for the site but rather the name adopted shortly after its discovery in the 1840s.

Tikal is approximately 303 kilometers north of Guatemala City.

The area around Tikal has been declared as the Tikal National Park and the preserved area covers 570 square kilometers.

Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in ten reservoirs.

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The population of Tikal began a continuous curve of growth starting in the Preclassic Period, with a peak in the Late Classic with the population growing rapidly from AD 700 through to 830, followed by a sharp decline.

Tikal exerted control over other cities in the area, including Uaxactun, where he became king, but did not take the throne of Tikal for himself.

Tikal reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal, and remained a vassal of Siyah K'ak' for as long as the latter lived.

Rio Azul, a small site 100 kilometers northeast of Tikal, was conquered by the latter during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin I The site became an outpost of Tikal, shielding it from hostile cities further north, and became a trade link to the Caribbean.

Around the 5th century an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and earthworks was built along the northern periphery of Tikal's hinterland, joining up with the natural defenses provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of the city.

Tikal's tomb had Teotihuacan characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacan.

Early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city, known only as the "Lady of Tikal", who was very likely a daughter of Chak Tok Ich'aak II.

Tikal seems never to have ruled in her own right, rather being partnered with male co-rulers.

The first of these was Kaloomte' B'alam, who seems to have had a long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co-ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence.

The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering.

The "Tikal hiatus" refers to a period between the late 6th to late 7th century where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large-scale construction at Tikal.

Tikal was not sacked but its power and influence were broken.

In 629 Tikal founded Dos Pilas, some 110 kilometers to the southwest, as a military outpost in order to control trade along the course of the Pasion River.

Tikal counterattacked against Dos Pilas in 672, driving B'alaj Chan K'awiil into an exile that lasted five years.

Tikal initiated a program of new construction and turned the tables on Calakmul when, in 695, he captured the enemy noble and threw the enemy state into a long decline from which it never fully recovered.

Jasaw Chan K'awiil I and his heir Yik'in Chan K'awiil continued hostilities against Calakmul and its allies and imposed firm regional control over the area around Tikal, extending as far as the territory around Lake Peten Itza.

Some second- or third-hand accounts of Tikal appeared in print starting in the 17th century, continuing through the writings of John Lloyd Stephens in the early 19th century.

In 1956 the Tikal project began to map the city on a scale not previously seen in the Maya area.

Temple I at Tikal was featured on the reverse of the 50 centavo banknote.

Tikal is a major tourist attraction surrounded by its own national park.

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Tikal has been partially restored by the University of Pennsylvania and the government of Guatemala.

Residential area of Tikal covers an estimated 60 square kilometers, much of which has not yet been cleared, mapped, or excavated.

Tikal's helmet is a simplified version of the Teotihuacan War Serpent.

Stela 6 is a badly damaged monument dating to 514 and bears the name of the "Lady of Tikal" who celebrated the end of the 4th K'atun in that year.

Tikal carries a spearthrower in one hand and bears a shield decorated with the face of Tlaloc, the Teotihuacan war god.

Tikal is trampling the figure of a bound, richly dressed captive.