The Time the Tikal State Emerged

Summary

This is an abstract from the "La Cuernavilla, Guatemala: A Maya Fortress and Its Environs" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the first centuries of the CE, the Maya Lowlands underwent many changes in its political landscape, which were caused by the abandonment of the main Formative centers, including El Palmar, which was the most powerful center in the Buenavista Valley. Taking advantage of these compulsive times, Tikal begins to become the guiding center in this valley. However, it was not until the fourth century CE that the Mutal dynasty managed to establish itself as one of the strongest states in the region, after the event known as the Arrival of Foreigners in the year 378 CE. In this talk, the process of how Tikal became a hegemonic state will be discussed, where it is proposed that the main strategies used by its dynasty were wars, political alliances, and the creation of an extensive defensive system throughout its territory. For this, historical data, analysis of the built landscape and new archaeological data obtained in the southern sector of Tikal will be explored.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• La Cuernavilla, Guatemala: A Maya Fortress and Its Environs   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37353.0