Misplaced Pages

#145854

136-457: Caracol is a modern name from the Spanish : caracol (' snail , shell'), but more generally meaning spiral or volute -shaped – apparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site. The site was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937, while searching for mahogany hardwood trees to exploit. Mai reported the site to

272-472: A 25 kilometers (16 mi) radius of the site core and including some satellite sites, peak population is estimated at 425,000 with a density of 216 per square kilometer (515 per square mile). These population figures are even more impressive because of the extensive swamplands that were unsuitable for habitation or agriculture . However, some archeologists, such as David Webster, believe these figures to be far too high. There are traces of early agriculture at

408-647: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Tikal Tikal ( / t i ˈ k ɑː l / ; Tik'al in modern Mayan orthography)

544-548: A broken sculpture from the acropolis and early murals at the city. Dynastic rulership among the lowland Maya is most deeply rooted at Tikal. According to later hieroglyphic records, the dynasty was founded by Yax Ehb Xook, perhaps in the 1st century AD. At the beginning of the Early Classic, power in the Maya region was concentrated at Tikal and Calakmul, in the core of the Maya heartland. Tikal may have benefited from

680-766: A ch'ak (axe) war on Caracol; Tikal wins upper hand in this first war at Caracol. AD 562 (9.6.8.4.2) "Star-War" defeat of Tikal Lord Wak Chan K'awiil by Caracol AD 566 Batz Ek born AD 573 (9.7.0.0.0) Dedication of Altars 6, 24 and Stela 15 AD 575 (9.7.2.0.3) Birth of Knot Ahau AD 577 One of three tombs in Structure B20-2nd used. AD 577 or 582 Front tomb in Structure A34 consecrated AD 583 (9.7.10.0.0) Stela 4 dedicated AD 588 (9.7.14.10.8) Birth of Caracol Ruler K'an II. AD 593 (9.8.0.0.0) Altar 1 and Stela 1 erected AD 599 (9.8.5.16.12) Accession of Caracol Lord Knot Ahau. Spanish language This

816-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to

952-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of

1088-506: A filming location for the fictional moon Yavin 4 in the first Star Wars film, which premiered in 1977. Temple I at Tikal was featured on the reverse of the 50 centavo banknote . Eon Productions used the site for the James Bond film Moonraker . Tikal is now a major tourist attraction surrounded by its own national park. A site museum has been built at Tikal; it was completed in 1964. Tikal has been partially restored by

1224-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after

1360-526: A gradient that channelled rainfall into a system of canals that fed the reservoirs. The residential area of Tikal covers an estimated 60 square kilometers (23 sq mi), much of which has not yet been cleared, mapped, or excavated. The 16 square kilometers (6.2 sq mi) area around the site core has been intensively mapped; it may have enclosed an area of some 125 square kilometers (48 sq mi) (see below). A huge set of earthworks discovered by Dennis E. Puleston and Donald Callender in

1496-434: A long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co-ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence. The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering. It appears she was later paired with lord "Bird Claw", who is presumed to be the otherwise unknown 20th ruler. In the mid 6th century, Caracol seems to have allied with Calakmul and defeated Tikal, closing the Early Classic. The "Tikal hiatus" refers to

SECTION 10

#1732772426146

1632-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of

1768-427: A period between the late 6th to late 7th century where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large-scale construction at Tikal. In the latter half of the 6th century AD, a serious crisis befell the city, with no new stelae being erected and with widespread deliberate mutilation of public sculpture. This hiatus in activity at Tikal was long unexplained until later epigraphic decipherments identified that

1904-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as

2040-563: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of

2176-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as

2312-575: A trade link to the Caribbean. Although the new rulers of Tikal were foreign, their descendants were rapidly Mayanized. Tikal became the key ally and trading partner of Teotihuacan in the Maya lowlands. After being conquered by Teotihuacan, Tikal rapidly dominated the northern and eastern Peten. Uaxactun, together with smaller towns in the region, were absorbed into Tikal's kingdom. Other sites, such as Bejucal and Motul de San José near Lake Petén Itzá became vassals of their more powerful neighbor to

2448-546: Is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of

2584-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent

2720-413: Is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including

2856-673: Is an accepted version of this page Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish

