Who Was When

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Toltec civilization

MesoamericaHeartland today: Mexico

Before and after

  • In central Mexico:Came before: Teotihuacan Came after: Aztec Empire

    After Teotihuacan declined, the Coyotlatelco culture held the region before Tula rose.

    The Aztecs saw the Toltecs as their cultural ancestors; how much of the Aztec story of Tula is history is debated.

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Meanwhile…

Rulers of Tula in central Mexico, whom the later Aztecs revered as the source of civilised arts and crafts, even as historians now separate Toltec legend from Toltec archaeology.

Also alive at the same time

Key events

  1. Settlers linked to Teotihuacan's decline build early towns in the Tula region

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  2. Tula grows into the Toltec capital, reaching prominence under rulers later remembered as Topiltzin QuetzalcóatlDisputed

    Aztec accounts of the ruler Topiltzin Quetzalcóatl mix history with legend; his historicity is debated.

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  3. Toltec sculptors carve the great basalt Atlantean warrior columns atop Tula's main pyramid

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  4. Architecture and imagery at Tula and at the Maya city of Chichén Itzá closely echo one anotherDisputed

    Scholars disagree on the direction of influence between the two sites, or whether both drew on a shared third source.

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  5. Tula is burned and abandoned amid internal conflict and pressure from northern migrantsDisputed

    The exact sequence of Tula's fall is known mainly from later, partly legendary Aztec accounts.

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