1. Toltecs Who were the Toltecs? Tula Toltec Sphere of Influence
Fall of Tula and the Toltecs

3. Tolteca-Chichimeca & Nonoalca
Populated by two groups
Tolteca-Chichimeca
probably original Nahuatl-speakers who founded Toltec state
reported to have come from north
leader was Mixcoatl ("Cloud Serpent" = Milky Way)
reported to have settled at a place in the Valley of Mexico called Colhuacan
son and heir was Tolpitzin, later identified with Quetzalcoatl
described as having fair skin and black beard
Ce Acatl Tolpitzin, born at TepoztlÝn, Morelos in AD 935 or 947
searched for and buried deceased father's remains
moved Toltec capital to Tula in AD 968

4. Nonoalca
Referred to as highly civilized leaders, priests, merchants, and craftsmen (bearers of the Mesoamerican tradition)
Davies sees them as coming possibly from Gulf Coast region of Veracruz and Tabasco, or they may have come from Teotihuacan
Diehl believes they probably included upper and middle classes from Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Xochicalco, El Tajin, and other centers who were forced to search out new lives when home communities declined
suggests migration played a major role in formation of Toltec civilization

5. Toltec economy Agriculture Irrigation was essential
Sahagun's* informants told him Toltecs had ears of corn that could hardly be carried in one's arms, cotton in all different colors (from bright red to green, blue, and violet)
maize was the basic food source
supplemented with beans, chili peppers, amaranth, squashes, and maguey
medicinal plants and drugs also grown
farming in milpas and household gardens
earth worked with stone or wooden hoes
planting with wooden digging sticks
polycropping common (beans and squash with maize)
Irrigation was essential
Tlaloc was probably a critical deity
hillside terraces built to trap water and silt for agriculture
intensification technique which was probably a response to population pressure
*Sahagun was a Spanish missionary, born in Sahagun, Leon, late in the 15th century; died in Mexico, 23 October, 1590.

6. Hunting and gathering Wild seeds included mesquite and chenopodium
fruits included cherry-like capulin, persimmon, and prickly pear
turkeys and small dogs were only meat-producing domestic animals
bees were probably raised for honey
wild animals included deer, jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit

7. Craft production "Toltec" came to mean master craftsman or artisan
Sahagun's informants described "scribes, lapidarians, carpenters, stone cutters, masons, feather workers, feather gluers, potters, spinners, and weavers"
feather work is reported to have been exceptionally good
used on shields
worked turquoise, gold, copper, tin, mica, and lead, together with green stones, amber, rock crystal (quartz), amethyst, pearls, and opals
tecali, often confused with onyx, used for beads, ornaments, bowls, jars, and other luxury products
bowls made by polishing and coring
obsidian
controlled Pachuca obsidian mines
prized above all other obsidian by Mesoamericans
used-up cores found all over city, not just in workshop zone
suggests cores were produced for trade
Diehl suggests 2000 craftsmen

8. Artifacts: Pottery Brazier with skulls Duck effigy bowl Pipes
Papagayo polychrome bowl

9. Artifacts: Stone Carvings
Jaguar statue
Figurines

10. Atlantes Altar support from the Temple of Quetzalcoatl
Rear view of the  altar support

11. Commerce
Diehl believes there was a Toltec "pochteca" (specialized merchant group)
trade wares included Central American polychromes, Plumbate, Central Veracruz wares, and Huastec pottery from north Gulf Coast
conspicuously absent was Fine Orange from southern Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche
cacao and quetzal feathers may have come from Guatemala
northern steppe zones provided turquoise, serpentine, quartz, rock crystal, mica, amethyst, and cinnabar
also peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms
Pacific coast shells indicate commercial ties with Michoacan, Nayarit, and Colima
metal ornaments, especially copper, may also have come from this region

12. Religion Tezcaltlipoca - the night and the darkness
Tláloc god of the rain and the vegetation
Centéotl god of the corn
ltzpapáloti or butterfly of obsidian
Tonatiuh or solar god.

