Toltec (tŏl`tĕk), ancient civilization of Mexico. The name in Nahuatl means "master builders." The Toltec formed a warrior aristocracy that gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico c.A.D. 900 after the fall of Teotihuacán. Their early history is obscure but they seem to have had ancient links with the Mixtec Mixtec (mĭs`tĕk), Native American people of Oaxaca, Puebla, and part of Guerrero, SW Mexico, one of the most important groups in
..... Click the link for more information. and the Zapotec Zapotec (zä`pətĕk, sä`–), indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
..... Click the link for more information. . Their capital was Tollán (see Tula Tula (t
`lä), ancient city in the present state of Hidalgo, central Mexico.
..... Click the link for more information. ). In architecture and the arts they were masters; they were influenced by Teotihuacán and the Olmec Olmec (ōl`mĕk), term denoting the culture of ancient Mexican natives inhabiting the tropical coastal plain of the contemporary
..... Click the link for more information. culture. Cholula Cholula (chōl
..... Click the link for more information. is considered to be a Toltec site. Toltec civilization was materially far advanced. They smelted metals, and their stonework was highly developed. Their polytheistic religion in later days seems to have centered about Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (kĕt'sälkôät`əl)
..... Click the link for more information. . Their ceremonies included human sacrifice, sun worship, and a sacred ball game, tlatchli. They are said to have discovered pulque (a fermented drink), and they had considerable astronomical knowledge, as shown in their calendar cycle of 52 years of 260 days each. A period of southward expansion began c.1000 and resulted in Toltec domination of the Maya Maya (mī`ə, Span. mä`yä)
..... Click the link for more information. of Yucatán from the 11th to the 13th cent. Nomadic peoples (collectively termed the Chichimec Chichimec (chēchēmĕk`)
..... Click the link for more information. ) brought about the fall of Tula and of the Toltec empire in the 13th cent., thus opening the way for the rise of the Aztec Aztec (ăz`tĕk'), Indian people dominating central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest.
..... Click the link for more information. . See also pre-Columbian art and architecture pre-Columbian art and architecture, works of art and structures created in Central and South America before the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. .
..... Click the link for more information. and the Zapotec Zapotec (zä`pətĕk, sä`–), indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
..... Click the link for more information. . Their capital was Tollán (see Tula Tula (t
`lä), ancient city in the present state of Hidalgo, central Mexico...... Click the link for more information. ). In architecture and the arts they were masters; they were influenced by Teotihuacán and the Olmec Olmec (ōl`mĕk), term denoting the culture of ancient Mexican natives inhabiting the tropical coastal plain of the contemporary
..... Click the link for more information. culture. Cholula Cholula (chōl
..... Click the link for more information. is considered to be a Toltec site. Toltec civilization was materially far advanced. They smelted metals, and their stonework was highly developed. Their polytheistic religion in later days seems to have centered about Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (kĕt'sälkôät`əl)
..... Click the link for more information. . Their ceremonies included human sacrifice, sun worship, and a sacred ball game, tlatchli. They are said to have discovered pulque (a fermented drink), and they had considerable astronomical knowledge, as shown in their calendar cycle of 52 years of 260 days each. A period of southward expansion began c.1000 and resulted in Toltec domination of the Maya Maya (mī`ə, Span. mä`yä)
..... Click the link for more information. of Yucatán from the 11th to the 13th cent. Nomadic peoples (collectively termed the Chichimec Chichimec (chēchēmĕk`)
..... Click the link for more information. ) brought about the fall of Tula and of the Toltec empire in the 13th cent., thus opening the way for the rise of the Aztec Aztec (ăz`tĕk'), Indian people dominating central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest.
..... Click the link for more information. . See also pre-Columbian art and architecture pre-Columbian art and architecture, works of art and structures created in Central and South America before the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Toltec
Nahuatl-speaking people who held sway over what is now central Mexico from the 10th to the 12th century. Whether their urban centre was Tula or Teotihuacán is a matter of dispute. In the 10th century they formed a number of small states of various ethnic origins into an empire. They introduced the cult of Quetzalcóatl, and other Toltec religious and military influences spread through the Yucatán region and were absorbed by the Maya. They were noted as builders and craftsmen; artifacts include fine metalwork, gigantic statues, and carved human and animal standard-bearers. They were succeeded by the Aztec. See also Mesoamerican civilization.
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