 at the site dating as far back as 1000 BC , in the Middle Preclassic . A cache of Mamon ceramics dating from about 700 @-@ 400 BC were found in a sealed chultun , a subterranean bottle @-@ shaped chamber .   Major construction at Tikal was already taking place in the Late Preclassic period , first appearing around 400 – 300 BC , including the building of major pyramids and platforms , although the city was still dwarfed by sites further north such as El Mirador and Nakbe . At this time , Tikal participated in the widespread Chikanel culture that dominated the Central and Northern Maya areas at this time – a region that included the entire Yucatan Peninsula including northern and eastern Guatemala and all of Belize .   Two temples dating to Late Chikanel times had masonry @-@ walled superstructures that may have been corbel @-@ vaulted , although this has not been proven . One of these had elaborate paintings on the outer walls showing human figures against a scrollwork background , painted in yellow , black , pink and red .   In the 1st century AD rich burials first appeared and Tikal underwent a political and cultural florescence as its giant northern neighbors declined . At the end of the Late Preclassic , the Izapan style art and architecture from the Pacific Coast began to influence Tikal , as demonstrated by a broken sculpture from the acropolis and early murals at the city .   = = = Early Classic = = =   Dynastic rulership among the lowland Maya is most deeply rooted at Tikal . According to later hieroglyphic records , the dynasty was founded by Yax @-@ Moch @-@ Xoc , perhaps in the 3rd century AD . At the beginning of the Early Classic , power in the Maya region was concentrated at Tikal and Calakmul , in the core of the Maya heartland .   Tikal may have benefited from the collapse of the large Preclassic states such as El Mirador . In the Early Classic Tikal rapidly developed into the most dynamic city in the Maya region , stimulating the development of other nearby Maya cities .   The site , however , was often at war and inscriptions tell of alliances and conflict with other Maya states , including Uaxactun , Caracol , Naranjo and Calakmul . The site was defeated at the end of the Early Classic by Caracol , which rose to take Tikal 's place as the paramount center in the southern Maya lowlands . The earlier part of the Early Classic saw hostilities between Tikal and its neighbor Uaxactun , with Uaxactun recording the capture of prisoners from Tikal .   There appears to have been a breakdown in the male succession by AD 317 , when Lady Unen Bahlam conducted a katun @-@ ending ceremony , apparently as queen of the city .   = = = = Tikal and Teotihuacan = = = =   The fourteenth king of Tikal was Chak Tok Ich 'aak ( Great Jaguar Paw ) . Chak Tok Ich 'aak built a palace that was preserved and developed by later rulers until it became the core of the Central Acropolis . Little is known about Chak Tok Ich 'aak except that he was killed on 14 January 378 AD . On the same day , Siyah K ’ ak ’ ( Fire Is Born ) arrived from the west , having passed through El Peru , a site to the west of Tikal , on 8 January . On Stela 31 he is named as " Lord of the West " . Siyah K ’ ak ’ was probably a foreign general serving a figure represented by a non @-@ Maya hieroglyph of a spearthrower combined with an owl , a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico . Spearthrower Owl may even have been the ruler of Teotihuacan . These recorded events strongly suggest that Siyah K ’ ak ’ led a Teotihuacan invasion that defeated the native Tikal king , who was captured and immediately executed . Siyah K 'ak ' appears to have been aided by a powerful political