Tour Tula: An Overview

From revemexicain.com

Just northwest of Mexico City lies the ruins of Tula.  Crowning an abrupt promontory that rises above the juntion of the Rio Rosas and Rio Tula and their respective marshes, the site is thought to be the ancient Toltec capital of Tollan, or “place of reeds.” 

Tula replaced the old Toltec capital of Colhuacan when it was founded by the high priest, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl in AD 968.  Interestingly enough, however, the site includes architectural elements from the then already abandoned city of Teotihuacan.

Tula consists of two main architectural clusters - Tula Grande (the city's most popular site) and Tula Chico (the original city center), along with a grid of ancient streets that once ran true north only to be redirected 15 degrees east of north, and then again changed to 15 degrees west of north before they were finally abandoned altogether and disappeared beneath the sprawl of today's Tula de Allende.

As expected, Tula touts classic Toltec artistry, from stepped pyramids and collonaded halls to oversized ballcourts and statuesque chacmools.  The Toltecs were legendary for their artistic craftsmanship and their culture is noted for their advancements in medicine, calendrics and art.  Such intellectual traits lead one to believe the culture to be a peaceful one.  But that doesn’t explain the militaristic and bloodthirsty iconography displayed there.

However, the banishment of Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl might.

Tula enjoyed its initial prosperity for a mere 19 years when intense inner strife got the best of it.  The priest of peace and knowledge was overthrown by followers of the sacrificial deity, Tezcatlipoca.  It was after Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl’s exile that Tula saw its greatest expansion, reaching a zenith population of approximately 60,000.  Signs of a warrior-type society spring up everywhere, and Chacmools enter the scene, perhaps for the purpose of sacrificial rituals.

Perhaps this city saturated in violence met its match and ultimately caused its own undoing.  Nobody knows for sure why the city of Tula collapsed, but archaeological evidence points to a sudden and cataclysmic event.  In AD 1168 Tula was destroyed, its palaces and temples burned and toppled to the ground.  Most historians have settled on a Chichimec invasion as the culprit for Tula’s destruction.   However, the fall of Tula seems to mark the end of Toltec society as a whole. 

It’s interesting to this author to note that the demise of the Toltecs coincides with various other cultures that mysteriously disappear around the same time – namely, the Mayans of Chichen Itza (Yucatan) and the Chacoans of Chaco Canyon (New Mexico).  Could there be a link between all of these cultures?

Perhaps that’s a mystery we best leave for Peet and Lori to solve. J