Tula (Tollan – Xicocotitlan)

Tula was a great capital of the central plateau of Mesoamerica, of around 18 square kilometers of extension, with numerous public buildings, plazas, roads, sculptures as well as polychrome bas-reliefs, it was also a great governing, political and cultural center of the Toltec people since 713 A.D.Tula (Tollan) in Nahuatl means place of tules (a plant that due to its resistance and malleability was used to make basketry for storage or transport and also served to make roofs).

In 1873, Antonio García Cubas (Mexican historian and cartographer) referred to this site before the Mexican Society of Geography and History.

In 1880, the French explorer Désiré Charnay visited it and mentioned it in his writings.

The splendor of Tula is located between the years 900 and1000, unified through trade and conquest of a vast territory in Mesoamerica, noticing its influences from the Bajío area to the Yucatan Peninsula. It was a place of migrations, multi-ethno-linguistic, there is evidence of Teotihuacan, Nonoalca and Otomi.

According to various written sources, Tula was the city of Ce Ácatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl,  The largest temple is the pyramid of Tlauizcalpantecutli where the colossal Atlantes are found, representing warriors with a spear in their right hand and a bundle of arrows in the other. On their chest, they wear a butterfly-shaped pectoral and wear a skirt with a large belt, these columns measure 4.6 Mts. Surely their purpose was to support the roof of the sanctuary.

This is just an invitation for you to visit the site and curiosity will lead you to investigate further. Please note that the site closes at 4:30 within the Tula National Park.

“Tula (Tollan – Xicocotitlan)” by Jerry Ham.