Tikal, Temple I (back, left) and II (front, right), seen from Temple IV

Tikal is the ruins of an ancient city found in a rainforest in Guatemala. 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.

Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. There is evidence that Tikal was conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.

Tikal is the best understood of any of the large lowland Maya cities, with a long dynastic ruler list, the discovery of the tombs of many of the rulers on this list and the investigation of their monuments, temples and palaces.

Tikal Temple I is the designation given to one of the major structures at Tikal. 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. The temple is surmounted by a characteristic roof comb, a distinctive Maya architectural feature. 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. 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 47 meters over the Great Plaza. The pyramid is topped by a funerary shrine, containing finely carved wooden lintels, the execution of which probably was overseen by Jasaw Chan K'awiil as part of his plans for his funerary monument. The lintels were carved from sapodilla wood and one of them, Lintel 3, once was painted red. The lintels were formed from planks of sapodilla wood set into small niches fashioned into the walls forming the three doorways. The outermost lintel was smooth, but the central lintel was carved intricately from four planks. Two of these planks were removed in the nineteenth century and their location now is unknown. The other two were removed by Alfred Maudslay and shipped to the British Museum, where they now are warehoused. The scene carved onto one lintel shows a seated figure with an enormous serpent rising above him.

The shrine bears a high roof comb decorated with a sculpture of the seated king, Jasaw Chan K'awiil, although it now is difficult to discern. The roof comb consists of two parallel structures with an enclosed, vaulted hollow between them, which reduces the weight of the construction. The weight of this heavy superstructure is borne through the spine of the temple. The front of the roof comb was finished with stone blocks carved to represent the enormous figure of the king, flanked by scrolls and serpents. It originally supported moulded plaster decoration as well. The shrine contains three narrow, dark chambers that were accessible only through a single doorway. The three rooms were arranged one behind the other, and had high corbel-vaulted ceilings, braced by wooden beams. The beams were fashioned from sapodilla, the wood that was used in the lintels.

Tikal Temple II (or the Temple of the Masks) is one of the main pyramids in Tikal. The temple was built in the Late Classic Period in a style reminiscent of the Early Classic. Temple II is located on the west side of the Great Plaza, opposite Temple I. Temple II was built by the king Jasaw Chan K'awiil I in honour of his wife, Lady Kalajuun Une' Mo'. Temple II had a single wooden sculpted lintel that bears the portrait of a royal woman who may have been the wife of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, who was entombed beneath Temple I. Lady Kalajuun Une' Mo', whose name means "Twelve Macaw Tails", was also important for being the mother of Jasaw Chan K'awill I's heir. In fact her son Yik'in Chan K'awiil oversaw the completion of Temple II when he became king.

The pyramid is a squat, massive structure dating to the 8th century AD. Today it stands 38 metres high and is the most thoroughly restored of the major temples at Tikal. Its original height would have been closer to 42 metres including its roof comb. The main stairway is 10.4 metres wide and projects 7.45 metres from the pyramid base. The base of the pyramid measures 37.6 by 41 metres, covering a surface area of 1,542 square metres. Excavations inside Temple II failed to discover Lady Kalajuun Une' Mo's tomb. Evidence of ritual use in the Postclassic Period was found within the temple shrine, including burials and offerings.

The pyramid rises in three stepped levels. On the upper level is a wide platform supporting the summit shrine. The summit shrine measures 9.8 metres high and the roof comb 12.3 metres. Two badly eroded giant masks adorn the upper platform, flanking the stairway to the shrine. These grotesque masks decorating the pyramid's facade give Temple II its alternative name of the Temple of the Masks. A large block of masonry was built into the stairway immediately outside the entrance to the shrine. This block may have served as an observation platform allowing the officiating priests to see the crowd in the plaza below and in turn be seen by the people there.

The roof comb of the temple is highly ornate and bears the sculpture of a face with circular earspools. Various sealed chambers exist within the roof comb.

The temple shrine upon the summit of the pyramid contains three chambers, the doorways of which were spanned by lintels. Only the lintel over the middle doorway was carved.