Tikal 's Grand Plaza , the Central Acropolis and Temple III to the far left.

Tikal, June 2006

      The Great Plaza and its surroundings constituted the core of Tikal.  Technically the Great Plaza consists of Temples 1 & 2 and the ball court, which were dramatic additions built around the year 700 A.D. between the Central and the North Acropolises.

      In the political sphere, Tikal had gone through a period known as the hiatus toward the end of the seventh century A.D., when no new buildings or inscriptions recorded important events for almost 150 years.
Suddenly Tikal was no longer a "broken city," greatly through a powerful ruler named Ha Sawa Chaan-K'awil (formerly know as Ah Cacaw or Ruler A), who brought Tikal back to its position of wealth and power.  He lived a long life (60 to 80 years), leading a series of successful wars against his enemies and seeing Tikal return to its greatness under his reign.To add to the image of Tikal as a renewed and vital city, two new impressive temples were planned and the North Acropolis remodeled.  Unlike most buildings in Tikal, which were built over long periods of time, except for twin-pyramid complexes, which were built to commemorate katun endings, these temples were built in a rather short period of time.  Ha Sawa Chaan-K'awil framed the Great Plaza with these two monumental temples, completing Temple 2 during his lifetime and leaving the construction of Temple I, his own burial ground, to be completed by his son.   He probably oversaw the carving of the wooden lintels for the doorways and made detailed plans for the decoration and construction anticipating his afterlife.

Temples 1 and 2 are both majestic prototypes of local architecture and represented the type of monumental grandeur accomplished by the rulers of Tikal during the Late Classic Period.  The Great Plaza became the focus of sociopolitical life at Tikal during this time.  Temple 2, standing 38 meters tall (122 feet), was erected facing East toward the rising sun.  Temple 1, a stylized building facing west, toward the setting sun, stands 45 meters high 144.36 feet.

      The Maya of Tikal considered Temple I the portal to the Underworld.  Ha Sawa Chaan K’awil’s rich tomb was discovered in the interior of the building (Burial 116).  Yikin, his son, sealed the tomb after his father's death, before construction began on the temple.  Being buried in this spot was a huge break with tradition. Before this time, for more than 500 years, all the rulers of Tikal were buried in the North Acropolis. His royal tomb included several kilos of jade, shells and pottery.  Ha Sawa Chaan K'awil was almost 6 ft. tall and his body was left under Temple I after his death with a richly adorned burial, which was excavated by archaeologist Aubrey Trik in 1962. The temple complex may represent the Full Cycle of Life itself.

 

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