How was the social organization of the Toltecs?

In addition to raising monumental sculptures and amazing works of architecture, they were considered the creators of civilization and their creation the sum of perfection, here we will learn a little more about this culture and the Social organization of the Toltecs.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE TOLTEC

Social organization of the Toltecs

The Toltecs were a pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica that developed in the northern highlands of Mexico during the Postclassic Period between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries of our era. The main centers belonging to the Toltec culture were Huapalcalco in the city of Tulancingo and the city of Tollan Xicocotitlan, located in the current city of Tula de Allende, located in the state of Hidalgo. This city is famous for its unique stone statues, called Atlanteans.

Origin of the Toltecs

The term "Toltec" comes from the Nahuatl language and is translated as "master builders", this name is due to the fact that in the legends of the Nahuatl culture it is said that the Toltecs are the origin of all civilization, the Aztecs, to strengthen their superiority, claim descendants of the Toltecs.

The Toltecs are descendants of a nomadic people from which the Chichimecas also descend. Around the year seven hundred and fifty this town sacked Teotihuacán. Later they settled on the central plateau in the area currently occupied by the modern Mexican states of Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Mexico, Morelos and Puebla. Tula, its capital was conquered by the Chichimecas in the year 1168.

It is believed that the religion of the Toltec people was of the shamanic type and that it did not require temples or specific permanent places for their worship. The gods of the Toltecs were cosmic and represented the sky, water, earth, etc. However, from his religious vision comes the great figure of Quetzalcóatl, incarnation of the feathered serpent and one of the highest deities of the Mesoamerican pantheon.

The Toltecs had established a dualistic belief system. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who is believed to have sent Quetzalcoatl into exile. Another version of the myth claimed that he left voluntarily on a raft of snakes, promising his return soon.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE TOLTEC

The Aztecs, who belong to a culture subsequent to that of the Toltecs, maintain that they are the cultural and intellectual heirs of the Toltecs, and further affirm that the culture that emanates from the city of Tollan (name in Nahuatl for the city of Tula) it is the sum of perfection in civilization. The Aztec oral and pictographic tradition has also described the history of the Toltec empire by listing its rulers and their exploits.

Among scholars of our time, a question that generates debate is whether to credit Aztec accounts of Toltec history as descriptions of actual historical events. Although all scholars acknowledge that there is a great deal of mythology to narrative, some argue that using a critical comparative method, some level of historical truth can be extracted from the sources, while others argue that analyzing narratives as sources of actual history makes it difficult to access the true knowledge of the culture of Tula.

Art and culture

The national craft of the Toltecs, in addition to the production of utilitarian ceramics, the manufacture of stone mosaics and the production of fabrics, was the execution of objects decorated with multicolored feathers. The Toltecs made cloth, mosaics, and clothing from the feathers of various birds of unusual shapes and sizes. According to Toltec beliefs, their supreme deity was Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. Quetzalcóatl is the name given to the greatest ruler of the Toltec capital, the city of Tula, in the mid-XNUMXth century.

The temples dedicated to the supreme deity have always been very abundantly decorated: with gold, silver, turquoise, emeralds. In one of the temples everything was decorated with feathers; four rooms of the temple faced different directions of the world: with yellow feathers to the east, with blue feathers to the west, with white feathers to the south, with red feathers to the north.

The Toltecs credited Quetzalcoatl with inventing the divine drink, which leads to ecstasy and induces bliss, in addition to drinking from cocoa beans. Legends say that Quetzalcoatl was always against traditional Toltec rituals with bloody human sacrifices, but another god, Tezcatlipoca, the spirit of the night, spoke for them. Archaeologists have discovered traces of rituals in the vicinity of the ancient city of Chichen Itza, the Mayan priests wrote about this in the books of the time of the Spanish conquerors.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE TOLTEC

In their culture, the Toltecs developed the traditions of Teotihuacán and Xochicalco. The Toltec culture had a decisive impact on the formation of the Aztecs. The surviving monuments of Toltec architecture and sculpture are striking in their monumentality and severe grandeur.

The stepped pyramid was decorated with reliefs (warriors, eagles, jaguars), and the roof of the temple on top was supported by four colossal huge figures of stone warriors four meters sixty centimeters high each. Military themes predominated in Toltec art. Figures of a reclining god with a sacrificial bowl are also common.

The warrior Toltecs were also innovators in art and sculpture. The degree of importance that the Toltecs attached to war is evident when looking at the remains of their majestic monuments. Four load-bearing columns supported the roof of a pyramid (known as Pyramid B) and each column is a sculpture of a Toltec warrior.

Each of the warrior-shaped columns have the Toltec battle dress designed with multi-colored headdresses and hold an atlatl, a kind of Toltec spear. Each column is basically identical, indicating that the Toltecs were familiar with scientific management and mass production. All the pyramids that were found in the city of Tula contain pieces of art called friezes that consist of long sections of walls that are decorated with paintings and sculptures in relief on their surface.

One of these friezes, found in the pyramid known as Pyramid B, was over forty meters high and is decorated with images of jaguars and coyotes, symbols of war in the Toltec culture.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE TOLTEC

The large and colorful feathers used by the Toltecs and Aztecs in their decorations were the quetzal feathers and it was a tribute to the importance granted by these cultures to multicolored feathers. Quetzal feathers were also the ones that adorned the headdresses of the Toltec warriors and especially the headdresses of the Toltec nobility. Even their deities or are decorated with quetzal feathers, as is the case of the god Quetzalcóatl who is always represented with quetzal feathers that bears his name.

Social organization

Like most Mesoamerican cultures, the social organization of the Toltecs gave the greatest importance to military success. The nobility in the social organization of the Toltecs was made up of warriors who, due to their military triumphs, had climbed positions to be worthy of that rank. Along with the warriors were the pious men who could also be warriors.

For the Toltec culture, sacrifices to the divinities were essential. Proof of this is the Tzompantli, which is a shelf made with the skulls of enemies and with those of human sacrifices. Military nobility and religious leaders would have to ask the gods for permission before attempting an attack. For these reasons, the Toltec upper class would have to include both military and religious leaders working together over government, military, and religious rituals.

Artisans and other artists were part of the middle class in the social organization of the Toltecs. The peasants, responsible for the cultivation of enormous amounts of multicolored corn and cotton, would also have been part of the middle class. Astronomers shared this position, making additions to the Toltec calendar to keep track of planting and harvest times, and the celebration of religious festivals and ceremonies.

Here are some links of interest:


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Actualidad Blog
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.