SECTION 20

#1732772426146

2992-490: Is correlated with an increase in site-wide prosperity. After the AD 798 date, the site core is still prosperous, yet shows less cohesion between the centre and outlying areas. Warfare associated with K'inich Joy K'awil, on Stela 11 (erected AD 800), indicates the capture of eight captives. In 800 CE, K'inich Joy K'awiil captured the lord of Ucanal . Caana was also refinished during this period. K'inich Toobil Yopaat's accession date

3128-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also

3264-759: Is even a building which seemed to have been a jail, originally with wooden bars across the windows and doors. There are also seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame , including a set of 3 in the Seven Temples Plaza, a unique feature in Mesoamerica. The limestone used for construction was local and quarried on-site. The depressions formed by the extraction of stone for building were plastered to waterproof them and were used as reservoirs , together with some waterproofed natural depressions. The main plazas were surfaced with stucco and laid at

3400-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law

3536-514: Is not certain (c. AD 804), but he erected five or six monuments, and seems to have repaired relations with Ucanal. In AD 820, he enacted an axe war against Tikal. Evidence suggests that Caracol weathered the initial part of the Maya collapse . Through symbolic egalitarianism, it seems that the majority of the Late Classic population had access to "elite" material goods. However, the transition to

3672-524: Is not much evidence from Tikal that the city was directly affected by the endemic warfare that afflicted parts of the Maya region during the Terminal Classic, although an influx of refugees from the Petexbatún region may have exacerbated problems resulting from the already stretched environmental resources. In the latter half of the 9th century, there was an attempt to revive royal power at

3808-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off

3944-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in

4080-498: Is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers

4216-610: Is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal , found in a rainforest in Guatemala . It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization . It is located in the archeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala . Situated in Petén Department , the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it

Caracol - Misplaced Pages Continue

4352-1156: Is underway. c. AD 330 Teotihuacan style cremation with three people (S.D. C117F-1) placed in the plaza of the Northeast Acropolis AD 331 (8.14.13.10.4) Caracol Royal dynasty "officially" founded by Te' K'ab Chaak (Tree Branch Rain God), Caracol's dynastic progenitor AD 400 (8.18.4.4.14) Stela 20 dedicated c. AD 480 Unknown ruler's tomb placed in Structure D16 AD 484 (9.2.9.0.16) Accession of Lord Yajaw Te' K'inich I AD 495 (9.3.0.0.0) Altar 4 dedicated AD 504 (9.3.10.0.0) Altar 19 dedicated AD 514 (9.4.0.0.0) Altar 7 and Stela 13 dedicated AD 531 (9.4.16.13.3) Accession of K'an I AD 534 (9.5.0.0.0) Dedication of Altars 3 (?) and 14, and Stela 13 AD 537 Use of initial tomb in Structure B20-3rd. AD 553 (9.5.19.1.2) Accession of Caracol Ruler Lord Water (Yajaw Te' K'inich II) AD 554 (9.6.0.0.0) Altar 5 and Stela 14 dedicated AD 556 (9.6.5.1.11) Tikal exacted

4488-578: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for

4624-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)

4760-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under

4896-820: The United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses

5032-447: The "golden age" of Caracol. Twenty nine days before his death, K'an II "witnessed" the accession of his successor, K'ahk' Ujol K'inich II, on 9.11.5.14.0 – AD 658. During K'ahk' Ujol K'inich II's reign, Caracol was defeated in a star war by Naranjo, whose only monuments appear at La Rejolla . Lasting from AD 702 (Stela 21) to 798 (Ballcourt Marker 3), this period lacks any hieroglyphic texts. Archaeologically, this period

5168-409: The 120 square kilometers (46 sq mi) area falling within the earthwork defenses of the hinterland, the peak population is estimated at 517 per square kilometer (1340 per square mile). In an area within a 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) radius of the site core, peak population is estimated at 120,000; population density is estimated at 265 per square kilometer (689 per square mile). In a region within

5304-518: The 1880s. In 1951, a small airstrip was built at the ruins, which previously could only be reached by several days' travel through the jungle on foot or mule . In 1956 the Tikal project began to map the city on a scale not previously seen in the Maya area. From 1956 through 1970, major archeological excavations were carried out by the University of Pennsylvania Tikal Project. They mapped much of

5440-413: The 1960s rings Tikal with a 6-meter (20 ft) wide trench behind a rampart . Recently, a project exploring the defensive earthworks has shown that the scale of the earthworks is highly variable and that in many places it is inconsequential as a defensive feature. In addition, some parts of the earthwork were integrated into a canal system. The earthwork of Tikal varies significantly in coverage from what

