10 facts about the ancient toltecs are contained in the world history encyclopedia.
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Between the 10th and the 12th century, the ancient mexican civilization of the toltec flourished.The capital at Tollan is an impressive example of the Mesoamerican heritage left to them by earlier cultures.They passed that heritage on to the Aztecs, who claimed to be descended from them.
Aztec and Post-colonial texts document earlier oral traditions.Information can be colored by the Aztec's delight in merging myth with fact to help establish a lineage with these old masters.The main elements of this civilization can be outlined thanks to a careful comparison with earlier Maya texts and the surviving archaeological record.
The Tolteca-Chichimeca people migrated from the deserts of the north-west to Culhuacan in the Valley of Mexico during the 9th century.According to the Aztecs, Ce Tcpatl Mixcoatl was the first leader.His son Ce Acatl Topiltzin would go on to become a great ruler and acquire the name of the god Quetzalcoatl.
Culhuacan was the first settlement of the Toltecs, but they later established a capital at Tollan, a general phrase to apply to all large settlements.The city grew to 14 km2 and had a population of between 30,000 and 40,000.It is remarkably similar to the city of Chichen Itza, which was laid out in a grid pattern.The Maya had a version of a cultural hero known as the 'Feathered Serpent', which was translated as Kukulcan, and it is possible that there was a close cultural link between the two.
The sumptuous palaces and awe-inspiring buildings of the Tollan of Aztec mythology were made from gold, jade, turquoise, and quetzal feathers.The potters of the Aztecs were said to have been so skilled in pottery that they were able to teach the clay to lie.Huge maize crops and natural coloured cotton of red, yellow, green, and blue were produced by the Toltecs.There is no evidence of this material wealth except for the fact that there was a major trade in obsidian which was mined from nearby Pachuca.
The archaeological site of Tollan, sitting on a limestone promontory, has an impressive number of surviving monuments.A dense area of urban housing surrounds the pyramids, walkway, palace building, and ball-courts.The domestic housing is arranged in groups of up to five flat-roofed residences with each group centred on a courtyard with a single altar and the whole surrounded by a wall.
The sculptures on the pyramids include large columns, each consisting of four drums, carved as warriors standing atop the five tiers of the 10 m high Pyramid B.The roof structure would have been held up by the warriors.The warriors are dressed for battle and each has an atlatl or spear-thrower at their side.The original doorway has feathered-snake columns.The workshops that the warrior columns suggest are capable of mass production.
There are friezes around the pyramids and a wall known as a coatepantli.They show scenes with animals that are associated with war and sacrifice.There are images of birds with hearts in their mouths.
The first examples of cha cmools, the reclining stone warriors clutching a vessel on their stomach, were provided by Tollan.These would become a common feature of temples.There are bench-thrones atop the pyramid temple at Tollan.
It's not known what ended the regional dominance of the Toltec civilization.A warlike people, no doubt conquering surrounding tribes and imposing tribute without any concern for integration into the political and religious culture, the 'empire' may have simply disintegrated when put under the strain of such natural phenomena.The break up of the power structure may have been caused by internal disputes, which are mentioned in the legendary stories of battles between the gods.In the 12th century, Tolln shows signs of violent destruction, with many architectural columns and statues being burnt and buried, and the site being systematically looted by the Aztecs.The remnants of the Toltec people re-settled at Chapultepec on the west banks of Lake Texcoco, led by the final leader, Huemac.
The Maya and the Aztecs seem to have copied many aspects of the religious practices and art that were done by the Toltecs and looked on the period as a golden era when such wonders as writing, medicine, and astronomy were possible.These may have been invented earlier and by others, but more certain is the influence on architecture and sculpture of the Aztecs.Images of recognisable deities at Tollan which would later appear in the Aztec pantheon include Centeotl, Xochiquetzal, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli and the feathered serpent.Stone carvings of vessels used in sacrifice, as well as tzompantli, which is a skull rack, attest to the influence the Toltecs would have on their more famous successors.The Aztecs wanted to claim descent from the people of Tollan, but the magnitude of their reverence and respect is reflected in the Aztec expression, "To have to have."
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M. Cartwright was published on April 27.There is a civilization called the Toltec Civilization.There is a world history encyclopedia.Toltec Civilization can be found at www.worldhistory.org.
Mark Cartwright."Toltec civilization."There is a world history encyclopedia.It was last modified on April 27.
Mark Cartwright."Toltec civilization."There is a world history encyclopedia.The World History Encyclopedia was published on 27 April.There is a website.In June of 2021.
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