The Lords of Tikal: Rulers of an Ancient Maya City

by Harrison, Peter D.

• ISBN13: 9780500281291
• ISBN10: 0500281297
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Summary

The Maya metropolis of Tikal was once one of the greatest cities in the world, and today it has become one of the most visited Maya sites. Drawing upon more than thirty years of excavation and research, Peter D. Harrison gives a vivid account of the turbulent history of Tikal. Strategically located, the city served as a major 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 between A.D. 692 and 800 under the reigns of three generations of the Jaguar Claw clan, whose ruling lords built the Great Temples that symbolize the character and individuality of the city. Some of these Great Temples served as mortuary structures, and the contents of the tombs--from mosaic masks and jade jewelry to beautiful ceramics and alabaster bowls--hint at the richness of life as a lord of Tikal. Making full use of the remarkable recent breakthroughs in translating the Maya's own hieroglyphic record, Professor Harrison summarizes what is known to date of this mysterious city and its rulers.

Author Biography

Peter D. Harrison is Research Professor at the Maxwell Museum of the University of New Mexico

Table of Contents

Foreword from the Editors	p. 7
The Maya and their civilization	p. 9
The Maya Area	p. 11
The Evolution of Maya Civilization	p. 11
The Drainage Divide of the Central Peten	p. 13
The Forest Environment	p. 18
Chronologies: Our View	p. 20
Chronologies: Their View	p. 22
Tikal discovered	p. 29
The Name of Tikal	p. 29
The History of Discovery	p. 31
The Tikal Project: University of Pennsylvania	p. 35
Proyecto Nacional Tikal	p. 37
Tikal Today	p. 40
Villages around the ridge: the Middle Preclassic	p. 45
Birth, Dawn, and the Color Red	p. 45
Sources of Settlement	p. 46
Tikal's Late Beginning	p. 47
The Middle Preclassic at Tikal	p. 48
The Eb Sites	p. 48
Characteristics of the Pioneer Settlement	p. 50
The Tzec Ceramic Complex	p. 51
The move into greatness: the Late Preclassic	p. 53
Tikal Becomes a City	p. 53
The Lost World Pyramid	p. 56
The North Acropolis	p. 57
Death As a Window	p. 58
Ceramics of The Late Preclassic: an Art form and Time Marker	p. 61
Chuen Times at Tikal	p. 62
Cauac Times at Tikal	p. 63
Cimi Times at Tikal	p. 64
The birth of dynasties: the Early Classic emerges	p. 65
The Count of Known Kings	p. 69
Royal Settlement and Defense Systems	p. 73
The Sacred Clan House of the Jaguar Claw Family	p. 76
The Significance of Royal Titles at Tikal	p. 79
A Turning Point	p. 81
Change and challenge: the end of the Early Classic	p. 82
Troubled Times: the Early Classic Dark Ages	p. 92
Architecture at Tikal	p. 107
Preclassic Through Early Classic	p. 107
Architecture and Style at Tikal	p. 112
The hiatus: war and outside dominance	p. 119
Return of the clan Jaguar Claw - the genius of Hasaw Chan K'awil	p. 125
The Defeat of Calakmul	p. 130
Royal Sorrow the Story on Altar 5	p. 133
Other Known Dates and Events in Hasaw's Life	p. 140
A family affair: Hasaw's descendants	p. 147
The Lintel of Structure 5D-52-1ST	p. 149
Yik'in's Greatest Project: Temple IV	p. 153
Temple VI: The Temple of the Inscriptions	p. 158
The Burial Place of Yik'in	p. 162
The last three lords	p. 166
Yax Ain II (Ruler C; Chitam; Ak)	p. 166
The Final Two Rulers	p. 173
Late Classic architecture, city planning, and the growth of Tikal	p. 180
Twin-Pyramid Groups	p. 181
Ballcourts	p. 182
Palaces	p. 183
Limited Courtyard Palace Groups	p. 184
Freestanding Major Palaces	p. 185
The Central Acropolis	p. 187
Tikal's Planned Growth	p. 190
Decline and fall: the last days	p. 192
The Terminal Classic	p. 192
Causes of the Collapse	p. 198
The Postclassic	p. 199
Retrospect	p. 200
Visiting Tikal	p. 201
Notes to the text	p. 202
Bibliography	p. 205
Acknowledgments and illustration credits	p. 206
Index	p. 206
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.