5576-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,

Caracol - Misplaced Pages Continue

5712-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it

5848-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish

5984-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed

6120-583: The Mutal emblem glyph, with Tikal apparently lacking the authority or the power to crush these bids for independence. In 849, Jewel Kʼawiil is mentioned on a stela at Seibal as visiting that city as the Divine Lord of Tikal but he is not recorded elsewhere and Tikal's once-great power was little more than a memory. The sites of Ixlu and Jimbal had by now inherited the once exclusive Mutal emblem glyph . As Tikal and its hinterland reached peak population,

6256-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to

6392-589: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,

6528-452: The State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by

6664-421: The Terminal Classic sees a shift away from symbolic egalitarianism, when the elite developed their own ceramic traditions and had access to goods no longer available to the populace. The last recorded date at Caracol is AD 859 – 10.1.10.0.0, on Stele 10. Caana's abandonment dates to approximately AD 900; several other structures have occupation that dates to the Terminal Classic period. Structure A6

6800-581: The Tikal hiatus has served as a marker by which archeologists commonly subdivide the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology into the Early and Late Classic. In 629, Tikal founded Dos Pilas , some 110 kilometers (68 mi) to the southwest, as a military outpost in order to control trade along the course of the Pasión River . Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil was installed on the throne of the new outpost at

6936-493: The Tikal park include gigantic Kapok tree ( Ceiba pentandra ) the sacred tree of the Maya; tropical cedar ( Cedrela odorata ), and Honduras mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla ). Regarding the fauna, agoutis , white-nosed coatis , gray foxes , Geoffroy's spider monkeys , howler monkeys , harpy eagles , falcons , ocellated turkeys , guans , toucans , green parrots and leafcutter ants can be seen there regularly. Jaguars , ocelots , and cougars are also said to roam in

SECTION 50

#1732772426146

7072-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English

7208-548: The University of Pennsylvania and the government of Guatemala. It was one of the largest of the Classic period Maya cities and was one of the largest cities in the Americas . The architecture of the ancient city is built from limestone and includes the remains of temples that tower over 70 meters (230 ft) high, large royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller pyramids , palaces, residences, administrative buildings, platforms and inscribed stone monuments. There

7344-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of

7480-477: The age of four, in 635. When he was older, for many years he served as a loyal vassal fighting for his brother, the king of Tikal. Roughly twenty years later, Dos Pilas was attacked by Calakmul and was soundly defeated. Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil was captured by the king of Calakmul but, instead of being sacrificed, he was re-instated on his throne as a vassal of his former enemy. He attacked Tikal in 657, forcing Nuun Ujol Chaak , then king of Tikal, to temporarily abandon

7616-581: The ancient city as Yax Mutal or Yax Mutul , meaning "First Mutal". Tikal may have come to have been called this because Dos Pilas also came to use the same emblem glyph; the rulers of the city presumably wanted to distinguish themselves as the first city to bear the name. The kingdom as a whole was simply called Mutul , which is the reading of the "hair bundle" emblem glyph seen in the accompanying photo. Its precise meaning remains obscure. The closest large modern settlements are Flores and Santa Elena , approximately 64 kilometers (40 mi) by road to

7752-614: The archaeological commission for British Honduras , today Belize . In 1938, the archaeological commissioner A. Hamilton Anderson, visited the site for two weeks along with a colleague, Hugh Blockley Jex, who later became Inspector of Crown Licence. It was Anderson who gave the site its modern name. They conducted preliminary surveys, noted 9 carved monuments, took notes on the structures of the A-Group Plaza, and undertook limited excavations in two locations. Anderson and Linton Satterthwaite later discovered 40 stone monuments. The site

7888-456: The area suffered deforestation, soil erosion and nutrient loss followed by a rapid decline in population levels. Recent analysis also indicates that the city's freshwater sources became highly contaminated with mercury , phosphate and cyanobacteria leading to the accumulation of toxins. Tikal and its immediate surroundings seem to have lost most of their population between 830 and 950 and central authority seems to have collapsed rapidly. There

8024-407: The area, including Uaxactun, where he became king, but did not take the throne of Tikal for himself. Within a year, the son of Spearthrower Owl by the name of Yax Nuun Ahiin I (First Crocodile) had been installed as the fifteenth king of Tikal while he was still a boy, being enthroned on 13 September 379. He reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal, and remained a vassal of Siyaj Kʼakʼ for as long as

