Toltec

Tol·tec

T0254800 (tōl′tĕk′, tŏl′-)n. pl. Toltec or Tol·tecs A member of a Nahuatl-speaking people of central and southern Mexico whose empire flourished from the 10th century until it collapsed under invasion by the Aztecs in the 12th century.adj. also Tol·tec·an (tōl-tĕk′ən, tŏl-) Of or relating to the Toltec or their culture.

[Spanish tolteca, from Nahuatl toltecatl, artisan, mechanic.]

Toltec

(ˈtɒltɛk) n, pl -tecs or -tec (Historical Terms) a member of a Central American Indian people who dominated the valley of Mexico from their capital Tula from about 950 to 1160 ad, when the valley was overrun by the Aztecsadj (Peoples) of or relating to this people[C19: from Spanish tolteca, of American Indian origin]

Tol•tec

(ˈtoʊl tɛk, ˈtɒl-)

n., pl. -tecs, (esp. collectively) -tec, n. 1. a member of an American Indian people living in central Mexico before the advent of the Aztecs. adj. 2. Also, Tol•tec′an. of or pertaining to the Toltecs. [< Mexican Spanish tolteca < Nahuatl tōltēcah, pl. of tōltēcatl person from Tōllān Tula]

Toltec

1. AD 900–1200 During the 900s Toltec Indians established an empire, making Tula (north of Mexico City) their capital. They controlled the Valley of Mexico until 1200. A fierce people, they invaded the Yucatán Peninsula then rebuilt an old Mayan religious center, Chichén Itzá. They worshipped the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl and also believed in human sacrifice.2. A member of a people who ruled an empire in central and southern Mexico before being conquered by the Aztecs.

Thesaurus

Noun

Toltec - a member of the Nahuatl speaking people of central and southern MexicoNahuatl - a member of any of various Indian peoples of central Mexico

Toltec

(tŏl`tĕk), ancient civilization of Mexico. The name in Nahuatl means "master builders." The Toltec formed a warrior aristocracy that gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico c.A.D. 900 after the fall of Teotihuacán. Their early history is obscure but they seem to have had ancient links with the MixtecMixtec
, Native American people of Oaxaca, Puebla, and part of Guerrero, SW Mexico, one of the most important groups in Mexico. Although the Mixtec codices constitute the largest collection of pre-Columbian manuscripts in existence, their origin is obscure.
..... Click the link for more information. and the ZapotecZapotec
, indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Little is known of the origin of the Zapotec. Unlike most native peoples of Middle America, they had no traditions or legends of migration, but believed themselves to have been born
..... Click the link for more information. . Their capital was Tollán (see TulaTula
, ancient city in the present state of Hidalgo, central Mexico. It was one of the chief urban centers of the Toltec. The city is believed to be Tollán, the legendary Toltec capital mentioned in a number of postconquest sources, including Bernardino de
..... Click the link for more information. ). In architecture and the arts they were masters; they were influenced by Teotihuacán and the OlmecOlmec
, term denoting the culture of ancient Mexican natives inhabiting the tropical coastal plain of the contemporary states of Veracruz and Tabasco, between 1300 and 400 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. culture. CholulaCholula
or Cholula de Rivadabia
, city (1990 pop. 53,673), Puebla state, E central Mexico. The site of the famous Teocali de Cholula, a pre-Columbian pyramid of great antiquity, the city was an old Toltec center and, when the Spanish came, was an Aztec sacred
..... Click the link for more information. is considered to be a Toltec site. Toltec civilization was materially far advanced. They smelted metals, and their stonework was highly developed. Their polytheistic religion in later days seems to have centered about QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl
[Nahuatl,=feathered serpent], ancient deity and legendary ruler of the Toltec in Mexico. The name is also that of a Toltec ruler, who is credited with the discovery of corn, the arts, science, and the calendar.
..... Click the link for more information. . Their ceremonies included human sacrifice, sun worship, and a sacred ball game, tlatchli. They are said to have discovered pulque (a fermented drink), and they had considerable astronomical knowledge, as shown in their calendar cycle of 52 years of 260 days each. A period of southward expansion began c.1000 and resulted in Toltec domination of the MayaMaya
, indigenous people of S Mexico and Central America, occupying an area comprising the Yucatán peninsula and much of the present state of Chiapas in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, parts of El Salvador, and extreme western Honduras.
..... Click the link for more information. of Yucatán from the 11th to the 13th cent. Nomadic peoples (collectively termed the ChichimecChichimec
, general term for the peoples of the Valley of Mexico between the periods of Toltec ascendancy and Aztec ascendancy. Before the 11th cent. the Chichimec were nomadic peoples on the northern fringes of the valley. The Chichimec period (c.
..... Click the link for more information. ) brought about the fall of Tula and of the Toltec empire in the 13th cent., thus opening the way for the rise of the AztecAztec
, Indian people dominating central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. Their language belonged to the Nahuatlan subfamily of Uto-Aztecan languages. They arrived in the Valley of Mexico from the north toward the end of the 12th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . See also pre-Columbian art and architecturepre-Columbian art and architecture,
works of art and structures created in Central and South America before the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere. For many years the regions that are now Mexico and Guatemala and the Andean region of South America had been the cradle
..... Click the link for more information. .

Toltec

an American Indian people of the Nahuatl language group. In the eighth century A.D. the Toltec invaded central Mexico from the north, and in the ninth century they established a large state that embraced the central and northern regions of Mexico, with its capital in Cerro de la Estrella, and later in Tollen, now Tula.

The traditions of Teotihuacán and Xochicalco were nurtured in the Toltec culture. The principal deity was Quetzalcóatl. In the tenth century Toltec military detachments subjugated independent Mayan groups in the Yucatán and the highlands of Guatemala, where Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Mayapán, Qumarkaah, Ix-imché, and other important Mayan city-states were located. In the second half of the 12th century a new invasion from the north by warlike tribes, among whom were the Aztecs, put an end to Toltec dominion in Mexico. By the time of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the Toltec had long been a legendary people; all cultural achievements of the past were attributed to them. The Toltec exerted considerable influence on the development of the Aztec culture.

The relics of Toltec architecture and sculpture are striking in their monumentality and austere grandeur. The stepped pyramid in Tollán was decorated with reliefs of warriors, eagles, and jaguars, and the roof of the temple on top of the pyramid was supported by four colossal (4.6 m high), massive stone figures of warriors. Martial themes prevailed in Toltec art; figures of a semireclining god with a bowl for sacrifices were also common.

REFERENCE

Kinzhalov, R. V. Iskusslvo drevnei Ameriki. Moscow, 1962.

R. V. KINZHALOV

Toltec

Tol·tec

Toltec

Tol•tec

Toltec

Toltec

Toltec

Toltec

REFERENCE

Toltec

Words related to Toltec

noun a member of the Nahuatl speaking people of central and southern Mexico

Related Words