 inscriptions refer to later rulers .   = = = Terminal Classic = = =   By the 9th century , the crisis of the Classic Maya collapse was sweeping across the region , with populations plummeting and city after city falling into silence . Increasingly endemic warfare in the Maya region caused Tikal 's supporting population to heavily concentrate close to the city itself , accelerating the use of intensive agriculture and corresponding environmental decline . Construction continued at the beginning of the century , with the erection of Temple 3 , the last of the city 's major pyramids and the erection of monuments to mark the 19th K 'atun in 810 . The beginning of the 10th Bak 'tun in 830 passed uncelebrated , and marks the beginning of a 60 @-@ year hiatus , probably resulting from the collapse of central control in the city . During this hiatus , satellite sites traditionally under Tikal 's control began to erect their own monuments featuring local rulers and using the Mutal emblem glyph , with Tikal apparently lacking the authority or the power to crush these bids for independence . In 849 , Jewel K 'awiil is mentioned on a stela at Seibal as visiting that city as the Divine Lord of Tikal but he is not recorded elsewhere and Tikal 's once great power was little more than a memory . The sites of Ixlu and Jimbal had by now inherited the once exclusive Mutal emblem glyph .   As Tikal and its hinterland reached peak population , the area suffered deforestation , erosion and nutrient loss followed by a rapid decline in population levels . Tikal and its immediate surroundings seem to have lost the majority of its population during the period from 830 to 950 and central authority seems to have collapsed rapidly . There is not much evidence from Tikal that the city was directly affected by the endemic warfare that afflicted parts of the Maya region during the Terminal Classic , although an influx of refugees from the Petexbatún region may have exacerbated problems resulting from the already stretched environmental resources .   In the latter half of the 9th century there was an attempt to revive royal power at the much diminished city of Tikal , as evidenced by a stela erected in the Great Plaza by Jasaw Chan K 'awiil II in 869 . This was the last monument erected at Tikal before the city finally fell into silence . The former satellites of Tikal , such as Jimbal and Uaxactun , did not last much longer , erecting their final monuments in 889 . By the end of the 9th century the vast majority of Tikal 's population had deserted the city , its royal palaces were occupied by squatters and simple thatched dwellings were being erected in the city 's ceremonial plazas . The squatters blocked some doorways in the rooms they reoccupied in the monumental structures of the site and left rubbish that included a mixture of domestic refuse and non @-@ utilitarian items such as musical instruments . These inhabitants reused the earlier monuments for their own ritual activities far removed from those of the royal dynasty that had erected them . Some monuments were vandalized and some were moved to new locations . Before its final abandonment all respect for the old rulers had disappeared , with the tombs of the North Acropolis being explored for jade and the easier to find tombs being looted . After 950 , Tikal was all but deserted , although a remnant population may have survived in perishable huts interspersed among the ruins . Even these final inhabitants abandoned the city in the 10th or 11th centuries and the rainforest claimed the ruins for the next thousand years . Some of Tikal 's population may have migrated to the Peten Lakes region , which remained heavily populated in spite of a plunge in population levels in the first half of the 9th century .   The most likely cause of collapse at Tikal is overpopulation and agrarian failure . The fall of Tikal was a blow to the heart of Classic Maya civilization , the city having been at the forefront of courtly life , art and architecture for over a thousand years , with an ancient ruling dynasty . However , new research regarding paleoenvironmental proxies from the Tikal reservoir system suggests that a meteorological drought may have led to the abandonment of Tikal .   = = = Modern history = = =   In 1525 , the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés passed within a few kilometres of the ruins of Tikal but did not mention them in his letters . After Spanish friar Andrés de Avendaño became lost in the Petén forests in early 1696 he described a ruin that may well have been Tikal .   As is often the case with huge ancient ruins , knowledge of the site was never completely lost in the region . It seems that local people never forgot about Tikal and they guided Guatemalan expeditions to the ruins in the 1850s . Some second- or third @-@ hand accounts of Tikal appeared in print starting in the 17th century , continuing through the writings of John
Ġins criptions Ġrefer Ġto Ġlater Ġrulers Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTerminal ĠClassic Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġthe Ġcrisis Ġof Ġthe ĠClassic ĠMaya Ġcollapse Ġwas Ġsweeping Ġacross Ġthe Ġregion Ġ, Ġwith Ġpopulations Ġplummet ing Ġand Ġcity Ġafter Ġcity Ġfalling Ġinto Ġsilence Ġ. ĠIncreasing ly Ġendemic Ġwarfare Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġcaused ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġsupporting Ġpopulation Ġto Ġheavily Ġconcentrate Ġclose Ġto Ġthe Ġcity Ġitself Ġ, Ġaccelerating Ġthe Ġuse Ġof Ġintensive Ġagriculture Ġand Ġcorresponding Ġenvironmental Ġdecline Ġ. ĠConstruction Ġcontinued Ġat Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe Ġcentury Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġerection Ġof ĠTemple Ġ3 Ġ, Ġthe Ġlast Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġmajor Ġpy ramids Ġand Ġthe Ġerection Ġof Ġmonuments Ġto Ġmark Ġthe Ġ19 th ĠK Ġ' at un Ġin Ġ8 10 Ġ. ĠThe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe Ġ10 th ĠBak Ġ' tun Ġin Ġ8 30 Ġpassed Ġun cele br ated Ġ, Ġand Ġmarks Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġa Ġ60 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġhiatus Ġ, Ġprobably Ġresulting Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcollapse Ġof Ġcentral Ġcontrol Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġhiatus Ġ, Ġsatellite Ġsites Ġtraditionally Ġunder ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġcontrol Ġbegan Ġto Ġerect Ġtheir Ġown Ġmonuments Ġfeaturing Ġlocal Ġrulers Ġand Ġusing Ġthe ĠMut al Ġemblem Ġglyph Ġ, Ġwith ĠTik al Ġapparently Ġlacking Ġthe Ġauthority Ġor Ġthe Ġpower Ġto Ġcrush Ġthese Ġbids Ġfor Ġindependence Ġ. ĠIn Ġ8 49 Ġ, ĠJewel ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġis Ġmentioned Ġon Ġa Ġst ela Ġat ĠSe ibal Ġas Ġvisiting Ġthat Ġcity Ġas Ġthe ĠDivine ĠLord Ġof ĠTik al Ġbut Ġhe Ġis Ġnot Ġrecorded Ġelsewhere Ġand ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġonce Ġgreat Ġpower Ġwas Ġlittle Ġmore Ġthan Ġa Ġmemory Ġ. ĠThe Ġsites Ġof ĠI x lu Ġand ĠJim bal Ġhad Ġby Ġnow Ġinherited Ġthe Ġonce Ġexclusive ĠMut al Ġemblem Ġglyph Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs ĠTik al Ġand Ġits Ġh inter land Ġreached Ġpeak Ġpopulation Ġ, Ġthe Ġarea Ġsuffered Ġdeforestation Ġ, Ġerosion Ġand Ġnutrient Ġloss Ġfollowed Ġby Ġa Ġrapid Ġdecline Ġin Ġpopulation Ġlevels Ġ. ĠTik al Ġand Ġits Ġimmediate Ġsurroundings Ġseem Ġto Ġhave Ġlost Ġthe Ġmajority Ġof Ġits Ġpopulation Ġduring Ġthe Ġperiod Ġfrom Ġ8 30 Ġto Ġ950 Ġand Ġcentral Ġauthority Ġseems Ġto Ġhave Ġcollapsed Ġrapidly Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġnot Ġmuch Ġevidence Ġfrom ĠTik al Ġthat Ġthe Ġcity Ġwas Ġdirectly Ġaffected Ġby Ġthe Ġendemic Ġwarfare Ġthat Ġafflicted Ġparts Ġof Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġduring Ġthe ĠTerminal ĠClassic Ġ, Ġalthough Ġan Ġinflux Ġof Ġrefugees Ġfrom Ġthe ĠPet ex bat Ãº n Ġregion Ġmay Ġhave Ġexacerbated Ġproblems Ġresulting Ġfrom Ġthe Ġalready Ġstretched Ġenvironmental Ġresources Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġlatter Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġcentury Ġthere Ġwas Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġrevive Ġroyal Ġpower Ġat Ġthe Ġmuch Ġdiminished Ġcity Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġas Ġevidenced Ġby