er , Maudslay , Tozzer and Méndez causeways . They assisted the passage everyday traffic during the rain season and also served as dams .   The Maler Causeway runs north from behind Temple I to Group H. A large bas @-@ relief is carved onto limestone bedrock upon the course of the causeway just south of Group H. It depicts two bound captives and dates to the Late Classic .   The Maudsley Causeway runs 0 @.@ 8 kilometres ( 0 @.@ 50 mi ) northeast from Temple IV to Group H.   The Mendez Causeway runs southeast from the East Plaza to Temple VI , a distance of about 1 @.@ 3 kilometres ( 0 @.@ 81 mi ) .   The Tozzer Causeway runs west from the Great Plaza to Temple IV .   = = = Architectural groups = = =   The Great Plaza lies at the core of the site ; it is flanked on the east and west sides by two great temple @-@ pyramids . On the north side it is bordered by the North Acropolis and on the south by the Central Acropolis .   The Central Acropolis is a palace complex just south of the Great Plaza .   The North Acropolis , together with the Great Plaza immediately to the south , is one of the most studied architectural groups in the Maya area ; the Tikal Project excavated a massive trench across the complex , thoroughly investigating its construction history . It is a complex group with construction beginning in the Preclassic Period , around 350 BC . It developed into a funerary complex for the ruling dynasty of the Classic Period , with each additional royal burial adding new temples on top of the older structures . After AD 400 a row of tall pyramids was added to the earlier Northern Platform , which measured 100 by 80 metres ( 330 by 260 ft ) , gradually hiding it from view . Eight temple pyramids were built in the 6th century AD , each of them had an elaborate roofcomb and a stairway flanked by masks of the gods . By the 9th century AD , 43 stelae and 30 altars had been erected in the North Acropolis ; 18 of these monuments were carved with hieroglyphic texts and royal portraits . The North Acropolis continued to receive burials into the Postclassic Period .   The South Acropolis is found next to Temple V. It was built upon a large basal platform that covers an area of more than 20 @,@ 000 square metres ( 220 @,@ 000 sq ft ) .   The Plaza of the Seven Temples is to the west of the South Acropolis . It is bordered on the east side by a row of nearly identical temples , by palaces on the south and west sides and by an unusual triple ballcourt on the north side .   The Mundo Perdido is to the west of the Plaza of the Seven Temples . It is the largest ceremonial complex dating from the Preclassic period at Tikal . The complex was organized as a large E @-@ Group consisting of a pyramid aligned with a platform to the east that supported three temples . The Mundo Perdido complex was rebuilt many times over the course of its history . By AD 250 – 300 its architectural style was influenced by the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico , including the use of the talud @-@ tablero form . During the Early Classic period ( c . 250 – 600 ) the Mundo Perdido became one of the twin foci of the city , the other being the North Acropolis . From AD 250 to 378 it may have served as the royal necropolis . The Mundo Perdido complex was given its name by the archaeologists of the University of Pennsylvania ; it is centered upon the Lost World Pyramid and a small platform to the west of it .   Group G lies just south of the Mendez Causeway . The complex dates to the Late Classic and consists of palace @-@ type structures and is one of the largest groups of its type at Tikal . It has two stories but most of the rooms are on the lower floor , a total of 29 vaulted chambers . The remains of two further chambers belong to the upper storey . One of the entrances to the group was framed by a gigantic mask .   Group H is centered on a large plaza to the north of the Great Plaza . It is bordered by temples dating to the Late Classic .   There are nine Twin @-@ Pyramid Complexes at Tikal , one of which was completely dismantled in ancient times and some others were partly destroyed . They vary in size but consist of two pyramids facing each other on an east – west axis . These pyramids are flat @-@ topped and have stairways on all four sides . A row of plain stelae is placed immediately to the west of the eastern pyramid and to the north of the pyramids , and lying roughly equidistant from them , there is usually
