Tikal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tikal - Research Paper Example The temple pyramids were made of limestone blocks and lorded over other surrounding structures. Lattice of stone were also added in Maya roof comb to make it as a grand-looking edifice. Figure 2. The Mayan civilization (Schele & Mathews, 1999). Architects considered the Maya site in Tikal of Guatemala as most extraordinary construction of buildings as a work of art. The site is imposed with temples of the Giant Jaguar (ca. A.D. 700), Masks (ca. A.D. 699), and the North Acropolis (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010a). It was believed that at the core of the Giant Jaguar temple is a high priest’s tomb with hundreds of vases and jade as offerings. A quiet sanctuary was also built intended for worshipper at the top of the nine-tiered pyramid (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010a; Totten, 1926). The rooms in these temples are accordingly narrow and design for ritual or ceremonial activities only. Some perceived that the design and alignment of these rooms are significant and m ight have meanings too. Other eye-catching structures in the city are palaces in single-storey platforms with several rooms and with interior courtyards (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010b). The nunnery in Uxmal also looked like a palace (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010b). ... These structures are magnificently and impressively beautifying its plazas and courtyards. Architecture considered the Mayan city structures as expressive of sophisticated decoration of arts, carvings, and wall paintings of ancient symbols (Ching, Jarzombek, & Prakash, 2011). Those building are interconnected by roads made of stones, also known as causeways. Experts criticized that Maya city was built in an apparently unplanned manner and they observed that temples and palaces were torn but rebuilt repetitively in many centuries (Lees, 2011). Probably because local residents are incline to preserve these historic sites for tourism and for cultural reasons. Architects also described the site as wielded with defensive earthworks, especially those cities historically known to be resided by ancient Mayan civilization (Lees, 2011; Falk, 2012). For them, these protective walls are quiet unusual but they also thought that this could be a significant part of the conflict situations they had in those epoch (Lees, 2011). The Mayan civilization is prominent with its intricate but most accurate calendar system with such calculations that jibe with the solar years in tropical regions of the world (Dumois, 2012). They were combined geologists and astronomers who sourced their understanding of their relation to the world by seeking guidance to the movements and developments of heavenly body, like the sun, moon, stars and planets. They had their observatories, shadow-casting. Inspired by their studies of the celestial and astrological realities, they are able to make their Mayan calendar based on their chronicles. Experts opined that the constructions of their buildings are attuned with