8160-586: The auspices of the Instituto de Antropología e Historia and was the first protected area in Guatemala. The ruins lie among the tropical rainforests of northern Guatemala that formed the cradle of lowland Maya civilization. The city itself was located among abundant fertile upland soils, and may have dominated a natural east–west trade route across the Yucatán Peninsula . Conspicuous trees at

8296-537: The causeway system and saw an increase in the site's population. In AD 627 (9.9.14.3.5), Lord K'an II attacked Caracol's sometime ally Naranjo , in a hubi (destruction) war. He attacked again in 628, and sacrificed its king. He then led a star war against Naranjo, in AD 631 (9.9.18.16.3). He did it a fourth time in 636. In AD 637, he celebrated his first reigning k'atun by dedicating the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Naranjo itself. Beginning in AD 636, there

SECTION 60

#1732772426146

8432-467: The city, its royal palaces were occupied by squatters and simple thatched dwellings were being erected in the city's ceremonial plazas. The squatters blocked some doorways in the rooms they reoccupied in the monumental structures of the site and left rubbish that included a mixture of domestic refuse and non-utilitarian items such as musical instruments. These inhabitants reused the earlier monuments for their own ritual activities, far removed from those of

8568-491: The city. As early as 200 AD, Teotihuacan had embassies in Tikal. The fourteenth king of Tikal was Chak Tok Ichʼaak (Great Jaguar Paw). Chak Tok Ichʼaak built a palace that was preserved and developed by later rulers until it became the core of the Central Acropolis . Little is known about Chak Tok Ichʼaak except that he was killed on 14 January 378 AD. On the same day, Siyaj Kʼakʼ (Fire Is Born) arrived from

8704-461: The city. Additional fortifications were probably also built to the south. These defenses protected Tikal's core population and agricultural resources, encircling an area of approximately 120 square kilometers (46 sq mi). Recent research suggests that the earthworks served as a water collection system rather than a defensive purpose. In the 5th century, the power of the city reached as far south as Copán , whose founder Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Mo'

8840-567: The city. The first two rulers of Dos Pilas continued to use the Mutal emblem glyph of Tikal, and they probably felt that they had a legitimate claim to the throne of Tikal itself. For some reason, Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil was not installed as the new ruler of Tikal; instead he stayed at Dos Pilas. Tikal counterattacked against Dos Pilas in 672, driving Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil into an exile that lasted five years. Calakmul tried to encircle Tikal within an area dominated by its allies, such as El Peru, Dos Pilas, and Caracol. In 682, Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I erected

8976-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in

9112-484: The collapse of the large Preclassic states such as El Mirador . In the Early Classic Tikal rapidly developed into the most dynamic city in the Maya region, stimulating the development of other nearby Maya cities . The site, however, was often at war and inscriptions tell of alliances and conflict with other Maya states, including Uaxactun , Caracol , Naranjo and Calakmul . The site was defeated at

9248-455: The commissioner and the governor of Petén , visited it in 1848. Artist Eusebio Lara accompanied them and their account was published in Germany in 1853. Several other expeditions came to further investigate, map, and photograph Tikal in the 19th century (including Alfred P. Maudslay in 1881–82) and the early 20th century. Pioneering archeologists started to clear, map and record the ruins in

9384-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it

9520-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in

9656-566: The creation of a map of the central part of the site, the excavation of several tombs, the recording of the site's known stone monuments, and the transportation of about a dozen monuments to the University Museum, in Philadelphia . In the early 1980s, Paul F. Healy, of Trent University investigated Caracol's core area, recording several architectural groups, and noting the extensive terrace systems and high population density for

9792-484: The crops ripened, which severely threatened the inhabitants of the city. Population estimates for Tikal vary from 10,000 to as high as 90,000 inhabitants. The population of Tikal began a continuous curve of growth starting in the Preclassic Period (approximately 2000 BC – AD 200), with a peak in the Late Classic with the population growing rapidly from AD 700 through to 830, followed by a sharp decline. For

9928-452: The defeat of Tikal having a lasting impact upon the city. Tikal was not sacked but its power and influence were broken. After its great victory, Caracol grew rapidly and some of Tikal's population may have been forcibly relocated there. During the hiatus period, at least one ruler of Tikal took refuge with Janaabʼ Pakal of Palenque , another of Calakmul's victims. Calakmul itself thrived during Tikal's long hiatus period. The beginning of

