The name Tikal may be derived from the words ti ak'al, in the Itzá Mayan language, which means Place of Voices. The name was apparently applied by early working archaeologists. However, Tikal is not the old name of the site, but rather the name that was adopted shortly after its rediscovery, in the 1848s. The graphic inscriptions in Mayan script, in the ruins, refer to the ancient city as Yax Mutal, whose meaning is Sacred Knot. It is possible that Tikal was so named to distinguish it from Dos Pilas, which came to use the same emblem glyph. The rulers of the city wanted to distinguish themselves as the first city bearing this name, the kingdom, as a whole, was called Mutal being the reading of the emblem glyph, its exact meaning is not clear, although some scientists think that it refers to the reign of the Ku'hul Ahaw, or highest ruler.