Tikal located in modern Guatemala, is an ancient Mayan city which preserved one of the most distinguished and long lived dynasties of any classic era city. It was the cultural and political center of a great state deep within the forests of Peten.

Tikal had a well known and ancient history among the Maya and was looked to as a stable and revered cultural center. Early settlements rose in the 4th century BC. and the city continued to grow in size and power until 768 AD. During this time a monumental building period occured under Tikal's last kings the result being the enormous Temples I and II situated on the east and west of the Great Plaza.