Tour Tula: Chacmools

The Atlanteans aren't the only statues to admire among the ruins of Tula.

If there were any figures in Toltec artistry that could contrast the Atlanteans, it would be the chacmools.  The Atlanteans stand boldly against the skyline - a rigid, stern, militaristic troop of sentries maintaining watch atop their pyramid.  The chacmools, however, recline randomly within the shadows of the ancient city.  Their comical postures lend more mystery to a widely enigmatic culture. 

These statues appear harmless enough enough - figures of men lying on their backs with their knees up and legs pulled up tight against their buttocks.  Their heads are also up, and turned to the side like surprised children caught with their hand in a cookie jar.  But that vessel they hold upon their bellies is hardly Pooh Bear's hunny pot.  In fact, these bowls and plates often lend to more questions regarding the chacmools purpose than the curiosities raised by the Atlanteans.

Polychrome chacmool discovered in Tenochtitlan's Templo Mayor.
From ChessBase.com

Although they don't appear nearly as elaborate as EFFIGY's polychrome Jaguar Chacmool, the chacmools we see today may have been just as brilliant if we could just erase the toll time and weather has taken on them.  Variations of the chacmool are found not only in Tula, but in other Mesoamerican cities that seem to display a strong Toltec influence, from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in present day Mexico City to the Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan. 

So just what was the significance of the chacmools?  Nobody knows for sure.  However, several Mesoamerican sites contain stone bas reliefs of captives reclined similarly to the chacmools.  The typical situ placement of chacmools within temple antechambers suggest a religious importance.  Perhaps it was a combination of these two facts that led to the common theory that these strange figures served as altars, long awaiting one more offering to the gods.  And the offerings themselves have led to considerable debate ranging from sacred gifts of butterflies to the sacrificial offerings of (you guessed it) human hearts.

Whatever the chacmools were intended for, one thing is for certain, they are just one more reason writers love "lost" civilizations!