Mysterious Ancient Toltec Civilization Have Still Not Been Fully Understood

toltec origins and culture in the central band of Mesoamerica what is now modern-day Mexico a very different civilization arose around 1000 CE II they were called the Toltec and their efforts and growth would go on to impress the Aztecs and later civilizations in considerable ways before they disappeared around 1200 CE II in fact Aztec people considered them to be their ancestors in many cases much of their beliefs architectural styles and culture came from the forerunners such as the Olmec who are literally considered one of the first civilizations in the Mesoamerican region they also learned from the Maya and other groups unfortunately the Toltec themselves did not leave mind any great amount of records or writings that would explain much about their culture puzzled historians were able to piece together much of the facts and suppositions from Aztec writing and the content created by European invaders who came much later the Toltec themselves shared stories legends and histories through the oral tradition in other words they told things to each other pass them down and share them with people outside their groups some of the information gleaned from the Aztec documents cannot be taken at face value while the Aztec civilizations seem to enjoy toltec culture they also had a strong tradition of mixing truth with fantasy this may have led some researchers astray before they cross-referenced the records with Mayan texts and the evidence found in the Toltec Cities the ancient city of Chula the civic ceremonial capital of the Toltecs on top of the pyramid with their curious stone carvings their Giants standing over 15 feet tall and weighing several tons each of these basalt carvings in human form are the Masters of all who survey them they're called the Atlantean statues or in Spanish rose Atlantis as these huge sculptures are perhaps the most enigmatic surviving artifacts of the Toltec civilization which ruled central Mexico about a thousand years ago no one knows how these figures were made or how they were transported at the top of the pyramid please go to Mexico and explain calm to see pictures of these colossal figures in order to understand the atlantean figures we must first understand the context in which we find them the statues dominate the abandoned ancient city of Chula located in the central highlands of Mexico in the present-day Mexican state of Hidalgo about 45 miles from Mexico City according to archeologists and anthropologists the name Chula comes from the aztec phrase meaning the place where the reeds grow the city of Chula has long been believed to be the capital of the Toltec Empire although some archaeologists describe the Toltecs politically as having a kingdom rather than an empire many believe that the term toltec is best used to describe a civilization instead of a political entity in any event the Toltecs came to prominence in the power vacuum left by the fall of the tail Chi walkin and around the 8th century AD the first village at the site of the present day ruins of Tula was established around 400 AD archaeologists call this first place of occupation at this site Tula Chico or little Tula at its height Tula Chico had well over 20,000 people and covered around 6 square kilometers an area between 850 and 900 AD the site known as Tula Chico was mysteriously abandoned soon after people abandon this site a new city was built on top of the old one and archaeologists called the city big tula this new tula grew to be the largest city in Mexico at its height around 1,000 years ago with an urban population of over 50,000 with 20 or so thousand people living in the immediate countryside surrounding the city the extended urban areas stretched to around 1,000 square kilometers as a center of trade the influence of the Toltecs civilization in Mexico can be seen as far away as the Yucatan specifically at the sites of Chichen Itza and mayapan in the former set of ruins we also see Atlantean at the temple of the Warriors but they're smaller in scale compared to the ones found at Chula puzzled archaeologists have debated for years about whether the site's identified as Toltec in the faraway Yucatan were just copying Chula four were colonies of the city or were conquered by it all can see the strong influence coming from the Toltecs of central Mexico including the smaller Atlanteans whether a trading empire influential Kingdom city-state or cultural movement the Toltecs civilization ended with the fall of tula a disputed king's list and other works were burned and all the books related to the Toltecs much knowledge about Tula and the Atlantean statues was lost as a result when the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the early 16th century Chula was occupied by a fraction of the population it once had and most of the people were ethnically Aztec as the surrounding lands were part of the Aztec empire the city never saw its former glory early Spanish chroniclers noted that craftspeople still lived in Tula creating things out of stone feathers and pottery as with the great monuments of Peru or Egypt or the gigantic stone heads of Easter Island surviving people living in and around the ruins of Tula at the time of the Spanish contact had no idea how the Atlantean statues were made or what their significance was given the Mesoamerican context modern archaeologists have established a firm interpretation of what the Atlantean statues at tula mean structurally they were said to support a wooden or thatched roof at the top of the pyramid like columns artistically they're said to represent warriors possibly soldiers following the god-king quetzel Codel quetzel Kotal also called the feathered serpent is associated with the planet Venus as the story goes when he died here on earth II went up to the sky