10064-444: The end of the Early Classic by Caracol, which rose to take Tikal's place as the paramount center in the southern Maya lowlands. The earlier part of the Early Classic saw hostilities between Tikal and its neighbor Uaxactun, with Uaxactun recording the capture of prisoners from Tikal. There appears to have been a breakdown in the male succession by AD 317, when Lady Unen Bahlam conducted a Kʼatun-ending ceremony, apparently as queen of

10200-553: The end. In 1525, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés passed within a few kilometers of the ruins of Tikal but did not mention them in his letters. After Spanish friar Andrés de Avendaño became lost in the Petén forests in early 1696 he described a ruin that may well have been Tikal. As is often the case with huge ancient ruins, knowledge of the site was never completely lost in the region. It seems that local people never forgot about Tikal and they guided Guatemalan expeditions to

10336-666: The fall of dynasties. The name comes from the glyph, which shows a star (presumably Venus) pouring liquid on the earth. This particular star war was the cause of the archaeologically and epigraphically demonstrated Tikal mid-Classic hiatus, which saw a decline in Tikal's population, a cessation of monument erection, and the destruction of certain monuments in the Great Plaza. This 120-year-long hiatus at Tikal occurred as Caracol's population and monumental construction increased, becoming more prosperous and cohesive. Tikal took on cultural characteristics of Caracol during this time as, even with

10472-421: The first dated monument at Tikal in 120 years and claimed the title of kaloomteʼ , so ending the hiatus. He initiated a program of new construction and turned the tables on Calakmul when, in 695, he captured the enemy noble and threw the enemy state into a long decline from which it never fully recovered. After this, Calakmul never again erected a monument celebrating a military victory. By the 7th century, there

10608-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with

10744-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched

10880-537: The fortunes of Copán. In the 8th century, the rulers of Tikal collected monuments from across the city and erected them in front of the North Acropolis. By the late 8th century and early 9th century, activity at Tikal slowed. Impressive architecture was still built but few hieroglyphic inscriptions refer to later rulers. By the 9th century, the crisis of the Classic Maya collapse was sweeping across

11016-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In

11152-491: The great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico . There is evidence that one of Tikal's great ruling dynasties was founded by conquerors from Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with

11288-410: The impressive architecture visible today. In 738, Quiriguá, a vassal of Copán, Tikal's key ally in the south, switched allegiance to Calakmul, defeated Copán and gained its own independence. It appears that this was a conscious effort on the part of Calakmul to bring about the collapse of Tikal's southern allies. This upset the balance of power in the southern Maya area and lead to a steady decline in

11424-556: The language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it

11560-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,

11696-424: The last of the city's major pyramids , and the erection of monuments to mark the 19th Kʼatun in 810. The beginning of the 10th Bakʼtun in 830 passed uncelebrated, and marks the beginning of a 60-year hiatus, probably resulting from the collapse of central control in the city. During this hiatus, satellite sites traditionally under Tikal's control began to erect their own monuments featuring local rulers and using

11832-430: The latter lived. It seems likely that Yax Nuun Ayiin I took a wife from the preexisting, defeated, Tikal dynasty and thus legitimized the right to rule of his son, Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil II. Río Azul , a small site 100 kilometers (62 mi) northeast of Tikal, was conquered by the latter during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin I. The site became an outpost of Tikal, shielding it from hostile cities further north, and also became

11968-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has

12104-414: The much-diminished city of Tikal, as evidenced by a stela erected in the Great Plaza by Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil II in 869. This was the last monument erected at Tikal before the city finally fell into silence. The former satellites of Tikal, such as Jimbal and Uaxactun, did not last much longer, erecting their final monuments in 889. By the end of the 9th century the vast majority of Tikal's population had deserted

12240-400: The north. By the middle of the 5th century Tikal had a core territory of at least 25 kilometers (16 mi) in every direction. Around the 5th century, an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and earthworks was built along the northern periphery of Tikal's hinterland, joining up with the natural defenses provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of

12376-649: The northeast section of the site, near the Puchituk terminus, which showed great time depth dating to the Middle Preclassic, and on the growth and cohesion of the site during Caracol's two major periods of aggression. In the spring dry season of 2009, they conducted a LiDAR survey with an aircraft that allowed a very rapid assessment of the entire site and surrounds, mapping 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi), with results published in May 2010. The only road