faction at Tikal itself ; roughly at the time of the conquest , a group of Teotihuacan natives were apparently residing near the Lost World complex . He also exerted control over other cities in the area , including Uaxactun , where he became king , but did not take the throne of Tikal for himself . Within a year , the son of Spearthrower Owl by the name of Yax Nuun Ayiin I ( First Crocodile ) had been installed as the tenth king of Tikal while he was still a boy , being enthroned on 13 September 379 . He reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal , and remained a vassal of Siyah K 'ak ' for as long as the latter
Ġat Ġthe Ġsite Ġdating Ġas Ġfar Ġback Ġas Ġ1000 ĠBC Ġ, Ġin Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠPre classic Ġ. ĠA Ġcache Ġof ĠM amon Ġcer am ics Ġdating Ġfrom Ġabout Ġ700 Ġ@ - @ Ġ400 ĠBC Ġwere Ġfound Ġin Ġa Ġsealed Ġch ult un Ġ, Ġa Ġsubter ranean Ġbottle Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped Ġchamber Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMajor Ġconstruction Ġat ĠTik al Ġwas Ġalready Ġtaking Ġplace Ġin Ġthe ĠLate ĠPre classic Ġperiod Ġ, Ġfirst Ġappearing Ġaround Ġ400 ĠâĢĵ Ġ300 ĠBC Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġof Ġmajor Ġpy ramids Ġand Ġplatforms Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġstill Ġdwar fed Ġby Ġsites Ġfurther Ġnorth Ġsuch Ġas ĠEl ĠMir ador Ġand ĠNak be Ġ. ĠAt Ġthis Ġtime Ġ, ĠTik al Ġparticipated Ġin Ġthe Ġwidespread ĠCh ikan el Ġculture Ġthat Ġdominated Ġthe ĠCentral Ġand ĠNorthern ĠMaya Ġareas Ġat Ġthis Ġtime ĠâĢĵ Ġa Ġregion Ġthat Ġincluded Ġthe Ġentire ĠY uc atan ĠPeninsula Ġincluding Ġnorthern Ġand Ġeastern ĠGuatemala Ġand Ġall Ġof ĠBel ize Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTwo Ġtemples Ġdating Ġto ĠLate ĠCh ikan el Ġtimes Ġhad Ġm asonry Ġ@ - @ Ġwall ed Ġsuper struct ures Ġthat Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġcor bel Ġ@ - @ Ġvault ed Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthis Ġhas Ġnot Ġbeen Ġproven Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthese Ġhad Ġelaborate Ġpaintings Ġon Ġthe Ġouter Ġwalls Ġshowing Ġhuman Ġfigures Ġagainst Ġa Ġscroll work Ġbackground Ġ, Ġpainted Ġin Ġyellow Ġ, Ġblack Ġ, Ġpink Ġand Ġred Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ1 st Ġcentury ĠAD Ġrich Ġbur ials Ġfirst Ġappeared Ġand ĠTik al Ġunderwent Ġa Ġpolitical Ġand Ġcultural Ġfl orescence Ġas Ġits Ġgiant Ġnorthern Ġneighbors Ġdeclined Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠLate ĠPre classic Ġ, Ġthe ĠIz apan Ġstyle Ġart Ġand Ġarchitecture Ġfrom Ġthe ĠPacific ĠCoast Ġbegan Ġto Ġinfluence ĠTik al Ġ, Ġas Ġdemonstrated Ġby Ġa Ġbroken Ġsculpture Ġfrom Ġthe Ġac ropolis Ġand Ġearly Ġmur als Ġat Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠDyn astic Ġrulers hip Ġamong Ġthe Ġlow land ĠMaya Ġis Ġmost Ġdeeply Ġrooted Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto Ġlater Ġhier ogly ph ic Ġrecords Ġ, Ġthe Ġdynasty Ġwas Ġfounded Ġby ĠY ax Ġ@ - @ ĠMo ch Ġ@ - @ ĠX oc Ġ, Ġperhaps Ġin Ġthe Ġ3 rd Ġcentury ĠAD Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġ, Ġpower Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġwas Ġconcentrated Ġat ĠTik al Ġand ĠCal ak m ul Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġcore Ġof Ġthe ĠMaya Ġheart land Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTik al Ġmay Ġhave Ġbenefited Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcollapse Ġof Ġthe Ġlarge ĠPre classic Ġstates Ġsuch Ġas ĠEl ĠMir ador Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic ĠTik al Ġrapidly Ġdeveloped Ġinto Ġthe Ġmost Ġdynamic Ġcity Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġ, Ġstimulating Ġthe Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġother