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| Tollan (Tula) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tollan (Tula) |
| Type | Archaeological site |
| Epoch | Classic period |
| Cultures | Toltec |
Tollan (Tula) is an archaeological site in central Mesoamerica identified with the Toltec polity that flourished in the Early Postclassic period. The site is associated in ethnohistoric sources with a network of leaders, artisans, and warriors, and figures centrally in later Aztec ideology and regional chronicles. Excavations and surveys have linked Tollan (Tula) to contemporaneous centers across Mesoamerica, revealing complex interactions with other polities, craft traditions, and ritual systems.
Tollan (Tula) lies on the Hidalgo Plateau in the Basin of Mexico region, near places such as Tula de Allende, Tepotzotlán, Tulancingo, and Pachuca. The site occupies a strategic position relative to the Valley of Mexico, Gulf Coast, Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley, and routes to Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula. The name Tollan appears in sources associated with centers such as Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, Cholula, and Culhuacan, and resonates with toponymic terms used by peoples including the Nahuas, Toltecs, Mixtecs, and Zapotecs. Ethnohistoric chronicles like the Florentine Codex, Codex Chimalpopoca, Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, and accounts attributed to Bernardino de Sahagún and Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl shaped modern usage of the name.
Scholars situate Tollan (Tula) in a chronology linked to the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods alongside centers such as Xochicalco, Cacaxtla, Mixco Viejo, and Chichén Itzá. Ceramic typologies and radiocarbon dates align Tollan (Tula) with occupational phases recognized at Teotihuacan and later movements tied to migrations referenced in accounts involving Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl and rulers like Ce Acatl Topiltzin. Archaeologists from institutions including the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, universities such as UNAM and University of Pennsylvania, and researchers like Miguel Covarrubias and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma have debated links to dispersals recorded in the Anales de Tlatelolco and material parallels with Tzintzuntzan and El Tajín.
The urban core contains monumental compounds analogous to plazas and pyramidal structures found at Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, Palenque, and Uxmal. Notable features include a central plaza, ballcourts comparable to those at El Tajín and Chichén Itzá, and stone architecture exhibiting affinities with builders recorded in sources about Mixtec and Maya masons. Architectural elements—columns, bas-reliefs, and colonnades—invite comparison with sculptures from Tikal, Calakmul, Copán, and relief programs noted in Bonampak. Architectural studies reference techniques described by scholars like Alfonso Caso and George Kubler.
Tollan (Tula) produced monumental sculpture and iconography with motifs echoed in the iconographic repertoires of Aztec codices and sculptural programs at Tenochtitlan and Coatetelco. Carved figures, often standing columns and chacmool-like forms, show parallels to works linked with Mixtec lapidary traditions, Maya stelae, and high-relief carving at Cacaxtla. Imagery involving feathered serpents, warriors, and deities resonates with narratives about Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, and ceremonial regalia documented in the Codex Borgia and Codex Mendoza. Iconographic comparisons draw on stylistic analyses by researchers such as Miguel León-Portilla and Linda Schele.
Material evidence indicates Tollan (Tula) participated in trade networks connecting obsidian sources like Pachuca and Ucareo with marketplaces akin to those in Tlatelolco, Cempoala, and Xochimilco. Exotic goods—turquoise, cacao, marine shells from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Coast, and metal artefacts—mirror exchanges recorded between Mixteca, Zapotec, Tarascan, and Maya regions. Agricultural terraces and irrigation practices near sites such as Tula de Allende and techniques described in chronicles of communities like Texcoco and Huexotzinco underpinned sustenance systems; economic interpretations reference comparative studies involving scholars from Smithsonian Institution collections and ethnographic parallels noted by Alfred Tozzer.
Religious architecture and artifact assemblages indicate ritual calendars and cults comparable to those attested at Tenochtitlan, Cholula, and Palenque. Offerings, sacrificial paraphernalia, and ceremonial platforms link to deities and ritual roles cited in texts concerning Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, Mixcoatl, and priestly offices described in the Florentine Codex. Practices involving calendrical rites, astronomical observations, and ceremonial feasting align with patterns recorded at Xochicalco and Uxmal, and with ritual registers noted by chroniclers such as Toribio de Benavente Motolinía.
The decline of Tollan (Tula) intersects with regional transformations involving shifts observed at Teotihuacan successor states, movements of peoples recorded in Aztec oral traditions, and political realignments observable at contemporaneous centers like Tenochtitlan and Culhuacan. Later polities appropriated Toltec prestige in founding myths of dynasties and institutions exemplified in documents such as the Anales de Tlatelolco and the Codex Chimalpopoca. Modern archaeological conservation and public history initiatives by INAH and museum displays at institutions like the Museo Nacional de Antropología preserve Tollan (Tula)’s material legacy alongside scholarship from universities including Harvard University and University of Oxford.
Category:Mesoamerican sites Category:Toltec sites