Online Exhibit: Tikal, Guatemala

Tikal, in the rainforest of northern Guatemala, was one of the largest and most powerful cities of the Maya civilization's Classic period, roughly 200 to 900 CE. Its ruins include palaces, plazas, ball courts and thousands of structures spread through the forest, dominated by steep temple-pyramids around the Great Plaza. Temple IV, about 65 meters high, was among the tallest structures in the Americas until the first skyscrapers were built in North America. Tikal is protected within Tikal National Park, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, recognized for both its cultural and natural value.

More about Tikal