ACRÓPOLIS NORTE

The one that was the object of excavations between 1957 and 1969 constitutes one of the most important ceremonial complexes discovered to date in the Maya world. As such, the Acrópolis Norte is one of the most studied architectural complexes of the civilization. Let's not be stingy with superlatives: it is also considered one of the oldest structures of Tikal, since it was built as early as 350 A.D. Used as part of the religious beliefs and practices of the population, it was also used as a burial place for the great dignitaries of the city and remained the center of the funerary activity of the city for more than 1,300 years. More than one hundred temples have been recorded there. Mayan customs required that an existing structure be reused as a support for a new building, a symbol of the power of the new king, superior to that of his predecessor. The constructions are superimposed on each other, thus preserving the art treasures of the civilization

The most beautiful example comes in the form of two masks of inhuman size, which probably lined the stairs of an older temple. One is protected by a makeshift shelter, on the first steps of a building of the Acropolis. The second is to be discovered under the ramp of the staircase itself, at the end of a corridor plunged in total darkness. Finally, a double row of rough steles and small altars of circular form skirt the ceremonial complex on all the length of the Plaza Mayor.