12512-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as

12648-590: The outer walls showing human figures against a scrollwork background, painted in yellow, black, pink and red. In the 1st century AD, rich burials first appeared and Tikal underwent a political and cultural florescence as its giant northern neighbors declined. At the end of the Late Preclassic, the Izapan style art and architecture from the Pacific Coast began to influence Tikal, as demonstrated by

12784-415: The park. Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in ten reservoirs. Archeologists working in Tikal during the 20th century refurbished one of these ancient reservoirs to store water for their own use. The average annual rainfall at Tikal is 1,945 millimeters (76.6 in). However, the arrival of rain was often unpredictable, and long periods of drought could occur before

12920-535: The period was prompted by Tikal's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Calakmul and the Caracol polity in AD 562, a defeat that seems to have resulted in the capture and sacrifice of the king of Tikal. The badly eroded Altar 21 at Caracol described how Tikal suffered this disastrous defeat in a major war in April 562. It seems that Caracol was an ally of Calakmul in the wider conflict between that city and Tikal, with

13056-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,

13192-401: The region, with populations plummeting and city after city falling into silence. Increasingly endemic warfare in the Maya region caused Tikal's supporting population to heavily concentrate close to the city itself, accelerating the use of intensive agriculture and the corresponding environmental decline . Construction continued at the beginning of the century, with the erection of Temple 3,

13328-503: The renewed erection of monuments at Tikal, their style mimicked that of Caracol. Yajaw Te' K'inich II passed on his throne to the eldest of his two sons, Knot Ajaw, in AD 599; his younger brother, K'an II, succeeded him in AD 618. K'an II performed a ritual of alliance in Calakmul 's territory the following January (9.9.5.13.8). K'an II is described as the most successful Caracol ruler, reigning for 40 years from AD 618 to 658, he expanded

13464-417: The royal dynasty that had erected them. Some monuments were vandalized and some were moved to new locations. Before its final abandonment all respect for the old rulers had disappeared, with the tombs of the North Acropolis being explored for jade and the easier-to-find tombs were looted. After 950, Tikal was all but deserted, although a remnant population may have survived in perishable huts interspersed among

13600-519: The ruins in the 1850s. Some second- or third-hand accounts of Tikal appeared in print starting in the 17th century, continuing through the writings of John Lloyd Stephens in the early 19th century (Stephens and his illustrator Frederick Catherwood heard rumors of a lost city, with white building tops towering above the jungle, during their 1839–40 travels in the region). Because of the site's remoteness from modern towns, however, no explorers visited Tikal until Modesto Méndez and Ambrosio Tut, respectively

13736-507: The ruins. Even these final inhabitants abandoned the city in the 10th or 11th centuries and the rainforest claimed the ruins for the next thousand years. Some of Tikal's population may have migrated to the Peten Lakes region, which remained heavily populated in spite of a plunge in population levels in the first half of the 9th century. The most likely cause of collapse at Tikal is |overpopulation and agrarian failure. The fall of Tikal

13872-505: The ruler of Teotihuacan. These recorded events strongly suggest that Siyaj Kʼakʼ led a Teotihuacan invasion that defeated the native Tikal king, who was captured and immediately executed. Siyaj Kʼakʼ appears to have been aided by a powerful political faction at Tikal itself; roughly at the time of the conquest, a group of Teotihuacan natives were apparently residing near the Lost World complex. He also exerted control over other cities in

14008-483: The same person. His tomb had Teotihuacan characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacan. Hieroglyphic texts refer to him as "Lord of the West", much like Siyaj Kʼakʼ. At the same time, in late 426, Copán founded the nearby site of Quiriguá , possibly sponsored by Tikal itself. The founding of these two centers may have been part of an effort to impose Tikal's authority upon

14144-561: The site and excavated and restored many of the structures. Excavations directed by Edwin M. Shook and later by William Coe of the university investigated the North Acropolis and the Central Plaza from 1957 to 1969. The Tikal Project recorded over 200 monuments at the site. In 1979, the Guatemalan government began a further archeological project at Tikal, which continued through to 1984. Filmmaker George Lucas used Tikal as

14280-671: The site can be accessed by is paved for the last 16 km (9.9 mi) and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena . Caana ('sky-palace') is the largest building at Caracol, and is the tallest manmade structure in Belize, at 43 m (141 ft) tall. At Caracol, there are approximately 267 structures per square kilometer, 85% higher than Tikal. The site covers approximately 200 square kilometers, and within this area, structures are generally situated equidistantly and are integrated with

