It is hypothesized that when Tikal experienced a great increase in their population and needed to expand and therefore clear significant portions of the forest, this contributed to a water deficit and a food shortage, causing an eventual population decline between 830 and 950 CE. The city was eventually deserted (The History of the Mayan Site). Spanish colonization began in approximately 1524 (Spanish conquest of Guatemala), and Guatemala gained independence from Spain in 1821 (History of Guatemala). The ancient civilization of Tikal was never colonized by the Spanish, as evidenced by these timelines, and because the growth of the jungle hid Tikal, ruins were only rediscovered in 1848 (The History of the Mayan Site).
My socia (work partner) drove us to an aldea called El Edén this week to give speech therapy classes to a group of elementary students that we work with once a month. It always feels weird and exciting to do things that were part of my day-to-day in the United States, such as riding shotgun in a car. I am not allowed to drive here and mostly rely on public transport, so going places in people's cars always feels like a special treat.
