Tikal Temple I

Temple I, Tikal

Temple I viewed across the main plaza from Temple II
Shown within Guatemala
Alternate name	El Gran Jaguar
Location	Guatemala
Coordinates	17°13′19″N 89°37′22″W / 17.221944°N 89.622778°W / 17.221944; -89.622778
Height	47 m
History
Builder	Jasaw Chan K'awiil I
Material	local limestone
Founded	c. 732 AD
Abandoned	c. 1450
Periods	Classic-Postclassic
Cultures	Mayan
Site notes
Excavation dates	1955–1964
Archaeologists	Aubrey Trik; George Guillemin
Condition	stabilized ruin
Public access	yes

Tikal Temple I is the designation given to one of the major structures at Tikal, one of the largest cities and archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Mesoamerica. It is located in the Petén Basin region of northern Guatemala. It also is known as the Temple of the Great Jaguar because of a lintel that represents a king sitting upon a jaguar throne. An alternative name is the Temple of Ah Cacao, after the ruler buried in the temple. Temple I is a typically Petén-styled limestone stepped pyramid structure that is dated to approximately 732 AD.

Situated at the heart of a World Heritage Site, the temple is surmounted by a characteristic roof comb, a distinctive Maya architectural feature. Building Temple I on the eastern side of the Great Plaza was a significant deviation from the established tradition of building funerary temples just north of the plaza in Tikal's North Acropolis.

The structure is a funerary temple associated with Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, a Classic Period ruler of the polity based at Tikal, who ruled from AD 682–734. The tomb of this ruler has been located by archaeologists deep within the structure, the tomb having been built first with the temple being raised over it. Construction of both were overseen by Jasaw Chan K'awiil's son and heir Yik'in Chan K'awiil. Jasaw Chan K'awiil probably planned the building of the temple long before his death. The temple rises in nine stepped levels, which may be symbolic of the nine levels of the underworld. The temple has grooved moldings and inset corners. A steep staircase climbs the temple to the summit shrine.