14416-473: The site consists of a series of parallel limestone ridges rising above swampy lowlands. The major architecture of the site is clustered upon areas of higher ground and linked by raised causeways spanning the swamps. The area around Tikal has been declared as the Tikal National Park and the preserved area covers 570 square kilometers (220 sq mi). It was created on 26 May 1955 under

14552-506: The site dating as far back as 1000 BC, in the Middle Preclassic. A cache of Mamon ceramics dating from about 700-400 BC were found in a sealed chultun , a subterranean bottle-shaped chamber. Major construction at Tikal was already taking place in the Late Preclassic period, first appearing around 400–300 BC, including the building of major pyramids and platforms, although the city was still dwarfed by sites further north such as El Mirador and Nakbe . At this time, Tikal participated in

14688-483: The site's abandonment by the end of the 10th century. Tikal is the best understood of any of the large lowland Maya cities, with a long dynastic ruler list, the discovery of the tombs of many of the rulers on this list and the investigation of their monuments , temples and palaces. The name Tikal may be derived from ti ak'al in the Yucatec Maya language ; it is said to be a relatively modern name meaning "at

14824-476: The southeast). These broad causeways were built of packed and plastered limestone and have been named after early explorers and archeologists; the Maler , Maudslay , Tozzer and Méndez causeways. They assisted the passage of everyday traffic during the rain season and also served as dams. The Maler Causeway runs north from behind Temple I to Group H. A large bas-relief is carved onto limestone bedrock upon

14960-441: The southeastern portion of the Maya region. The interaction between these sites and Tikal was intense over the next three centuries. A long-running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century, with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to a long-running war between two Maya superpowers. The kings of these two capitals adopted

15096-652: The southwest. Tikal is approximately 303 kilometers (188 mi) north of Guatemala City . It is 19 kilometers (12 mi) south of the contemporary Maya city of Uaxactun and 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Yaxha . The city was located 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of its great Classic Period rival, Calakmul , and 85 kilometers (53 mi) northwest of Calakmul's ally Caracol , now in Belize . The city has been completely mapped and covered an area greater than 16 square kilometers (6.2 sq mi) that included about 3,000 structures. The topography of

15232-547: The surrounding area. The Caracol Archaeological Project, ongoing every year since 1985, is directed by Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas , (UNLV) United States. The 1988–1989 field seasons researched the southeast section of the site, between the Conchita and Pajaro-Romonal Causeways, to determine the impact of the Tikal-Naranjo wars. From 1994 to 1996, the project focused investigations in

15368-415: The term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of

15504-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that

15640-415: The terrace system. The town grew into one of the largest ancient Maya cities, covering some 177 km (68 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 100,000 with settlement focused along the many radiating causeways (potentially peaking between 120,000 and up to 180,000). The invention of LIDAR helped discover the increase in population as it was able to detect more living areas. The Caracol area

15776-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,

15912-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing

16048-425: The title kaloomteʼ , a term that has not been precisely translated but that implies something akin to " high king ". The early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city, known only as the " Lady of Tikal ", who was very likely a daughter of Chak Tok Ichʼaak II. She seems never to have ruled in her own right, rather being partnered with male co-rulers. The first of these was Kaloomteʼ Bʼalam, who seems to have had

16184-534: The two cities, 42 km (26 mi) from each site, to rival Calakmul. In AD 531, Lord K'an I, acceded to the throne. Lord Water, (Yajaw Te' K'inich II) acceded to power in AD 553, under the auspices of Tikal's Lord Double Bird (Wak Chan K'awiil). In AD 556, Tikal enacted a ch'ak (axe) war and defeated Caracol. This caused Lord Water to enact the first known star war in 562 (9.6.8.4.2), and defeated Tikal's Lord Wak Chan K'awiil (Double Bird). These poorly understood conflicts are usually associated with long hiatuses and

16320-462: The waterhole". The name was apparently applied to one of the site's ancient reservoirs by hunters and travelers in the region. It has alternatively been interpreted as meaning "the place of the voices" in the Itza Maya language . Tikal, however, is not the ancient name for the site but rather the name adopted shortly after its discovery in the 1840s. Hieroglyphic inscriptions at the ruins refer to

16456-416: The west, having passed through El Peru , a site to the west of Tikal, on 8 January. On Stela 31 he is named as "Lord of the West". Siyaj Kʼakʼ was probably a foreign general serving a figure represented by a non-Maya hieroglyph of a spearthrower combined with an owl, a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. Spearthrower Owl may even have been

