Tikal was the undisputed giant of the Maya world for centuries — the city that defeated Calakmul, the Snake Kingdom, and built some of the tallest pyramids in the Americas. But by the 9th century CE, Tikal was a ghost town. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore what we know about Tikal's final years: the last dated stela from 869 CE, the burning of palaces and temples, the evidence of a deliberate, violent end rather than simple abandonment. They dive into the archaeological work of William Coe and the University of Pennsylvania's Tikal Project, which uncovered mass burials and signs of ritual destruction in the city's core. They also consider the role of Tikal's massive population — estimates of up to 90,000 people in its Late Classic heyday — and how deforestation and drought may have made the city's collapse catastrophic and final. This is the story of a superpower that didn't just fade; it was torn down.
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