Home Region:  Mexico (North America)

Late Classic Tikal

555 CE 869 CE
D G SC
EQ 2020  gt_tikal_late_classic
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Succeeding Entity:
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  General Description  

“Tikal is located in the Petén district, Guatemala, on top of an escarpment (250 m asl) surrounded by swampy areas to the west and east, earthworks to the north and south ( Jones et al. 1981), and large tracts of fertile land (Fedick and Ford 1990).1 It is one of the best-known and largest Maya centers (Figure 6.1). Since it is not near lakes or rivers, its inhabitants relied on several complex reservoir systems to offset seasonal water shortages (Scarborough and Gallopin 1991), which are found next to temples and royal palaces. The central core (9 km2) consists of a densely built landscape of public and private monumental and nonmonumental architecture (ca. 235 structures/km2)… Tikal was ruled by a “holy” or “divine” king (k’ul ahaw), who implemented tribute demands. Tikal has inscriptions, its own emblem glyph, water symbolism, palaces, royal funerary temples, large ball courts, and tall temples facing large and open plazas (e.g., Temple IV is 65 m tall). Its monumental complexes are connected via sacbeob (causeways). The earliest inscribed stela in the southern Maya lowlands (Stela 29, ad 292) is found at Tikal, and it has one of the longest dynastic histories in the Maya area (last known inscribed date: ad 869).” [1]
“No sight gives a better impression of the past glories of Maya civilisation than the towering ruins of Tikal. At its 8th-century peak a score of red-painted pyramids dominated the heart of a dispersed metropolis housing as many as 60,000 people. It claimed a dynastic succession of at leasr 33 rulers, spanning as long as 800 years… A survivor of the Preclassic collapse, Tikal became a crucible of the new lowland Classic tradition, with a dynasty in place as early as the 1st century AD. Towards the end of the 4th century it fell, like many other pans of Mesoamerica at the time, under the sway of the Mexican superpower Teotihuacan. If anything. the fused Mexican-Maya dynasty that resulted only consolidated Tikal’s leading position in the region. But an erosion of its strength in the 6th century led to its defeat and conquest and a resulting ’dark age’ of troubles lasting 130 years. Its fortunes were restored late in the 7th century and it resumed a key position in the Maya world until the general unravelling of Classic civilization 150 years later.” [2]
“By the end of the 9th century Tikal had experienced a fate shared with its peers across the Maya realm. With all vestiges of royal power gone and deserted by the bulk of its population, its elite quarters were taken over by squatters and simple thatched homes sprang up on its ceremonial plazas. These late inhabitants pursued their own, often elaborate, ritual activities, moving and reusing earlier monuments for purposes quite estranged from those of the fallen nobility. By Tikal’s last days, any regard for the sanctity of the old order had long since dissolved and the North Acropolis was mined in search of its terms and their jade riches. The more accessible were discovered and ransacked. Finally abandoned in the 10th or 11th century, the forest completed its takeover of the city, choking it with root and vine for the next Millennium.” [3]

[1]: (Lucero 2006: 162) Lucero, Lisa J. 2006. Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NSX2SNWU

[2]: (Martin and Grube 2000: 25) Martin, Simon and Grube, Nikolai. 2000. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London; New York: Thames & Hudson. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5WIIDVRJ

[3]: (Martin and Grube 2000: 53) Martin, Simon and Grube, Nikolai. 2000. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London; New York: Thames & Hudson. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5WIIDVRJ

General Variables
Identity and Location
Temporal Bounds
Political and Cultural Relations
Language
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Military use of Metals
Projectiles
Handheld weapons
Animals used in warfare
Armor
Naval technology
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions
Instability Events Coding in Progress.
General Variables
Identity and Location Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Utm Zone 555 CE  869 CE
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Original Name 555 CE  869 CE
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Temporal Bounds Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Peak Years
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Duration
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Political and Cultural Relations Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Succeeding Entity Terminal Classic Tikal 555 CE  869 CE
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Preceding Entity
250 CE 554 CE
Early Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_early_classic)   [None] 
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Language Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Religion Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement 555 CE  869 CE
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Polity Territory 555 CE  869 CE
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Polity Population 750 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Professions Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Bureaucracy Characteristics Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Law Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Buildings: polity owned Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Market 555 CE  869 CE
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Irrigation System 555 CE  869 CE
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Food Storage Site 555 CE  869 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System 555 CE  869 CE
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Symbolic Building 555 CE  869 CE
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Entertainment Building 555 CE  869 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Canal 555 CE  869 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Special Purpose Site 555 CE  869 CE
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Enclosure 555 CE  869 CE
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Ceremonial Site 555 CE  869 CE
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Burial Site 555 CE  869 CE
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Other Special Purpose Site 555 CE  869 CE
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Information / Writing System Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Written Record 555 CE  869 CE
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Script Absent 555 CE  869 CE
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Nonwritten Record 555 CE  869 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing 555 CE  869 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Calendar 555 CE  869 CE
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Information / Money Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Article 555 CE  869 CE
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Store Of Wealth 555 CE  869 CE
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Information / Postal System Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Information / Measurement System Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Time Measurement System 555 CE  869 CE
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Military use of Metals Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Projectiles Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Handheld weapons Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Animals used in warfare Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Armor Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Naval technology Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
Variable Coded Value / Certainty Tags Year(s) See More
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Human Sacrifice Late Classic Tikal (gt_tikal_late_classic)
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Crisis Cases
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Instability Data
Power Transitions
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