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The Toltec civilization was a culture of the Postclassic period of Mesoamerica that developed in the central highlands of Mexico, filling the power vacuum left by the disintegration of Teotihuacán in the seventh century. The Toltecs were a nomadic people until, at the end of the 7th century, they settled in what is now Tula de Allende, in the state of Hidalgo. Its main urban center was Tula and its period of splendor extended from the 10th century to the mid-12th century, when the Chichimecas conquered the capital. Archaeological records suggest that Tula was the center of a trade network that received products from places ranging from the Pacific coast to Central America, either through trade or as tribute.
Trade in Mesoamerican civilizations
The Toltecs were not the first Mesoamerican civilization to have a developed trading system. The Olmec culture was the first great Mesoamerican civilization, having developed in what are now the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico.
The first great Olmec settlement was the city of San Lorenzo, which was founded around 1800 BC and reached its maximum development between 1400 and 1000 BC. With the decline of San Lorenzo, the city of La Venta emerged, the second great Olmec settlement, which was abandoned around 400 BC.
The Olmecs traded with their neighbors, as did the Maya, who had established trade routes that extended beyond their territories. The civilization that developed with its epicenter in Teotihuacán and that was the dominant culture between the 3rd and 7th centuries also had an extensive commercial network. When the Toltec culture reached its peak, military conquests and the subjugation of vassal states increased the revenues from their trade.
tulla
Tula was the main urban center of the Toltec civilization, with Tulancingo and Huapalcalco being two other important cities. Tolteca is a Nahuatl word; Tōltēcatl , is the conjunction of Tollan which means Tula , and Tēcatl , inhabitant of . That is to say, that in Nahuatl the Toltecs were the inhabitants of Tula.
One of the main archaeological sites where vestiges of the Toltec civilization are found is Tula, however, the site has suffered repeated looting. Even before the arrival of the Spanish, the Aztecs, who revered the Toltecs, had stripped the city of sculptures and relics. Later, at the time of the Spanish conquest, looters appropriated virtually all of the Toltec cultural heritage.
Due to the many lootings during its history, in Tula there are few records of the extensive commercial network that they developed. For example, although jade was one of the most commercially valuable materials in Mesoamerica, only one jade piece has been found in Tula. But ceramic pieces from distant regions of Central America have been found in Tula, as well as shells of marine organisms from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Among the marine materials found, the so-called Coraza de Tula stands out, a beautiful ceremonial attire made up of 1413 shell and snail earrings; it was found in a chest buried in the Palacio Quemado.
Tula production
Archaeological records seem to suggest that Tula did not produce a great deal of commercial goods. Many everyday ceramic pieces of the Mazapán style were found, which suggests that they were produced in Tula itself or somewhere nearby. They also produced stoneware vessels, cotton cloth, and obsidian items such as knife blades. It is possible that the Toltecs traded in perishable items such as food, cloth, or woven reed items that would have deteriorated over time, so no vestiges are found.
The Toltecs had highly developed agriculture and possibly exported part of the product from their crops. In addition, they had access to green obsidian, a very valuable and scarce material that could be found near present-day Pachuca.
The Tula Trade
A theory put forward by some archaeologists says that trade in post-classic Mesoamerica was dominated by the different cultures of the Gulf of Mexico coast, where various civilizations had developed since the time of the Olmecs. During the hegemony of Teotihuacán in the central highlands of Mexico, before the rise of the Toltecs, the peoples of the Gulf carried out an intense trade. Tula’s location, its low production of tradable goods, and its dependence on trade tribute would have limited its commercial development in the region.
Sources
Enrique Florescano. Quetzalcoatl and the founding myths of Mesoamerica. Taurus, Mexico, 2012.
The Toltecs Mexican Archeology, No 85, 2007.
Miguel Guevara Chumacero. Tula Building 3. Palace or council room? Academia.edu , 2003.
Robert H. Cobean, Elizabeth Jimenez Garcia, Alba Guadalupe Mastache. tulla . Economic Culture Fund, Mexico, 2012.
