The site of Tikal shown in this photograph was first occupied during the Formative period, about 800 BC; and it reached its height of power and influence between AD 652 and 800. The Great Plaza at Tikal, shown in this photograph, is surrounded by the most important architecture, including Temple 1, seen here in the back center. Researchers have estimated Tikal's maximum population at about 60,000. Sixty thousand people crammed into this plaza at the same time would have been a tight squeeze: Inomata reckons that with an area of .46 square meters per person, the Great Plaza could only accommodate about 18,500 people. Inomata's research suggests that the Great Plaza was first laid out during the late preclassic period, before its population boom, and that subsequent rulers modified the space. The Great Plaza was reduced in area, making it a smaller, more exclusive theatrical space. At the same time, the rulers created new plazas to accommodate larger percentages of the population.
More information and sources:
More information and sources:
- The Role of the Plaza in Maya Festivals, more on the project by Takeshi Inomata
- Peter D. Harrison. 2001. Tikal (Peten, Guatemala). Pages 748-755 in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America, S.T. Evans and D.L. Webster, eds. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York.
- Takeshi Inomata. 2006. Plazas, perfomers and spectators: Political theaters of the Classic Maya. Current Anthropology 47(5):805-842
