Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tikal's Great Plaza
Of particular note is what is sometimes referred to as the Classic Maya collapse, giving
the impression that the civilization collapsed and vanished into thin air. This is certainly
notthecase.TheMayancivilizationproperindeedcamecrashingdownforreasonsthatare
becoming increasingly evident, and the Maya simply dispersed into other parts of present-
dayMexico,Guatemala,Belize,andHonduraswhilefallingpreytoincreasingculturaland
military dominance from invading central Mexican Toltecs.
Thesiteofmodern-dayGuatemalaCitywasoriginallyoccupiedbyKaminaljuyú,whose
commercial dominance was established largely on the strength of its strategic location for
the trading of obsidian and jade.
Toltec-Maya Yucatán cities, such as Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, finally gave out sometime in
the late 13th century and were abruptly abandoned. At about the same time, the Guatem-
alanhighlandswereinvadedbygroupsofToltec-Maya,thoughitisuncertainwhetherthey