13. Tlaloc god of rain

14. Politics - "The Toltec State"
Precise definitions of borders impossible
included much of central Mexico and adjacent areas to the north
Hidalgo, Basin of Mexico, Valley of Toluca, parts of Baja and Morelos
most of northern boundary coincided with limits of effective agriculture
Motivation for empire building was "free" wealth in the form of tribute
Matricula de Tributos, an Aztec document, gives us an idea of the types of tribute received
Emphasis on three types of goods
food
maize, beans, chilis, amaranth, chian, and animals
textiles
goods of cotton and maguey fiber, cotton goods probably reserved for the elite
exotic luxury goods
feathers, animal skins, minearal, semi-precious stones, and other items such as lumber, pottery, lime, bark paper, honey, and wild animals

15. Important rulers mentioned in drama of Toltec history
Tolpitzin Quetzalcoatl
enthroned as priest and king of Tollan, said to have led his people away from human sacrifice, also had problems: incest with sister when drunk, fled Tula in shame after run-in with Tezcatlipoca, also struggled with Ihuimecatl and Toltecatl
Tezcatlipoca ("Smoking Mirror")
sacrificer, lord of sorcerers, reported as charming and enchanting people
Kukulcan
culture hero reported to have arrived in Maya area ca. AD
reported as Mexican conqueror who arrived with companions to subjugate the country
"Kukulcan" is a translation of "Feathered Serpent" into Yucatec Maya
said to have ruled Chichen Itza until his death
Huemac,
last king of Tula, forced to flee as a result of growing factionalism and encroaching barbarians
some identify Huemac as Tezcatlipoca, said to have fled around AD 1063 due to droughts, conflicts, and fighting between the Tolteca-Chichimeca and Nonoalca result in destruction of Tula ca. 1150
settled in Chapultepec, on western banks of Lake Texcoco dated to 1156 or and eventually killed himself

16. Archaeology
Multi-ethnic group that introduced changes in public and religious architecture and new styles of stone carving and ceramics.
Tula buliders did not call themselves Toltecs, but the Aztec used the word to refer to a skilled craftsperson or artisan.
mixture of Nahuatl, Otomi, Nonoalca, Chichimec peoples.
Carnegie Museum of Washington who had been working at Chichen Itza began excavations at Tula, Hidalgo., also University of Missouri worked with Mesoamerican groups to conduct work after 1966.
Chronology in the area based largely on ceramics.
Prior to 400 A.D. Tula region was integrated with Teotihuacan, but most people in the area were farmers and also some Hilltop sites such as Mogone.
By around 700 A.D. areas such as Tula Chico which is situated north of the Tula area with civic-ceremonial architecture laid out in a n-s axis.
Several areas occupied for different reasons and at different times in Tula.
Tula Chica, Cerro Mogone, Tula Grande, Tula de Allende, Canal Locality, El Corral, Cerro El Cielito, Cerro La Malinche.

17. Early Excavations
Archaeologist Jorge Acosta, primary excavator at Tula, stands next to Pyramid B.

18. Tula A.D. 900-1200 Development of city north of Teotihuacan.
Located on the Tula river and near the Lerma rivers for easy communication with others.
This new capital was closer to the northern limits of agriculture.
Toltec history embellished by Aztecs, Spaniards and others after their collapse in 1200 A.D.

19. Tula Geography Climate
north of Valley of Mexico in southern part of state of Hidalgo
rivers flow northeast to Rio Moctezuma, then down Sierra Madre Oriental into Rio Panuco and Gulf of Mexico
Dry, desertified area
hardy scrup and cactus thickets, mesquite, prickly pear, and yucca
soils are rich, alluvial ones but irrigation necessary for agriculture
high mountains to the east hold clouds away from area and rainy season precipitation is insufficient for rainfall agriculture
Tula area has slightly more rain, irrigation water, and arable land than rest of region
Climate
mild, with annual temperatures ranging from 16-19C (60-66F)
monthly temperatures average from 11C (52F) in December to 38C (100F) in May with frosts frequent in winter

20. Tula Grande
Just south of Tula Chico, was occupied during the prime phase of Tula A.D.
13 km in area, with a population of 30-60,000 residents.
craftspeople, trades people, religious leaders, but not farmers.
workshops included manos and metates makers.
City laid out on n-s axis.
center with double plaza complex, two pyramids, council halls, and a colonnaded vestibule.
two ballcourts, much of this built on large single platform meters in height.
Building C was the most impressive but was destroyed.
Building B is the Temple to Quetzalcoatl.
stone sculpture is largely made of columns, pillars, relief panels, and atlantids which are figures of men used to support roofs or altars.
a new feature known as a serpent wall which does not surround the temple but is free standing along the north.
also depictions of Patolli playing which is a game of chance played by many mesoamerican groups and is similar to modern Parchessi.
chacmool figures as well.