and became the morning star the temple of the morning star in the statues according to archaeologists are wearing hats of snake skin and feathers solidifying the claim to be associated with the feathered serpent God the colossal figures have breastplates in the shapes of butterflies awesome bollocky quetzel Codel shields on their back and they're carrying weapons the conclusion is that these statues represent warriors further support is given to the warlike nature of the figures my the Association made with their counterparts the similar figures found in the Yucatan can be found in a place called the temple of the Warriors whatever their definition purpose the Atlantean figures took much time to make and for that reason alone they're very significant in the modern age we're just a little unclear as to their exact meaning where on earth did the Toltec come from a large group of people associated with a cultural group traveled south to their final location in 800 seee throughout this time they interacted with other groups along the way until they finally settled in the valley of Mexico and put down roots as an established civilization the Aztecs reported the first toltec King was called mix coral a name which stood for the Milky Way the next was his son who was eventually bestowed the name quetzel Codel this honour to be named after the feathered serpent God that many Mesoamerican cultures shared surely set him apart as a revered ruler like most other burgeoning civilizations the toltec created a few smaller settlements before finally creating their capital city at Tula at its height somewhere from 30 to 40 thousand people would live there besides the adoption of the feathered serpent God from the Maya it seemed that the Toltec people also borrowed some of their City planning method jewel is unique grid pattern for a lot of similarity to chichen itza it seems obvious to believe that these two civilizations had considerable impact on each other or were perhaps even part of the same one that split apart in early days one thing that no one could deny is the fact that the people who lived in the Toltec civilization had a strong culture of combat the Warriors were fierce looking at dresses chest plates and padded armor they carried strong shields fashioned from reeds swords or clubbed axes and spread throwers that greatly increase their distance speed and accuracy this ancient army was divided into several sections represented by the fiercest animals and gods the toltec knew about why did the Toltec need so many warriors in ancient mesoamerica it was true that many groups would battle with each other constantly for control of fertile lands sites for their cities or simply to make the gods take notice of their greatness one of the primary causes that these people supported was the expansion of their religious beliefs this is one of the primary reasons that quetzel Codel became such a popular deity throughout the Mexican region chula ancient site early architecture styles the strong toltec focus on warriors domination and power infiltrated the city in quite obvious ways despite the need for artisans farmers priests and laborers the buildings that still stand in the main tula city atop the hill seem to align most closely with the overwhelming focus on quetzel Codel and bullying their neighbors enough to extra tribute from them the Toltecs are generally seen as descendants of the tale to walk in people who broke apart around 750 BC although most groups in the Mesoamerican land heads similar step pyramids and rock wall styles the similarities between the broken group and the Toltecs are even more similar someone might argue that a pyramid shaped temple is just like another one and walls do not differ very much from one to the next however the alignment of the main temple matched the og walk and one perfectly they both wind up with 17 degrees off due east this precise similarity would never happen by chance there's an astronomical reason for this across ancient Europe there are hosts of ancient sites that aligns 17 degrees east of North there's one constellation on the ancient skies currently the Pleiades Chula is part of the Aztec myth and legend the Toltecs capital city played an interesting role in later Aztec stories in perhaps a clever blending of truth and legend as the Aztec enjoyed doing tool has been described as a place with beautiful temples and palaces adorned with glittering gemstones and gold they gave Toltec artisans and craftspeople much appreciation for the unique and wondrous things they created the evidence of intricate pottery designs and exceptional metalworking may be lost from the Toltec days but it was passed down through time to the Aztec in fact that later and much greater civilization would call their jewelry makers and stone cutters toll TECA are the stories of these riches and beautiful adornments myths or were they the truths of this relatively short-lived civilization the archeologists who studied Tula and other locations associated with the Toltec have found virtually nothing and the reason for this mostly rests on the shoulders of the Aztecs who claimed much of the Tula treasures for their own when the Toltecs civilization began to fall one of the only true evidence of successful trade from the city to the outside world came from a nearby obsidian mine and evidence of that volcanic glass being made into knives and the heads of arrows that spread throughout the regions archaeologists did find both Pacific and Gulf of Mexico shells at the site and however which does indicate they've traded for those as well what they found at Tula what was the truth when archeologists and other researchers came to find Tula and began to reclaim it from nature they did not find heaps of gold and gemstones cleverly transformed with artistic mastery the city itself rests atop the hill