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 TOLTEC ORIGINS From: Glenn Welker
Dear Yari,
Thank you very much for visiting my sites. I am glad that you find them to be
meaningful.
It is an honor to make your acquaintance. Your kind words are deeply appreciated.
I recommend these web sites for info about the Toltecs:
Toltec Origins
http://www.cast.uark.edu/~shelley/html/parkin/toltecvisitpg.html
http://www.execpc.com/~urbanlee/MayaWelcome.html
The Toltecs
http://www.execpc.com/~urbanlee/Toltecs.html
THE TOLTECS
The Toltec Continuum
The Toltec era has often been compared to
the Dark Ages in Europe, although it would be
more accurate to compare them to the
Renaissance. Coming between the great
trading empire of Teotihuacan and the military
tribute state of Tenochtitlan, the Toltecs can
be viewed as the critical link between the
ancient past of the pyramid builders and the
modern (and well-documented) Aztec society
which the Spanish discovered and conquered
in 1520. Much of what the Aztecs aspired to
can find its roots in the still mysterious epoch
of the rulers of Tula Tollan.
The Toltecs influence over almost all
subsequent cultures of Mesoamerica cannot
be underestimated. The Mixtecs, the Itza
Maya, the Huaxteca, and most importantly the
Mexica (Aztecs) claimed descent from the
Toltecs and Toltec blood was considered to
be the legitmizing stamp of any ruler. Yet very
little is known about these people. There are
no contemporary written accounts. The
codices compiled by the Spanish friars during
the early years of the colonial era are legends
which were already hundred of years old by
the time they were related and translated into
Spanish. The "picture books" which might
have shed some light on the Toltecs were,
with very few exceptions, gathered up and
burned. And the archaeological record can be
very difficult to decipher after 1000 years of
systematic looting.
The Beginnings of History
To study Toltec civilization requires a careful
synthesis of the pre-Columbian codices, the
accounts of the Spanish ethnohistorians, and
the archaeological remains found at such sites
as Tula, Hidalgo, Chichen Itza Yucatan, El
Tajin, Veracruz, and Teotihuacan near modern
Mexico City. There are many gaps and
contradictions, many of which may never be
resolved; the most important of which center
on Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, who may have been
in reality a composite of several different
rulers. The Toltecs invented the great warrior
orders of the Eagle and the Jaguar as well as
the "mil columnas" (thousand columns)
architecture which is charecteristic of all
Toltec-influenced sites in Mesoamerica. They
were the first builders to utilize cement mortar.
There is also considerable evidence that
metallurgy has its beginning in the Toltec era,
although no metal objects have been found at
Tula, their capital. The origin of the ritual of
heart sacrifice has been attributed to the
Toltecs as well, although it is more likely that
this style of sacrifice orginated in El Tajin. This
frightening and very public ritual quickly
spread to almost all of Mesoamerica and was
considered to be the right and responsiblity of
all kings who claimed descent from the
Toltecs.
A Toltec Empire?
There is considerable debate about the
true extent of the Toltec empire. Some
archaeologists such as Nigel Davies claim the
Toltecs never controlled much more than a
small state centered on the northen half of the
Valley of Mexico. Others, such as Michael
Coe, believe the the Toltecs may have
indirectly ruled vast areas of Mesoamerica
including Chichen Itza, Yucatan, which shows
considerable similiarities with Tula, Hidalgo.
The truth will probably never be known. Just
as archaeological similarities and conquest
lists such as that found in the "Legend of the
Suns" cannot be considered as conclusive
evidence of an "empire", neither can they be
dismissed as coincidence and fabrication.
Clearly the Toltecs profoundly influenced the
cultures of many of their neighbors, and just
as clearly many of their neighbors (such as the
Quiche Maya) looked up to the Toltecs as the
fountainhead of their own cultures. Whether
these later peoples were referring to the
Toltecs of Tula or to other groups of people
denominated as "toltecs" is still unknown. The
Popul Vuh makes mention of a "Tulan Zuyan"
to which the four progenitors of the Quiche
Maya are summoned, but, despite the similar
names, many archaeologists believe that this
"Tulan" was in fact the city of Chichen Itza,
and not the site of Tula, Hidalgo.
A Mosaic of Sources
Much has been lost. The extremely
fragmentary nature of the history of the
Toltecs has been pieced together from very
few sources. Among those are the "Legend of
the Suns", the "Annals of Cuahititlan", the
"Florentine Codex", the "Memorial Breve", the
"Historia Chichimeca" and the "Historia de los
Mexicanos por sus pinturas". Each gives a
slightly different history of the Toltecs. None is
definitive. All have gaps. The history of the
Toltecs can be roughly (very roughly)
described as the following:
Chronology of the Toltecs
(c. 850AD) Tula Grande begins to
develop from its smaller predecessor site
of Tula Chico. While initially appearing to
be an offshoot of Teotihuacan, Tula
begins to show influences from El Tajin,
Xochicalco and the Chichimec frontier.
(c. 900-1050AD). Tula reaches its height.
This is the age of Mixcoatl and Ce Acatl
Topiltizin Quetzalcoatl. At this point, the
Toltecs become historical figures
recorded in the Aztec codices and the
Quiche Maya Popul Vuh as well as the
Chilam Balam. An expeditionary force of
Toltecs and Itza reach Chichen Itza and
build a copy of Tula to the north of the
the old Puuc city center. Turquoise from
as far away as Chaco Canyon and the
Cerritos mine in New Mexico is found at
this site. The Great Houses of Chaco
Canyon are built, and evidence of trade
contact with Mesoamerica is discovered
at Pueblo Bonito in the form of mummified
Macaw parrots and tiny copper bells. The
great ball courts at Chichen and Tula are
built.
(c. 1050-1100) The Toltec empire
fractures or is overrun by barbarians from
the northwest. Tula is burned and the
huge stone Atlantes are broken and cast
off the tops of pyramid B in Tula.
Huemac, last of the Toltec kings is forced
out of Tula and flees to the hill of
Chapultepec where he hangs himself.
(c. 1100-1200) A second Toltec empire,
that of the "Tolteca-Chichimeca" is born.
A warrior chieftain Xochlatl raids in the
Valley of Mexico at the head of
Chichimec armies. Tezcatlipoca becomes
the chief god, although his image is not
found in Tula. It is around this time that
the future Mexica begin their migrations
toward the Valley in the wake of the
Chichimec invasions.
(c. 1250). The last of the Toltecs of Tula
are overrun by new waves of Chichimec
invaders and forced to flee to Cholula,
the last stronghold of the "Great Toltecs".
While Toltec political and military power
cease to exist, many other nations
including the Quiche Maya, the Itzas, and
the Calakiel continue to flourish. The
Mixteca conquer traditional Zapotec
lands including Mitla and Monte Alban,
which they use as a necropolis.
Culhuacan continues to be an important
center in the Valley of Mexico, its kings
tracing their descent from the Toltecs of
Tula.
http://www.indigenouspeople.org/natlit/whatsnew.htm
Indigenous Peoples Web Rings
I hope this helps your research.
Please let me know if I can help you further.
Best wishes and good luck,
Glenn H. Welker
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