er Ġ, ĠM aud sl ay Ġ, ĠTo zz er Ġand ĠMÃ© nd ez Ġcause ways Ġ. ĠThey Ġassisted Ġthe Ġpassage Ġeveryday Ġtraffic Ġduring Ġthe Ġrain Ġseason Ġand Ġalso Ġserved Ġas Ġdams Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMal er ĠCause way Ġruns Ġnorth Ġfrom Ġbehind ĠTemple ĠI Ġto ĠGroup ĠH . ĠA Ġlarge Ġbas Ġ@ - @ Ġrelief Ġis Ġcarved Ġonto Ġlimestone Ġbedrock Ġupon Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġthe Ġcause way Ġjust Ġsouth Ġof ĠGroup ĠH . ĠIt Ġdepicts Ġtwo Ġbound Ġcaptives Ġand Ġdates Ġto Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠM aud s ley ĠCause way Ġruns Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ8 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ50 Ġmi Ġ) Ġnortheast Ġfrom ĠTemple ĠIV Ġto ĠGroup ĠH . Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMend ez ĠCause way Ġruns Ġsoutheast Ġfrom Ġthe ĠEast ĠPlaza Ġto ĠTemple ĠVI Ġ, Ġa Ġdistance Ġof Ġabout Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ3 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ81 Ġmi Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠTo zz er ĠCause way Ġruns Ġwest Ġfrom Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġto ĠTemple ĠIV Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠArchitect ural Ġgroups Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġlies Ġat Ġthe Ġcore Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġ; Ġit Ġis Ġflanked Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġand Ġwest Ġsides Ġby Ġtwo Ġgreat Ġtemple Ġ@ - @ Ġpy ramids Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġnorth Ġside Ġit Ġis Ġb ordered Ġby Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġand Ġon Ġthe Ġsouth Ġby Ġthe ĠCentral ĠAc ropolis Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠCentral ĠAc ropolis Ġis Ġa Ġpalace Ġcomplex Ġjust Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġ, Ġtogether Ġwith Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġimmediately Ġto Ġthe Ġsouth Ġ, Ġis Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġmost Ġstudied Ġarchitectural Ġgroups Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġarea Ġ; Ġthe ĠTik al ĠProject Ġexcav ated Ġa Ġmassive Ġtrench Ġacross Ġthe Ġcomplex Ġ, Ġthoroughly Ġinvestigating Ġits Ġconstruction Ġhistory Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġa Ġcomplex Ġgroup Ġwith Ġconstruction Ġbeginning Ġin Ġthe ĠPre classic ĠPeriod Ġ, Ġaround Ġ350 ĠBC Ġ. ĠIt Ġdeveloped Ġinto Ġa Ġfuner ary Ġcomplex Ġfor Ġthe Ġruling Ġdynasty Ġof Ġthe ĠClassic ĠPeriod Ġ, Ġwith Ġeach Ġadditional Ġroyal Ġburial Ġadding Ġnew Ġtemples Ġon Ġtop Ġof Ġthe Ġolder Ġstructures Ġ. ĠAfter ĠAD Ġ400 Ġa Ġrow Ġof Ġtall Ġpy ramids Ġwas Ġadded Ġto Ġthe Ġearlier ĠNorthern ĠPlatform Ġ, Ġwhich Ġmeasured Ġ100 Ġby Ġ80 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ330 Ġby Ġ260 Ġft Ġ) Ġ, Ġgradually Ġhiding Ġit Ġfrom Ġview Ġ. ĠEight Ġtemple Ġpy ramids Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġin Ġthe Ġ6 th Ġcentury ĠAD Ġ, Ġeach Ġof Ġthem Ġhad Ġan Ġelaborate Ġroof comb Ġand Ġa Ġstair way Ġflanked Ġby Ġmasks Ġof Ġthe Ġgods Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġcentury ĠAD Ġ, Ġ43 Ġst el ae Ġand Ġ30 Ġalt ars Ġhad Ġbeen Ġerected Ġin Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġ; Ġ18 Ġof Ġthese Ġmonuments Ġwere Ġcarved Ġwith Ġhier ogly ph ic Ġtexts Ġand Ġroyal Ġportraits Ġ. ĠThe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġcontinued Ġto Ġreceive Ġbur ials Ġinto Ġthe ĠPost classic ĠPeriod Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠSouth ĠAc ropolis Ġis Ġfound Ġnext Ġto ĠTemple ĠV . ĠIt Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġupon Ġa Ġlarge Ġbasal Ġplatform Ġthat