Tikal
/tiːˈkɑːl/noun
An ancient Maya city and archaeological site in present-day Guatemala.
Did you know?The ancient Maya name associated with Tikal was likely Yax Mutal, meaning “First Mutal,” while “Tikal” is a later name whose precise origin remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
Preclassic Maya period
Mayan
Yax Mutal
“An early Maya name associated with the city, commonly interpreted as “First Mutal,” though the exact meaning of Mutal remains debated.”
Classical Maya period, c. 300 BCE–900 CE
Maya
Mutal / Yax Mutal
“The royal and dynastic name used in inscriptions connected with the powerful Maya polity centered at Tikal.”
Postclassic–Early Colonial period
Yucatec Maya
ti' ak'al
“A proposed source of the later name Tikal, interpreted as “at the waterhole” or “at the reservoir”; this derivation is not universally accepted.”
17th–19th centuries
Spanish colonial usage
Tikal
“A local or regional name applied to the abandoned Maya ruins; its earliest documentary history is uncertain.”
20th Century
English/Spanish
Tikal
“The standard archaeological name for the major Maya site excavated and studied in Guatemala.”