21. 1. North Ball Court
2. Coatepantli
3. Palace of Quetzalcoatl
4. Palace of the Columns
5. Vestibule
6. Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli
7. Mound C
8. Tzompantli
9. South Ball Court

22. Tula Ballcourts Ballcourt 1 Ballcourt 2
Stone (found in the center of the ballcourt) possibly connected with the scoring or ritual  of the game 

23. Palace of the Columns

24. Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (Temple of the Morning Star)

25. Atlantes
Atlantean warrior columns on the summit of Pyramid B, Tula Grande.  All are made of basalt and are over fifteen feet tall.

26. Pyramid B: Temple of Quetzalcoatl
Chacmool

27. Recreation of what the temple would have looked like in the past.

28. Pyramid C Talud-tablero Drainage in Rear of pyramid

29. Coatepantli
Detail of the Coatepantli, which depicts a band of serpents devouring a skeletal form
On the inner side of this is a well preserved frieze depicting a rather grisly scene of a long line of snakes swallowing skeletal people, who are thought to be warriors.

30. Palace of Quetzalcoatl

31. Toltec Sphere of Influence
Sphere vs. Empire
Not really a major empire like Teotihuacan or some other sites.
It never had a well-defined boundary and nothing to indicate centralized control.
Trade
Must have been an important influence on their wealth, organization and management.
Toltec artifacts have a wide but uneven distribution.
much art has militaristic displays, but no coercion or conquest has been discovered archaeologically.
Artifacts found at sites such as Casas Grandes to the north, sites to the west, and Veracruz.
Received items such as gold from the south.

32. Fall of Tula and the Toltecs
Sahagun's version:
Epic conflict between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl
latter represented by priest or ruler Ce Acatl Tolpitzin Quetzalcoatl
may have shared sovereignty with Huemac
Tezcalipoca is said to have created so much misfortune that the Toltecs perished or fled Tula
Quetzalcoatl fled to Gulf Coast
Huemac fled to Chapultepec

33. Fall of Tula and the Toltecs
Davies scenario
northern frontier shifted southward through time, opening Tula to attack ca. 1120
caused some Toltecs to migrate into lands claimed by Cholula
immigrants from northern frontier turned on their hosts and assisted Cholula with help agains Toltec invaders
group of northerners, led by Mixcoatl, settled in Basin of Mexico after helping Cholulans
Mixcoatl's sone Ce Acatl Topiltzin gained control of Tula in AD 1166
conflicts arose with Tula-born faction led by Huemac
increased pressures from Huastecs and Chichimecs led to stress and downfall of both men

34. Problems were both Internal and External
Agriculture
agriculture was especially sensitive to drought
problem became critical with population growth
Tula may have become overpopulated by 1100
climate change and decrease in precipitation may have caused many years of famine
historical accounts contain many references to food problems
Conflicts
often coupled with stories of conflicts and battles over land, famine may have coincided with period of greatest influx of population
Social integration
problems of multi-ethnicity
continual flow of migrants into the city caused strains
migrants may have been toughened and warlike

35. Archaeological evidence
Evidence for fire and destruction found in every building
Not clear that all of it took place at once
Canal Locality houses appear to have been abandoned by 1100 on the basis of radiocarbon dates
Urban peripheries appear to have been abandoned before central core

36. Toltec Legacy
Slowly, a few city states rose up to dominate their neighbors, but no real successor to the Toltec power emerged during this period.
The Kings of Culhuacan, as described in their "Annales de Culhuacan" had some limited power, claiming descent from the legendary Toltecs.
But every other dynasty (Quiche, Itza, Mixtec, Chichimec) did the same.
Claiming to be a descendent of the Toltec Kings was routine; even if many of the earliest rulers after the fall of Tula were in all likelihood truly related to the nobles of the Mixcoatl/Topiltzin/Huemac era, most of the succeeding generations of petty rulers were not.
History, however, is written by the victors, and the victors in the incessant warfare of the post-Toltec era were eager to associate themselves with the once glorious Toltecs.