Ġa Ġst ela Ġerected Ġin Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġby ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il ĠII Ġin Ġ8 69 Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġthe Ġlast Ġmonument Ġerected Ġat ĠTik al Ġbefore Ġthe Ġcity Ġfinally Ġfell Ġinto Ġsilence Ġ. ĠThe Ġformer Ġsatellites Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas ĠJim bal Ġand ĠU ax act un Ġ, Ġdid Ġnot Ġlast Ġmuch Ġlonger Ġ, Ġerect ing Ġtheir Ġfinal Ġmonuments Ġin Ġ8 89 Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġcentury Ġthe Ġvast Ġmajority Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġpopulation Ġhad Ġdeserted Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġits Ġroyal Ġpal aces Ġwere Ġoccupied Ġby Ġsquat ters Ġand Ġsimple Ġthat ched Ġdwellings Ġwere Ġbeing Ġerected Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġceremonial Ġpl az as Ġ. ĠThe Ġsquat ters Ġblocked Ġsome Ġdoor ways Ġin Ġthe Ġrooms Ġthey Ġre occupied Ġin Ġthe Ġmonumental Ġstructures Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġand Ġleft Ġrubbish Ġthat Ġincluded Ġa Ġmixture Ġof Ġdomestic Ġrefuse Ġand Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġutilitarian Ġitems Ġsuch Ġas Ġmusical Ġinstruments Ġ. ĠThese Ġinhabitants Ġreused Ġthe Ġearlier Ġmonuments Ġfor Ġtheir Ġown Ġritual Ġactivities Ġfar Ġremoved Ġfrom Ġthose Ġof Ġthe Ġroyal Ġdynasty Ġthat Ġhad Ġerected Ġthem Ġ. ĠSome Ġmonuments Ġwere Ġvandal ized Ġand Ġsome Ġwere Ġmoved Ġto Ġnew Ġlocations Ġ. ĠBefore Ġits Ġfinal Ġabandonment Ġall Ġrespect Ġfor Ġthe Ġold Ġrulers Ġhad Ġdisappeared Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġtom bs Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġbeing Ġexplored Ġfor Ġj ade Ġand Ġthe Ġeasier Ġto Ġfind Ġtom bs Ġbeing Ġlooted Ġ. ĠAfter Ġ950 Ġ, ĠTik al Ġwas Ġall Ġbut Ġdeserted Ġ, Ġalthough Ġa Ġremnant Ġpopulation Ġmay Ġhave Ġsurvived Ġin Ġper ishable Ġh uts Ġinter sp ersed Ġamong Ġthe Ġruins Ġ. ĠEven Ġthese Ġfinal Ġinhabitants Ġabandoned Ġthe Ġcity Ġin Ġthe Ġ10 th Ġor Ġ11 th Ġcenturies Ġand Ġthe Ġrain forest Ġclaimed Ġthe Ġruins Ġfor Ġthe Ġnext Ġthousand Ġyears Ġ. ĠSome Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġpopulation Ġmay Ġhave Ġmigrated Ġto Ġthe ĠPet en ĠLakes Ġregion Ġ, Ġwhich Ġremained Ġheavily Ġpopulated Ġin Ġspite Ġof Ġa Ġplunge Ġin Ġpopulation Ġlevels Ġin Ġthe Ġfirst Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġ9 th Ġcentury Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmost Ġlikely Ġcause Ġof Ġcollapse Ġat ĠTik al Ġis Ġover population Ġand Ġag r arian Ġfailure Ġ. ĠThe Ġfall Ġof ĠTik al Ġwas Ġa Ġblow Ġto Ġthe Ġheart Ġof ĠClassic ĠMaya Ġcivilization Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġat Ġthe Ġforefront Ġof Ġcourt ly Ġlife Ġ, Ġart Ġand Ġarchitecture Ġfor Ġover Ġa Ġthousand Ġyears Ġ, Ġwith Ġan Ġancient Ġruling Ġdynasty Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġnew Ġresearch Ġregarding Ġpale oen vironment al Ġproxies Ġfrom Ġthe ĠTik al Ġreservoir Ġsystem Ġsuggests Ġthat Ġa Ġmeteor ological Ġdrought Ġmay Ġhave Ġled Ġto Ġthe Ġabandonment Ġof ĠTik al Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠModern Ġhistory Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ15 25 Ġ, Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġconqu ist ador ĠH ern Ã¡n ĠCort Ã©s Ġpassed Ġwithin Ġa Ġfew Ġkilometres Ġof Ġthe Ġruins Ġof ĠTik al Ġbut Ġdid Ġnot Ġmention Ġthem Ġin Ġhis Ġletters Ġ. ĠAfter ĠSpanish Ġfri ar ĠAnd r Ã©s Ġde ĠAv enda Ã±o Ġbecame Ġlost Ġin Ġthe ĠPet Ã©n Ġforests Ġin Ġearly Ġ16 96 Ġhe Ġdescribed Ġa Ġruin Ġthat Ġmay Ġwell Ġhave Ġbeen ĠTik al Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġis Ġoften Ġthe Ġcase Ġwith Ġhuge Ġancient Ġruins Ġ, Ġknowledge Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġwas Ġnever Ġcompletely Ġlost Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ. ĠIt Ġseems Ġthat Ġlocal Ġpeople Ġnever Ġforgot Ġabout ĠTik al Ġand Ġthey Ġguided ĠGuatem alan Ġexped itions Ġto Ġthe Ġruins Ġin Ġthe Ġ1850 s Ġ. ĠSome Ġsecond - Ġor Ġthird Ġ@ - @ Ġhand Ġaccounts Ġof ĠTik al Ġappeared Ġin Ġprint Ġstarting Ġin Ġthe Ġ17 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġcontinuing Ġthrough Ġthe Ġwritings Ġof ĠJohn