Ġnearby ĠMaya Ġcities Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsite Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwas Ġoften Ġat Ġwar Ġand Ġins criptions Ġtell Ġof Ġalliances Ġand Ġconflict Ġwith Ġother ĠMaya Ġstates Ġ, Ġincluding ĠU ax act un Ġ, ĠCar ac ol Ġ, ĠNar an jo Ġand ĠCal ak m ul Ġ. ĠThe Ġsite Ġwas Ġdefeated Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġby ĠCar ac ol Ġ, Ġwhich Ġrose Ġto Ġtake ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġplace Ġas Ġthe Ġparamount Ġcenter Ġin Ġthe Ġsouthern ĠMaya Ġlow lands Ġ. ĠThe Ġearlier Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġsaw Ġhostilities Ġbetween ĠTik al Ġand Ġits Ġneighbor ĠU ax act un Ġ, Ġwith ĠU ax act un Ġrecording Ġthe Ġcapture Ġof Ġprisoners Ġfrom ĠTik al Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġappears Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġa Ġbreakdown Ġin Ġthe Ġmale Ġsuccession Ġby ĠAD Ġ317 Ġ, Ġwhen ĠLady ĠUn en ĠBah lam Ġconducted Ġa Ġk at un Ġ@ - @ Ġending Ġceremony Ġ, Ġapparently Ġas Ġqueen Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTik al Ġand ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġfour teenth Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġwas ĠChak ĠTok ĠIch Ġ' a ak Ġ( ĠGreat ĠJaguar ĠPaw Ġ) Ġ. ĠChak ĠTok ĠIch Ġ' a ak Ġbuilt Ġa Ġpalace Ġthat Ġwas Ġpreserved Ġand Ġdeveloped Ġby Ġlater Ġrulers Ġuntil Ġit Ġbecame Ġthe Ġcore Ġof Ġthe ĠCentral ĠAc ropolis Ġ. ĠLittle Ġis Ġknown Ġabout ĠChak ĠTok ĠIch Ġ' a ak Ġexcept Ġthat Ġhe Ġwas Ġkilled Ġon Ġ14 ĠJanuary Ġ378 ĠAD Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġsame Ġday Ġ, ĠS iyah ĠK ĠâĢ Ļ Ġak ĠâĢ Ļ Ġ( ĠFire ĠIs ĠBorn Ġ) Ġarrived Ġfrom Ġthe Ġwest Ġ, Ġhaving Ġpassed Ġthrough ĠEl ĠPeru Ġ, Ġa Ġsite Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġon Ġ8 ĠJanuary Ġ. ĠOn ĠSt ela Ġ31 Ġhe Ġis Ġnamed Ġas Ġ" ĠLord Ġof Ġthe ĠWest Ġ" Ġ. ĠS iyah ĠK ĠâĢ Ļ Ġak ĠâĢ Ļ Ġwas Ġprobably Ġa Ġforeign Ġgeneral Ġserving Ġa Ġfigure Ġrepresented Ġby Ġa Ġnon Ġ@ - @ ĠMaya Ġhier ogly ph Ġof Ġa Ġspe arth rower Ġcombined Ġwith Ġan Ġowl Ġ, Ġa Ġglyph Ġthat Ġis Ġwell Ġknown Ġfrom Ġthe Ġgreat Ġmet ropolis Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġin Ġthe Ġdistant ĠValley Ġof ĠMexico Ġ. ĠSpe arth rower ĠOwl Ġmay Ġeven Ġhave Ġbeen Ġthe Ġruler Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġ. ĠThese Ġrecorded Ġevents Ġstrongly Ġsuggest Ġthat ĠS iyah ĠK ĠâĢ Ļ Ġak ĠâĢ Ļ Ġled Ġa ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġinvasion Ġthat Ġdefeated Ġthe Ġnative ĠTik al Ġking Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġcaptured Ġand Ġimmediately Ġexecuted Ġ. ĠS iyah ĠK Ġ' ak Ġ' Ġappears Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġaided Ġby Ġa Ġpowerful Ġpolitical Ġfaction Ġat ĠTik al Ġitself Ġ; Ġroughly Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġof Ġthe Ġconquest Ġ, Ġa Ġgroup Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġnatives Ġwere Ġapparently Ġresiding Ġnear Ġthe ĠLost ĠWorld Ġcomplex Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġexerted Ġcontrol Ġover Ġother Ġcities Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġ, Ġincluding ĠU ax act un Ġ, Ġwhere Ġhe Ġbecame Ġking Ġ, Ġbut Ġdid Ġnot Ġtake Ġthe Ġthrone Ġof ĠTik al Ġfor Ġhimself Ġ. ĠWithin Ġa Ġyear Ġ, Ġthe Ġson Ġof ĠSpe arth rower ĠOwl Ġby Ġthe Ġname Ġof ĠY ax ĠNu un ĠAy i in ĠI Ġ( ĠFirst ĠCro cod ile Ġ) Ġhad Ġbeen Ġinstalled Ġas Ġthe Ġtenth Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġwhile Ġhe Ġwas Ġstill Ġa Ġboy Ġ, Ġbeing Ġent h ron ed Ġon Ġ13 ĠSeptember Ġ379 Ġ. ĠHe Ġre igned Ġfor Ġ47 Ġyears Ġas Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġand Ġremained Ġa Ġv ass al Ġof ĠS iyah ĠK Ġ' ak Ġ' Ġfor Ġas Ġlong Ġas Ġthe Ġlatter