made of white limestone they discovered a palace shoe pyramid temples a walkway with columns lining it shoe ball game courts and many houses grouped together we're more commonly people would live the residential area has a vast wall around the whole thing and groups of five homes with courtyard at the center to indicate the importance of religion to the Toltec people each housing group also had a central altar while there are decorations on the ball courts and temples most of the everyday buildings are rather plain the Toltec people certainly did leave some interesting sculpture behind however columns that would have boarded the doorways to the top temple room still stand there carvings show feathered serpents which may indicate the importance of quetzel Codel to the people who worship there on the top of one of the pyramid temples stands several large stone warriors carved in unique detail the intricate carving clearly show that these stone men are ready for battle with their chest armor drum addresses and spear throwing weaponry the strong similarities between the column statues seem to indicate that there may have been mass produced by multiple people working off one plan originally these warriors probably held up a roof on their white heads the pyramid itself the nearby l-shaped wall and the ball court oscillate considerable decoration on the outside the three-dimensional freezes showed popular animals that warrior cultures frequently used in the area namely it included coyotes wolves and Jaguars signs that combine snakes with skeletons seem to indicate a presence of usual religious sacrificial rites expected in the area as well along with uniquely feathered animals and serpents the carvings also included images of eagles one unique example of the start of a multicultural artistic style was the presence of cosmos these statues of men lied down on the ground and hold a bowl or other dish on top of themselves knowledge gleaned from other cultures after the Toltec revealed that these bowls were used for various sacrificial items and substances their position on the top surface of the temple makes more sense that way it was only having the rise of Chula that these unique warrior figures would start to make an appearance in other civilizations what the Toltec brought to other civilizations so many different groups arose around the same time in Mesoamerica that it can become difficult to figure out who started what when and how it spread through trade in assimilation however bulky Maya and Aztec records show that they valued the Toltec contributions to their cultures besides the direct stories and documentation the evidence includes the simple fact that many of the early Toltec knowledge crafts styles and practices appeared in both later peoples they represented the Golden Age of advancement in the ancient Mesoamerican world besides the aforementioned metalworking skills art styles and architectural influences the Toltec also began the concept of writing and greatly contributed to the understanding of medicinal herbs and methods to stave off illness and infection again it's rather difficult to figure out if the Toltecs were the source of these things or just the ones who augmented them in a sufficient way to spark the interest of the later groups they did pass on several of their gods including the very well known Quetzalcoatl above anything else the fact that the mighty Aztec wanted to claim the Toltecs as their ancestors cemented the idea that the earlier civilization had true greatness in the mind of historians no group as powerful and important as the Aztecs would align themselves with anything less than true greatness their language even reflected this not only do they called skilled artisans till TECA they used the word toltec äôt to describe those who have exceptional skill and many things a beasts 'full group in ancient Mesoamerica could potentially survive for quite some time if they successfully grew food crops had access to highly desired resources like obsidian amethyst or shellfish or an a skilled population of Potter's metallurgists jewelry makers stone cutters or any other type of artisan however eventually someone would come along and want their goods land or people for their very own groups would wage war on each other regularly in those days and the Toltecs were no strangers to battle instead of simply defending themselves they had a culture of warriors and influence the people around them through might and conquest this undoubtedly let their culture thrive for a considerable amount of time have the energy to create new artistry styles and architectural techniques and spread their influence farther than many other cultures the desire for riches or increased population did not seem to drive the Toltec in any big way of course these were always a part of the benefits of controlling a nearby group of people instead their warriors were religious zealots intent on spreading the belief in their serpent God Quetzalcoatl god of rain and lightning named to Tlaloc what made the Toltecs such formidable warriors part of their focus of developing technologies was put into weapons and armor that would outperform the types used by local groups for example through the statuary still in existence at the Tula pyramid temple researchers know that each fighter would wear padded armor on his arms and sometimes body this appeared to be more prominent on the arm that held a small shield the chest plates which were shaped much like small butterfly probably existed for decoration more than protection however they could have softened blows from clubs or dull swords and protected a warrior's heart to some degree one of the more intriguing pieces that was found at Tula was a tunic crafted with seashells compared to other armor types it would have offered some real protection but archaeologists