16592-462: The widespread Chikanel culture that dominated the Central and Northern Maya areas at this time – a region that included the entire Yucatán Peninsula including northern and eastern Guatemala and all of Belize. Two temples dating to Late Chikanel times had masonry-walled superstructures that may have been corbel-vaulted , although this has not been proven. One of these had elaborate paintings on

16728-706: Was a blow to the heart of Classic Maya civilization , the city having been at the forefront of courtly life, art and architecture for over a thousand years, with an ancient ruling dynasty. However, new research regarding paleoenvironmental proxies from the Tikal reservoir system suggests that a meteorological drought may have led to the abandonment of Tikal, fouling some reservoirs near the temple and palace with algae blooms , while other reservoirs remained drinkable. Buildings were painted with mercury -bearing cinnabar , which were washed off by rain and polluted some reservoirs. Works of Kohler and colleagues showed that this city reached an unsustainable level of inequalities at

16864-583: Was a building boom at Caracol at the conclusion of the Tikal-Naranjo wars. Entering the Late Classic period, the site still demonstrated widespread cohesion. During this time Caracol also had a unique burial pattern, focusing on multiple burials in special chambers. This pattern is seen spreading out through the Peten region, likely controlled by Caracol, although this spread is independent of other material cultural indicators, like caching practices. K'an II commissioned more monuments than any other ruler, and ushered in

17000-747: Was abandoned in AD 1050, and marks the final abandonment of the site. 1200 BC – 250 AD Preclassic small sedentary villages followed by development of monumentality and larger centers c. 900–600 BC Earliest archaeologically known habitation at Caracol proper c. AD 70 Structure A6-1st, "Temple of the Wooden Lintel", constructed and consecrated; locus B34 burial; full Maya ritual complex present at Caracol c. AD 150 Elaborate burial placed in Structure B34 locus AD 250–900 Classic "Peak" of Maya civilization; pyramids, tombs, inscriptions, widespread trade; by AD 800 Maya "collapse"

17136-541: Was clearly connected with Tikal. Copán itself was not in an ethnically Maya region and the founding of the Copán dynasty probably involved the direct intervention of Tikal. Kʼinich Yax Kukʼ Moʼ arrived in Copán in December 426, and bone analysis of his remains shows that he passed his childhood and youth at Tikal. An individual known as Ajaw Kʼukʼ Mo' (lord Kʼukʼ Moʼ) is referred to in an early text at Tikal and may well be

17272-543: Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period , c. 200 to 900. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as

17408-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in

17544-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language

17680-418: Was first noted and documented archaeologically in 1937, by Anderson. More extensive explorations and documentation of the site was undertaken by Satterthwaite, of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology , from 1950 to 1953. During this time Satterthwaite, primarily focused on finding and documenting monuments, later removing several stelae and altars. This early research resulted in

17816-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")

17952-517: Was no active Teotihuacan presence at any Maya site and the center of Teotihuacan had been razed by 700. Even after this, formal war attire illustrated on monuments was Teotihuacan style. Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I and his heir Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil continued hostilities against Calakmul and its allies and imposed firm regional control over the area around Tikal, extending as far as the territory around Lake Petén Itzá. These two rulers were responsible for much of

18088-426: Was occupied as early as 1200 BC, yet occupation in the epicentral area was no earlier than 650 BC and lasted no later than AD 950. Caracol boasts 53 carved stone monuments (25 stelae and 28 altars), and more than 250 burials and 200 caches. By the Early Classic, between AD 250 and 550, Caracol was tied into extensive trade networks and pan-lowland ideological systems, leading to a unified regional economy. The Caracol

18224-451: Was officially founded in AD 331 (8.14.13.10.4) by Te' K'ab Chaak. Special Deposit C117F-1, a Teotihuacan style cremation of three individuals dates precisely to this period, indicating early influences from northern Mexico. Caracol was at first a client state of the more powerful city of Tikal , 76 km (47 mi) to the northwest. Tikal's influence weakened during the mid-sixth century; losing control of Naranjo, located halfway between

18360-526: Was originally proposed and it is much more complex and multifaceted than originally thought. By the Late Classic, a network of sacbeob (causeways) linked various parts of the city, running for several kilometers through its urban core. These linked the Great Plaza with Temple 4 (located about 750 meters (2,460 feet ) to the west) and the Temple of the Inscriptions (about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) to

18496-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in

#145854