<P> Tikal ( / tiˈkɑːl / ) ( Tik'al in modern Mayan orthography ) is the ruin of an ancient city , which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal , found in a rainforest in Guatemala . Ambrosio Tut , a gum - sapper , reported the ruins to La Gaceta , a Guatemalan newspaper , which named the site Tikal . After the Berlin Academy of Sciences ' magazine republished the report in 1853 , archeologists and treasure hunters began visiting the forest . Today , tourism to the site may help protect the rainforest . It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization . It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala . Situated in the department of El Petén , the site is part of Guatemala 's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . </P>
<P> Tikal ( / tiˈkɑːl / ) ( Tik'al in modern Mayan orthography ) is the ruin of an ancient city , which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal , found in a rainforest in Guatemala . Ambrosio Tut , a gum - sapper , reported the ruins to La Gaceta , a Guatemalan newspaper , which named the site Tikal . After the Berlin Academy of Sciences ' magazine republished the report in 1853 , archeologists and treasure hunters began visiting the forest . Today , tourism to the site may help protect the rainforest . It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization . It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala . Situated in the department of El Petén , the site is part of Guatemala 's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . </P>
which american civilization was located in a rain forest
which american civilization was located in a rain forest
Maya civilization
Maya civilization