expect it was more for show a king or captain of one of the warrior groups may have worn it to show his rank before offering it to the gods in tribute it was in an offering vessel at the palace when it came to weapons the Toltec fighters were quite well prepared for both melee and ranged combat for close quarters fighting they would use stones or metal knives short swords and heavy maces there is let a unique item consisted of a curved maze with blades inlaid in it this was a very early precursor to the concept of a spiked Club the Toltec fighters also had a powerful tool to help them attack from far away and Atlanta consisted of a type of short stick with a groove in it the end of a spear or javelin will be placed in that group and with a strong forward lunge the warrior would use it to propel the spear farther and faster than he could by hand it works on a basic leverage technique although simple the Atlanta gave the Toltec the ability to damage more enemies before they became in range of the close fighters Wetzel Codel his importance and spread why the Toltec people decided to worship quetzel Codel in the first place may never be known other than the fact that he seemed to be the most powerful he was depicted as a humanoid who shared characteristics of a serpent and a bird in that he had feathers all over him the name itself comes from two words for feather and serpent while some pictorial representations of this deity show a dragon-like figure with feathers on it the most common presentation remains primarily human throughout the history of Mesoamerica this God is featured in more belief systems than any other it seems what made him so important and how did he spread quickly from the Toltec to many other groups who rose and fell throughout this section of the ancient world as with many other things in Mesoamerica the pantheon of gods worshipped by the many of the cultures started long ago with the Olmec these people who lived from the 1200s to the 500s BCE existed centuries before the Toltec arose as a power in the area the Olmec believed in quetzel Codel but did not form any strong attachment to him what historians would call a cult following only showed up around the time of Toltec the very early depictions of quetzel Codel seemed to associate him with fertility crops and vegetation in general of course for an agricultural community he would be one of the deities that many people would pay homage to and give sacrifices for his association with the rain god clock made sense for the same reasons back in the days of the Olmec firming successfully was much more important than creating weapons and attacking people it's nearby locations therefore it makes sense that these gods would remain the primary focus of their interests by the time the Toltec adopted worship of both putzel Codel and Schley lok they've changed quite a bit from the apparently peaceful agricultural start instead of a focus on plants the feathered serpent now stood for morning and evening death and rebirth and war in sacrifice all these things tied together in the far-reaching Mesoamerican belief in a cyclical existence governed by the deities and the movement of the cosmos Whetzel Codel became a type of multi-purpose God that changed frequently from one civilization to the next for the Toltec he represented fierce battle and the glory of a Warrior's death the shared worship with blue lock ended up having quetzel Codel associated with storms and wind as well to the Aztec he lined with Venus which contributed to one of their three calendars and focused on science education and art work and craftsmen he also returned to his agricultural roots and people would give him offerings to ensure successful crops among this deities other important characteristics they also believed he created maize agriculture whether science the calendar death Venus and more why not throw quetzel Codel into the mix of creation myths as well according to the Aztec who probably got the idea from the Toltec quetzel Codel was one of the children of the original creators of the world and humankind in fact this winged serpent was instrumental in helping them form the structure of the land that everyone lived upon the creation myth itself includes a battle between brothers rampaging Jaguars the destruction of humankind and its recreation other civilizations see the creation is a more cooperative effort Wetzel Codel and his brother fly up into the heavens and rip apart a giant monster to form the earth in the sky some stories say they also created all the other gods humankind again these celestial bodies and pretty much everything else for the people who believe that quetzel Codel was instrumental in creating people in the world it makes sense to honor him quite strongly and it carrie has named other civilizations in the Mesoamerican region one legend even state that he used his own blood to mix with bones from the underworld in order to create men and women after all how can people refuse to worship something that created virtually everything the Toltec people worship quetzel Codel with a fervor unlike any other people in the area this is when historians say the cult of this feathered serpent God began during their forays into other people's land the warriors from that civilization forcibly spread their belief in the importance of this deity above many others the toltec have a tale of how quetzel Codel died or disappeared from their enthusiastic worshipping they apparently turn their beliefs around and abandon their interest in this God quite abruptly there was some disagreement between a king or priest and Tula and quetzel Codel about what type of sacrifices were appropriate to give one of the other gods did not appreciate quetzel codels ideas got him drunk tricked him into an embarrassing relationship and ended up convincing him to flee the area and