Tikal, << tee KAHL or tih KAHL, >> was one of the largest cities of the Maya civilization. The city had about 60,000 people in the A.D. 600’s and 700’s, during the height of its prosperity. Another 30,000 lived in the surrounding area. Tikal’s ruins lie in the tropical rain forest of what is now northern Guatemala.
Tikal began as a small agricultural village about 600 B.C. It grew slowly until the 300’s B.C., when construction began on a ceremonial center with plazas, palaces, and small pyramids. Eventually, the city’s rulers built towering limestone pyramids with temples on top. Separate carved-stone monuments called stelae pictured gods as well as rulers and events from Maya history. The ceremonial center was completed about A.D. 800.
By that time, Tikal had become a prosperous center of agriculture, trade, art, and religion. Farmers in the area grew a variety of crops, including corn, beans, and squash. Traders came from as far away as central Mexico to exchange obsidian (volcanic glass), salt, feathers, pigments (coloring materials), shells, and other goods.
Tikal began to decline in the 800’s, probably due to overpopulation, exhaustion of natural resources, and competition with other Maya cities. It was abandoned by 1000. Today, Tikal’s ruins form one of Guatemala’s national parks.
