Getting ready to explore the North and Central Acropolis on January 9, 2004
This map is based on William Coe's "Tikal: A Handbook of the Ancient Maya Ruins". Please click on arrows to view photos of Tikal's North & Central Acropolia
The North Acropolis was the site of Temples and the graves of rulers, while the Central Acropolis was characterized by elite residences and buildings with administrative functions.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum's Tikal Project conducted massive archaeological explorations in the North and from 1955 until 1969, when the project was officially turned over to the government of Guatamala.
Harrison writes that under the direction of Michael Coe, " a detailed and lengthy report, Tikal Report 14, describes the excavation in the North Acropolis and the Great Plaza. It was published in 1992 and has been hailed by one reviewer as the masterpiece of the most accomplished living Maya archaeologist."
George Stuart has called the North Acropolis "the most complicated layer cake of ancient architecture ever excavated in this hemisphere".
Peter D. Harrison, The Lords of Tikal: Rulers of an Ancient Maya City, p. 35-37