Synopses & Reviews
The ancient Maya capital of Tikal is located in the heartland of Guatemalan rain forest. Occupied from about 800 B.C. to A.D. 800, it had at its peak a population of more than 100,000.
Because of its strategic location, Tikal served as a center of trade and as an architectural style-setter for the central Peten region of the Maya Lowlands. The apogee of power and wealth was achieved under the reigns of three generations of the great Jaguar Claw clan, whose ruling lords -- known as Hasaw Chan K'awil, Yik'in Chan K'awil, and Yax Ain -- built the Great Temples that symbolizes the character and individuality of the city. Some of Great Temples served as mortuary structures, and the contents of the tombs hint at the richness of life as a lord of Tikal.
Drawing upon more than twenty years of excavation and recent in the translation of Maya hieroglyphs, Peter Harrison offers a cogent, detailed summary of what is known to date of this romantic, mysterious city and its rulers.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 205) and index.
Table of Contents
The Maya and their civilization -- Tikal discovered -- Villages around the ridge : the middle Preclassic -- The move into greatness : the late Preclassic -- The birth of dynasties : the early Classic emerges -- Change and challenge : the end of early Classic -- Architecture at Tikal -- The hiatus : war and outside dominance -- Return of the clan Jaguar Claw : the genius of Hasaw Chan K'awil -- A family affair : Hasaw's descendants -- The last three lords -- Late Classic architecture, city planning and th growth of Tikal -- Decline and fall : the last days.