Tikal reservoir and dam system
Sistema de embalses y diques de Tikal
- Date
- c. 600-850 · confidence medium
- Place
- Tikal, Petén, Guatemala
- Credited to
- Maya hydraulic engineers of Tikal
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Tikal sits on terrain without permanent rivers or lakes and collected rainwater from paved plazas and causeways into several reservoirs and dams, storing reserves for the dry season. The system allowed an urban population of tens of thousands to be sustained on the karst plateau.
Described by Scarborough and Gallopin (1991) and later work; the system grew from the Preclassic and is dated here at its Late Classic peak. It complements the zeolite filtration found in the Corriental reservoir, recorded as a separate milestone.
What it led to
- supply for a city of tens of thousands without rivers
- use of built surfaces as rainwater catchments
- dependence on rainfall that may have aggravated the Terminal Classic droughts