shame some stories say that quetzel code up and became venus others say that he simply abandoned the land and journeyed eastward over the water well this fanciful story seems like it does not align with the cult-like worship that the Toltec people had and spread throughout Mesoamerica some researchers think it was indicative of some strife in chula that pitted the priests against the nobility prior to the rise of the warrior class the religious leaders held most of the power and this and a civilizations of the time nets which could have been the impetus for the abandonment of quetzel Codel some even suggest that quetzel Kota was a real man who controlled tool in the early days after the division or switch in power he and perhaps some of his followers traveled to the Mayan civilization out in the Yucatan Peninsula this would explain some of the unique similarities between Tula and chichen itza as well perhaps this man even called himself a god due to his perceived sense of power or simply to manipulate the Maya into accepting him as more than just another traveler what happened to the Toltec perhaps this switch in power had something to do with the downfall of the Toltec people when their primary God Quetzalcoatl other groups in the region may have sensed a chance to dominate if the Warriors took over for the priests class the power of the cult of quetzel Codel would have lost a lot of its influence the accomplished and mighty Toltecs civilization flourished until approximately 1150 seee then some group of power-hungry people came to tula attacked with amazing force and burned the temples palace and other flammable structures although the identity of the attackers could never be discovered it's not too much of a stretch to realize that any number of the near hich Mecca groups would have preferred the Toltec to not attack them on a regular basis the Toltec were warriors fiercely dedicated to their feathered serpent God cult it seems that one group was not interested in following their ways whoever destroyed Tula these civilization fell apart quickly afterward whether the later Aztecs were their descendents or they just claimed that to make themselves appear more advanced or fiercer is not exactly known as with most attacks on a city the chance of all the Toltec being removed by the outside forces is quite slim chances are plenty of them were survived and we're either enslaved or assimilated into the other people in the area of the Aztec civilization some archaeological evidence points to a triple alliance forming between the Toltecs and to other civilizations in the area this was not an uncommon event with all the different groups scattered throughout the region the destruction of Tula may have occurred because the bulk of their warriors were off somewhere else then when they found nothing to come home to they simply joined the associated groups some scholars even believe that the Toltec ended up a more nomadic group of warriors who fought with others for resources and land but never again built up a true city or had any long lasting settlements if they maintained even part of their strength they would still have been formidable foes other facts indicate that a regional drought in the time period of their demise probably weakened their civilization to a point where they could no longer defend their city sufficiently if they could no longer trade effectively or grow their own crops the people would die or end up beholden to other groups why are the Toltec so revered with the Olmec considered the forefathers of any civilization in the Mesoamerican region and the Aztecs the mightest and largest it seems like most of these smaller groups would fade into obscurity more easily of course historians and archaeologists love to solve a good mystery and finding new artifacts even now can excite their interest the Toltecs seem great mostly because of their influence on the Aztecs and claims of other civilizations that important rulers and even gods sprung from this group however there are two mysteries that spark even more interest in the minds of the curious all these years later first the comparisons between Tula and the Mayan city of Chichen itzá seem considerably too perfect to dismiss if the Toltec did invade the Yucatan Peninsula and reach that far into Maya territory it would be an amazing feat even more outstanding is the idea that these Mesoamerican people traded with native tribes in North America the Toltec people are long gone or fully assimilated into other cultures by the time the Spanish explorers landed on the shores of Mesoamerica the Europeans may have found Shula but it had already been looted of its art and splendor by the Aztec long before their time a much later comparison between quetzel Codel and Hernando Cortes came about when research was being done about the conquistadors and how they conquered the Aztec world the original story of the feathered serpent God abandoning the Toltec because of the disagreement about sacrifices ended with him going eastward at that point the tales also stated that he would come back one day to the people who had supported him and worshiped him for so long somewhere along the way Cortes was compared to quetzel Codel a few people suggested that the Aztec King Montezuma did not ignition alia tack and because he thought he was a god however there's no real historical record of this being true it seems more likely that Montezuma would have considered the Europeans a potential asset to his plan to grow the civilization even larger whether quetzel Codel was an ancient God or just a powerful man in the Toltec civilization had a considerable influence on the entire region for hundreds of years [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: DTTV - Archaeology Answers

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Published: Sat Dec 07 2019