Ġcovers Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġmore Ġthan Ġ20 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġsquare Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ220 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġsq Ġft Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠPlaza Ġof Ġthe ĠSeven ĠTem ples Ġis Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof Ġthe ĠSouth ĠAc ropolis Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġb ordered Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġside Ġby Ġa Ġrow Ġof Ġnearly Ġidentical Ġtemples Ġ, Ġby Ġpal aces Ġon Ġthe Ġsouth Ġand Ġwest Ġsides Ġand Ġby Ġan Ġunusual Ġtriple Ġball court Ġon Ġthe Ġnorth Ġside Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMund o ĠPer d ido Ġis Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof Ġthe ĠPlaza Ġof Ġthe ĠSeven ĠTem ples Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġthe Ġlargest Ġceremonial Ġcomplex Ġdating Ġfrom Ġthe ĠPre classic Ġperiod Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠThe Ġcomplex Ġwas Ġorganized Ġas Ġa Ġlarge ĠE Ġ@ - @ ĠGroup Ġconsisting Ġof Ġa Ġpyramid Ġaligned Ġwith Ġa Ġplatform Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġthat Ġsupported Ġthree Ġtemples Ġ. ĠThe ĠMund o ĠPer d ido Ġcomplex Ġwas Ġrebuilt Ġmany Ġtimes Ġover Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġits Ġhistory Ġ. ĠBy ĠAD Ġ250 ĠâĢĵ Ġ300 Ġits Ġarchitectural Ġstyle Ġwas Ġinfluenced Ġby Ġthe Ġgreat Ġmet ropolis Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġin Ġthe ĠValley Ġof ĠMexico Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġuse Ġof Ġthe Ġtal ud Ġ@ - @ Ġtab ler o Ġform Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġperiod Ġ( Ġc Ġ. Ġ250 ĠâĢĵ Ġ600 Ġ) Ġthe ĠMund o ĠPer d ido Ġbecame Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġtwin Ġf oci Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġthe Ġother Ġbeing Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġ. ĠFrom ĠAD Ġ250 Ġto Ġ378 Ġit Ġmay Ġhave Ġserved Ġas Ġthe Ġroyal Ġnec ropolis Ġ. ĠThe ĠMund o ĠPer d ido Ġcomplex Ġwas Ġgiven Ġits Ġname Ġby Ġthe Ġarchaeologists Ġof Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠPennsylvania Ġ; Ġit Ġis Ġcentered Ġupon Ġthe ĠLost ĠWorld ĠPyramid Ġand Ġa Ġsmall Ġplatform Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof Ġit Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGroup ĠG Ġlies Ġjust Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠMend ez ĠCause way Ġ. ĠThe Ġcomplex Ġdates Ġto Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġand Ġconsists Ġof Ġpalace Ġ@ - @ Ġtype Ġstructures Ġand Ġis Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġlargest Ġgroups Ġof Ġits Ġtype Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠIt Ġhas Ġtwo Ġstories Ġbut Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġrooms Ġare Ġon Ġthe Ġlower Ġfloor Ġ, Ġa Ġtotal Ġof Ġ29 Ġvault ed Ġchambers Ġ. ĠThe Ġremains Ġof Ġtwo Ġfurther Ġchambers Ġbelong Ġto Ġthe Ġupper Ġstore y Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthe Ġentrances Ġto Ġthe Ġgroup Ġwas Ġframed Ġby Ġa Ġgigantic Ġmask Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGroup ĠH Ġis Ġcentered Ġon Ġa Ġlarge Ġplaza Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġof Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġb ordered Ġby Ġtemples Ġdating Ġto Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġare Ġnine ĠTwin Ġ@ - @ ĠPyramid ĠComplex es Ġat ĠTik al Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġwhich Ġwas Ġcompletely Ġdismantled Ġin Ġancient Ġtimes Ġand Ġsome Ġothers Ġwere Ġpartly Ġdestroyed Ġ. ĠThey Ġvary Ġin Ġsize Ġbut Ġconsist Ġof Ġtwo Ġpy ramids Ġfacing Ġeach Ġother Ġon Ġan Ġeast ĠâĢĵ Ġwest Ġaxis Ġ. ĠThese Ġpy ramids Ġare Ġflat Ġ@ - @ Ġtopped Ġand Ġhave Ġstair ways Ġon Ġall Ġfour Ġsides Ġ. ĠA Ġrow Ġof Ġplain Ġst el ae Ġis Ġplaced Ġimmediately Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof Ġthe Ġeastern Ġpyramid Ġand Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġof Ġthe Ġpy ramids Ġ, Ġand Ġlying Ġroughly Ġequ id istant Ġfrom Ġthem Ġ, Ġthere Ġis Ġusually