The city of Tikal was the largest of the ancient Maya cities in Mesoamerica. It was located in the Yucatan in the modern day country of Guatemala. During the Mayan Era in Mesoamerica, Tikal reached its peak population of approximately 55,000 people around AD 700. The city itself contained many different structures inside its boundaries. These structures included numerous resident areas, temples, pyramids, shrines, ball courts and ceremonial structures. All of these things existed within the boundary of Tikal, which was about 60 square miles.
The most impressive of the structures at Tikal are the temples. The most
important of these temples is the Temple of the Giant, Temple I, which stands
212 feet high. This temple is the largest building in the ancient Mayan world.
There are many other temples in Tikal, but none as impressive as this great
Giant. The presence of the N
orth
Acropolis is also noticeable. This is because they surround the area of the
Great Plaza. The plaza is where most of the people of Tikal went to socialize.
There is another set of Acropolis called the Central, which overlooks the
Eastern Court Palace in the Eastern section of Tikal.
Tikal had many rulers throughout time who had monuments constructed after them. There were 14 different rulers between 320 AD through 869 AD, to have a structure built or named after himself.
Tikal was so called "discovered" in the late 1800’s by archaeologists who followed rubber trappers through the forest. This is the first time any European had seen the ruins of the once great Mayan civilization. There is evidence at Tikal that supports the theory that warfare led to the collapse of the Maya in the 9th century. This warfare is said to have caused the collapse of Tikal and the surrounding environment.
Douglas W. Schwartz, Late Lowland Maya http://learning.com/MAYA/sites/tikal.html