{"id":2313,"date":"2018-08-15T21:47:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T21:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2313"},"modified":"2026-02-27T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T07:33:58","slug":"toltec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/toltec\/","title":{"rendered":"Toltec: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Toltec civilization, flourishing between the 10th and 12th centuries in central Mexico, is known for its impressive architecture and art, particularly at their capital, Tula. They are credited with significant cultural and technological advancements, influencing later Mesoamerican<\/a> societies such as the Aztecs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TOLTEC – INFLUENCE ON THE AZTEC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Toltec were a Mesoamerican civilization that was located in central Mexico from about 900 to 1168.  They are an important civilization in the history of Mesoamerican culture because many different later societies in the same area considered the Toltec to be an example of the height of craftsmanship and civilization.  For example, the Aztec society, which dominated central Mexico from about 1325 to 1520, considered themselves to be the successors to the earlier Toltec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the Aztec admired the Toltec for many different aspects, including: art, architecture, craftsmanship and culture.\u00a0 Some historians have questioned whether or not the Aztec people were the descendants of the earlier Toltec society, but this suggestion has also been made about other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, including the Teotihuacan<\/a>.\u00a0 Regardless, the Toltec language was Nahuatl<\/a>, which was the same as the Aztec.\u00a0 As well, the\u00a0Nahuatl\u00a0word for Toltec, in the Aztec society, came to mean \u2018artisan\u2019 in reference to their view that the Toltec were the height of culture, art and design in Mesoamerica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map
Map of the Toltec Empire by History Crunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TOLTEC – CITY OF TULA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Other than their importance to the Aztec society, the Toltec were notable for their capital city Tula.  The city-state is located northwest of modern Mexico City in the Mexican state of Hidalgo.  The city of Tula was an urban center for the Toltec society, but historians do not completely understand its significance and question its relation to other powerful sites at the time such as Chichen Itza from the Mayan Empire.  The center of Tula had several prominent pyramids and a large square.  For example, the archeological site contains a central plaza that historians believe held festivals with as many as 100,000 people at a time.  As well, there are two Mesoamerican ball courts where the Toltec people would play a form of a ball game that was common throughout many different Mesoamerican civilizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest and main pyramid at Tula is referred to as the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl.\u00a0 It is named after the famous Mesoamerican god\u00a0Quetzalcoatl<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0It has five tiers and historians consider it to be very similar to the Warrior of Temples at the Mayan city of Chichen Itza.\u00a0 This has caused some historians to suggest that the two civilizations had some form of connection despite their distance apart.\u00a0 On the top of the pyramid at Tula are four large statues of Toltec warriors.\u00a0 These statues, along with other examples display the Toltec\u2019s ability as craftsmen, which was one of the aspects that the Aztec admired the most about them.\u00a0 At its height, the city is said to have had a population of around 60,000 people.\u00a0 The population was likely supported on local crops including: chili peppers, beans, squash, and corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Quetzalcoatl\"
Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god, from the Codex Magliabechiano.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TOLTEC – HISTORY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Much of the history of the Toltec civilization is heavily debated by historians.\u00a0 Some suggest that the Toltec were a distinct Mesoamerican civilization that built upon earlier ones like\u00a0Teotihuacan\u00a0and led to later ones like the Aztec.\u00a0 However, some historians have questioned the importance of the Toltec as a matter of myth by the Aztec, meaning that the Aztec over emphasized the Toltec civilization in their own understanding of the Mesoamerican world and history.\u00a0 Regardless, little is known about the history of the Toltec because while they likely had a form of hieroglyphic writing, little of it remains on the structures of the city.\u00a0 As well, the Aztec emperor,\u00a0Itzcoatl<\/a>, famously burned many of the Aztec history books, of which several referred to the Toltec.\u00a0 For this reason, historians are left to debate the culture, religion, and overall significance of the Toltec people.\u00a0 Despite this, there is archeological evidence that the city of Tula collapsed around the middle of the 12th century.\u00a0 While it is still debated, many believe that the city failed due to environmental issues or from warfare in the region.\u00a0 The height of the Toltec civilization is said to been between the 10th and 12th centuries.\u00a0 It is also believed that the Toltec were responsible for attacking and burning\u00a0Teotihuacan\u00a0at the start of the 10th century, although this has been debated by many different historians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Itzcoatl\"
Itzcoatl from the Tovar Codex.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TOLTEC – SIGNIFICANCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Toltec are remembered mostly for their influence on other Mesoamerican civilizations including the Aztec.\u00a0 Of all the early Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the\u00a0Olmec<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Teotihuacan, the Toltec had the most significant impact on the Aztec people.\u00a0 Much of the Aztec art<\/a> and architecture<\/a> was modelled after the Toltec, and the Toltec were admired for their craftsmanship and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Toltec civilization was highly influential in Mesoamerican history, known for their architectural innovations and the spread of their religious practices, particularly the worship of Quetzalcoatl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,41],"tags":[78,77,15,79],"class_list":["post-2313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mesoamerica","category-aztec-empire","tag-ancient-history","tag-aztec-empire","tag-history","tag-mesoamerica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2313"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5824,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2313\/revisions\/5824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}