The day Karen and Simon left Mexico, we took a tour to Tula before delivering them to the airport.
There was a community here prior to the collapse of Teotihuacan. The earliest well-defined settlements in the Tula area appeared around 400 BC. Based on designs found on Tula pottery that seem to have come from Teotihuacan, the area may well have originally been under the control of that important city.
Tula came into its own after the fall of Teotihuacan. Its period of prominence was fairly short compared to other sites – about two hundred years, between 900 and 1150. It would have had a population of about 60,000 at its zenith. Like Teotihucan, Tula prospered at least in part because of its proximity to obsidian mines which provided materials for crafts and trade.
This little monkey vase, carved from a single piece of obsidian is, according to our guide, one of the most valuable pieces in the National Museum of Anthropology. It is from Texcoco, not Tula, but it gives an idea of how the ancient masters of obsidian carving created works of incredible beauty.
Some scholars posit that obsidian crafts were the business of about half the population, taking over this function from Teotihuacan.
The people of Tula were called Toltecs. The respect in which they were held is demonstrated by the fact that the word “toltec” eventually came to also mean an artisan or skilled worker. The Toltec culture and political systems eventually gained such prestige that many future Mesoamerican dynasties would claim to be of Toltec descent. That includes the Aztecs.
From the similarities in various art and architectural styles, scholars have concluded that the Mayan city of Chichen Itza had a relationship with Tula. The nature of that relationship is widely debated. Unfortunately, Tula has not been studied in any depth. As with other countries I have visited which are rich in pre-columbian sites, like Peru, the amount of money available for research is miniscule compared to the sheer volume of places crying out to be excavated and researched.
The site today is reached through a cactus garden.
There were some interesting specimens.
Lovers had carved their names into this one, much as people in North America used to do on the trunks of trees.
There was a some statuary too, like this crocodile.
The first thing one sees on the approach to the site itself is the five-stepped temple pyramid on one side of the plaza, now designated as Pyramid B.
This five-tiered structure is unmistakable, boasting as it does four basalt Toltec warriors on the top, known as atalante statues.
More than 15 feet tall, dressed as warriors, they wear stylized butterfly breastplates, feathered headdresses and carry spear throwers and a supply of spears.
On their backs (butts really) are circular shields, which are guide told us were mirrors to help them spot people approaching from behind.
Logistically, I don’t see how that would work, but what do I know?
The atalantes would have originally supported the roof of a temple which would have been on top of the pyramid. Other columns are carved with glyphs of various birds, animals and warriors.
The building which they guard is also called the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl or of the Morning Star (the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli – try saying that fast three times; or at all). By the time of the Spanish conquest, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent deity was widely worshiped throughout Mexico. He may not have gotten his start at Tula, but it seems fairly well accepted that it was from Tula that his fame and his worship spread. There was a legendary ruler of Tula, Ce Acatl Quetzacoatl, who was often simply referred to as Quetzalcoatl.
In some versions of this myth, the virtuous Ce Acatl Quetzacoatl is misled by the god of darkness and trickery, Tezcatlipoca, into drunkenness and very bad behaviour, culminating in committing incest with his sister. Distraught, Ce Acatl headed east and when he reached the coast, set himself on fire, and rose to the skies to become the morning star.
We climbed the pyramid, which was not exceptionally difficult, although the steps were steep.
Another pyramid at right angles to Pyramid B was partially ruined.
The Pyramid of the Morning Star faces a “tzompantli” a large platform built as a place to display the skulls of human sacrificial victims. These were probably prisoners of war.
There are two ball courts at Tula, both in rather ruinous shape.
The tzompantli is placed directly in front of one of the ball courts, in alignment with the ruined pyramid.
This alignment probably had religious or ceremonial significance.
The huge plaza, which is estimated to have enough space for 100,000 people, is bordered by long halls with hundreds of columns which would have supported a roof.
They contain over 1000 metres of benches, which are decorated with stone reliefs depicting warriors.
It is thought that all this enormous public space indicates a change in social and religious norms from earlier times. Then rituals were performed in very small spaces because they were carried out by only a few people and watched by only a small number of the very elite of society. At Tula, the spacious plaza suggests that lots of people were coming into this particular sacred space to witness the spectacles.
There are many images at the site of jaguars and eagles.
The walls which would once have marked the boundaries of the sacred area are covered in images of serpents eating skeletal figures.
Skulls abound as well.
This chacmool was one of the only pieces remaining in its original place.
Sometime in the 12th century this ceremonial centre was burned and the pyramids destroyed. Building C, with its many columns, is known as the Burnt Palace.
No one knows why, or by whom the destruction was initiated.
After our journey around the remains, we paid a brief visit to the site museum. It was clear from the very limited collection in the site museum, that all the best artifacts have been taken away to the National Museum of Anthropology. For example, this magnificent piece which I saw in the National Museum, showing a warrior’s head emerging from a coyote, came from Tula.
Weren’t we lucky to have seen both the artifacts and the site from which they came?
