Tula (Mesoamerican site)
Atlantean columns on Pyramid B in form of Toltec warriors.
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 Location within Mesoamerica
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| Location |
Hidalgo,  Mexico
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| Region | Hidalgo |
| Coordinates | 20°3′50.96″N 99°20′26.89″W / 20.0641556°N 99.3408028°W |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Preclassic to Late Classic |
Coordinates: 20°3′50.96″N 99°20′26.89″W / 20.0641556°N 99.3408028°W
Tula is a Mesoamerican archeological site, which was an important regional center which reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Tenochtitlan. It has not been well studied in comparison to these other two sites, and disputes remain as to its political system, area of influence and its relations with contemporary Mesoamerican cities, especially with Chichen Itza. The site is located in the city of Tula de Allende in the Tula Valley, in what is now the southwest of the Mexican state of Hidalgo, northwest of Mexico City. The archeological site consists of a museum, remains of an earlier settlement called Tula Chico as well as the main ceremonial site called Tula Grande. The main attraction is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl which is topped by four, four metre high basalt columns carved in the shape of Toltec warriors. Tula fell around 1150, but it had significant influence in the following Aztec Empire, with its history written about heavily in myth. The feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl is linked to this city, whose worship was widespread from central Mexico to Central America at the time the Spanish arrived.
The Tula site is important to the history of Mesoamerica, especially the central highlands of Mexico, but it is generally overshadowed by its predecessor Teotihuacan and one of its successors, Tenochtitlan. The name Tula is derived from the Nahuatl phrase Tollan Xicocotitlan, which means 'near the cattails'. However, the Aztecs applied the term Tollan to mean 'urban center', and it was also used to indicate other sites such as Teotihuacan, Cholula and Tenochtitlan. The inhabitants of Tula were called Toltecs, but that term was later broadened to mean an urban person, artisan or skilled worker. This was due to the high respect in which the indigenous peoples in the Valley of Mexico held the ancient civilization before the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
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Wikipedia