Tikal: A Case Study 259crops and were involved with other agricultural mat-
ters. This tended to keep people in or near the city so
that they could receive guidance on their crops. The
population in and around Tikal depended upon their
priests to influence supernatural beings and forces on
their behalf.
As the population increased, land for agriculture be-
came scarce, forcing the Maya to find new methods of
food production that could sustain the dense popula-
tion concentrated at Tikal. They added the planting and
tending of fruit trees and other crops that could be grown
around their houses in soils enriched by human waste.
(Unlike houses at Teotihuacan, those at Tikal were not
built close to one another.) Along with increased reliance
on household gardening, the Maya constructed artificially
raised fields in areas that were flooded each rainy season.
In these fields, crops could be intensively cultivated year
after year, as long as they were carefully maintained. Mea-
sures were taken to maximize collection of water for the
dry season—by converting low areas into reservoirs and
constructing channels to carry runoff from plazas and
other architecture into these reservoirs.Evidence from the Excavation
Excavation at Tikal produced considerable information
about the social organization, technology, and diversity
in this ancient city, as well as the relationship between
people in Tikal and other regions. For example, the site
provided evidence of trade in nonperishable items. Gran-
ite, quartzite, hematite, pyrite, jade, slate, and obsidian
all were imported, as either raw materials or finished
products. Marine materials from Caribbean and Pacific
coastal areas were found as well. Because Tikal is located
on top of an abundant source of chert (a flintlike stone
used to manufacture tools), this may have been exported
in the form of raw material and finished objects. In ad-
dition, Tikal’s location between two river systems may
have facilitated an overland trade route. Evidence of trade
in perishable goods—such as textiles, feathers, salt, and
cacao—indicated that there were full-time traders among
the Tikal Maya.
Technologically, specialized woodworking, pottery,
obsidian, and shell workshops have been found. The
skillful stone carving displayed on stone monuments
suggests that occupational specialists did this work. The
same is true of the fine artwork exhibited on ceramic
vessels. Ancient artists had to envision what their work
would look like after their pale, relatively colorless ce-
ramics had been fired.
To control the large population, Tikal must have had
some form of bureaucratic organization. From Maya
written records (glyphs), we know that the government
was headed by a hereditary ruling dynasty with suffi-
cient power to organize massive construction and main-
tenance. This included a system of defensive ditches and
embankments on the northern and southern edges of
the city. The longest of these ran for a distance of per-
haps 19 to 28 kilometers. Although we do not have di-
rect evidence, there are clues to the existence of textile
workers, dental workers, makers of bark cloth “paper,”
scribes, masons, astronomers, and other occupational
specialists.
The religion of the Tikal Maya may have developed
initially as a means to cope with the uncertainties of ag-
riculture. Tikal soil is thin, and the only available water
comes from rain that has been collected in reservoirs.
Rain is abundant in season, but its onset tends to be un-
reliable. Conversely, the elevation of Tikal, high relative to
surrounding terrain, may have caused it to be perceived as
a “power place,” especially suited for making contact with
supernatural forces and beings.
The Maya priests tried not only to win over and
please the deities in times of drought but also to honor
them in times of plenty. Priests—experts on the Maya
calendar—determined the most favorable time to plant
Archaeologists have proposed that Tikal may have emerged as an
important site due to its relative altitude in the region. Today it is still
an important religious center for local Maya, who gather in front of
the acropolis for a traditional ceremony.© Nishan Bingham