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Tikal

250 – 900
City-stateNorth America

One of the largest Classic Maya urban centers, Tikal (ancient Yax Mutal) rose in the Petén rainforest of northern Guatemala, its dynasty founded by Teotihuacan-linked conquerors in the 4th century, and dominated the southern lowlands politically and militarily through centuries of rivalry with Calakmul. This record adds Tikal at city-state granularity alongside the umbrella Classic Maya (Lowland City-States) record, which already covers the wider Tikal-Calakmul-Palenque-Copán constellation.

Following the Late Classic period, monument construction ceased, elite palaces were burned, and the population gradually declined until the city was abandoned by the end of the 10th century, part of the broader southern lowland Maya collapse.

Borders in 851 · drawn from 5 sourced border frames
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Borders over time

The atlas holds 5 border frames for Tikal — the shape you scrub through changes in 250 · 600 · 751 · 761 · 851.

Moments from the Chronicle

Further reading

Sources