The Mayan structures at Tikal, Guatemala are intriguing because of the vast and wide variety of types of structures. For the research that follows, there will be a focus on the North Acropolis, to allow for more specific review. In general, the North Acropolis consisted of 2 primary platforms on which the acropolis stood. On the “Basal Platform” Temples 20-27 and Building 28 (i.e. Structures 5D 20 through 5D-28) where there while on the “Terrace”, Temples 29-35 (i.e. Structures 5D-29 through 5D-35) where found, as seen in Figure 1 (Wikipedia Contributors). Monuments Stela 4, Stela 18, Stela 26, Stela 31, Stela 40, and Alter 19 are also home in the North Acropolis (Wikipedia Contributors). Though this information is from a non-academic source (Wikipedia) it has viable references, including some of the original Tikal Reports of 1968, and a lot of the information in this source has been confirmed through research of more academic sources, or the general information is trustworthy.
John Montgomery, author of Tikal An Illustrated History of the Ancient Maya Capital, discusses the key feature that brings Tikal to the forefront of civilization for its time. A characteristic that would be valuable to know would be that the North Acropolis has “burial sites organized along a central axis” and a key note alongside that is that at Burial 125, the axial changes “establishing the central axis of an entirely new and revamped acropolis” (Montgomery 38). That is to say that North Acropolis’ burial sites are organized along a central axis (Montgomery 38). A change occurred with this Burial 125. Not only was it set on a new central line, but it also abandoned the commonly used corbelled arch, seen to the left in Figure 2. Instead the site set a new precedent, roofing with logs and “buried under hundreds of pounds of chipped flint debitage, a characteristic of royal tombs of the later Classic Period” (38). The book source would appear to be a reliable source for what it is discussing because the references and sources used to back up the book are all scholarly sources, which would have been rigorously reviewed by peers to ensure its evidence is true and factual. It would appear, when comparing the book as a source to the Wikipedia page about the North Acropolis, the Wiki page seems to be less detailed and less informative, but it does agree with the general programming and dates mentioned about the North Acropolis.
In reference to the materials used in the structures within The North Acropolis, and Tikal in general, Limestone was found to be probably the most used resource, being mined from a nearby quarry (Danien and Sharer 141). Occasionally, evidence of wood is used as material for temple toppers (find). Construction-wise, the structures are often tied into the bedrock and there were ceramics and even possibly rubble from another location thrown down as base layers, and possibly drainage, since its location is in the lowlands and marshes are common for the Temples found at the North Acropolis (Coe 28). Many of the temples and decorative buildings have a common shape in the Tikal compound. They take on a tiered pyramid shape, with a central/main staircase running from the base platform to the top of the pyramid, before the decorative toppers, and these staircases are on 1-3 sides of the structure (varying the access to the structure). The Introduction to the archaeology of Tikal, Guatemala (Tikal Report No. 12) by William R. Coe and William A. Haviland is a primary archeological report of the actual dig of Tikal copyrighted in 1982.
To compare that of the North Acropolis to structures found in a different part of the Tikal compound, there are many things that have a connection/correlation. In auxiliary readings of residential housing groups 4F-1 and 4F-2, it appears that these housing groups did burrow to bedrock, similarly to how the North Acropolis burial sites did, and in these areas of Tikal, the structures were primarily produced from rubble, earth, stone, and plaster, which is similar to the rubble/ceramic base and the Limestone structures that are present on the North Acropolis (Haviland Figure 26 Description & Montgomery 38 & Coe and Haviland 34). The Excavations in Small Residential Groups of Tikal: Groups 4F-1 and 4F-2 (Tikal Report No. 19) by William A. Haviland, Marshall J. Becker, Ann Chowning, Keith A. Dixon, and Karl Heider is a great source. Being a primary source for the excavation of Tikal, the report goes a long way in breaking down figures through tables and it uses a lot of illustrations showing the sectional views, structural views, and plan views of different residential structures in the housing groups 4F-1 and 4F-2. The source is extremely reliable and does a great job at offering a comparative view from the structures found at the North Acropolis to structures scattered throughout the rest of Tikal.
The Maya Structures at Tikal, specifically the North Acropolis, are incredible for their vast variety and grand stature. The North Acropolis and Grand Plaza are the most well documented, leaving the sources for the research of the site rich with information. Using a variety of source outlets, sources have been gathered from the Kent State Library, Google Scholar, Kent Link, other databases, and general searches such as Wikipedia, and they give a combined telling of the type of structures located at Tikal. Through these sources, the material, way of construction, similar patterns/decorations have been analyzed so a building sharing in the type of structures seen in the North Acropolis of Tikal can potentially be constructed.
References:
Coe, William R. "Tikal" Expedition Magazine 5.2 (January 1963): n. pag. Expedition Magazine.
Penn Museum, January 1963 Web. 17 Nov 2017, http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/?p=525.
Coe, William R., and William A. Haviland. “Introduction to the Archaeology of
Tikal.” Introduction to the Archaeology of Tikal, 46 of Museum monographs,
University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1982, pp. 1-100. 12 Of Tikal Reports.
Danien, Elin C, and Robert J Sharer, editors. “Preclassic Maya Civilization.” New Theories on
the Ancient Maya, 77 of Museum monographs, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1992, pp. 141.
Haviland, William A. “Excavations In Small Residential Groups Of Tikal: Groups 4F-1 And 4F
2.” Tikal Report; University Museum Monograph 1985: xvi, 200. Web. 17 Nov. 2017.
Montgomery, John. "Tikal: An Illustrated History of the Ancient Maya Capital.”
Montgomery John. Hippocrene Books, New York, 2001. Xx 271 Pp., Figures,
Appendices, Bibliography, Index. $14.95 (paper)." Latin American Antiquity 15.4 (2004): 36-38. Print.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Tikal.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. 28 Sept. 2017, Web. 06 Nov. 2017.
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