What kind of art did the Toltec culture produce?

The Toltecs produced various artistic works and stood out, mainly, in architecture, sculpture and pottery. Toltec art was characterized by the great influence of its warrior culture, its political order and its religious beliefs.

The Toltecs and art

The Toltecs were a civilization that arose around 850 AD with the union of various ethnic groups from central Mexico, such as the Chichimecas, the Nonoalcas, and the Teotihuacanos. The Toltecs first settled in Culhuacán and later settled permanently in Tula, which was a large urban center until approximately AD 1150. C. The name of this city derives from the Nahuatl word tollan , which means “place of the reeds”. The word Toltec or toltéctl was the demonym with which the inhabitants of Tula were identified, since it means “coming from Tollan”. 

The influence of Toltec art was so important that toltécatl became the term used in other Mesoamerican cultures to define artisans, artists, or people who excelled in the arts.

The flowering of Toltec culture and art occurred during the rule of Ce Ácatl Topiltzin Quetzalcóatl, a Toltec king who considered himself the personification of the god Quetzalcóatl and son of the god Mixcoatl. Supposedly, Topiltzin greatly contributed to the development of the arts in Tula.

In addition to a strong artistic profile, the Toltecs were a warrior and religious people, who worshiped various gods, especially the god Tezcatlipoca, god of the night and the constellations, creator of heaven and earth; the god of rain, Tlaloc; and Quetzalcóatl, the god of life, civilization and knowledge. This was reflected in Toltec architecture, sculpture, and ceramics, which in their time were highly valued by other peoples and formed a significant part of Tula’s commerce and economy.

The preservation of Toltec art

After several conflicts and droughts, the fall of the Toltec city and the subsequent Spanish conquest, most of the artistic legacy of this civilization was lost. In the twelfth century AD. C., Tula was sacked and burned and many of its records, buildings and works of art were destroyed. Later, other cultures, such as the Aztecs, used the stones from the Toltec ruins to build other buildings.

Although Toltec art has not been preserved in the same way as Mayan or Aztec art, some vestiges of the artistic skills of this civilization still remain today.

Characteristics and examples of Toltec art

Undoubtedly, Toltec art had its own distinctive characteristics that set it apart from other cultures in terms of painting, sculpture, pottery, and architecture. Mainly, it was characterized by:

• Reflect your vision of the world and the cosmos.
• Represent gods, rulers and elite warriors.
• Incorporate the use of sculptures to support the roofs of the temples.
• Prefer the color red as the base of your decorations.
• Make detailed reliefs on murals, friezes and other objects.

toltec painting

Toltec painting was distinguished by the abundance of reddish, ocher and blue or turquoise tones in the decoration of buildings, statues, sculptures, ceramics and all kinds of objects. Most of the sculptures and ritual and everyday utensils were made of stone or polychrome ceramic, that is, they were decorated with various colors.

Although not many examples of Toltec painting have survived, it is known that the Toltecs also used the fresco technique to decorate their buildings.

toltec pottery

Pottery was one of the most developed industries in Tula. Among the Toltec ruins, thousands of intact pieces and ceramic remains of vessels and objects that the inhabitants used in daily life, exchanged and traded with other peoples, were found. 

One of the most distinguished examples of Toltec ceramics preserved in the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico is the terracotta piece covered with mother-of-pearl that represents the head of a man emerging from the jaws of a coyote. 

In addition, there are statuettes of gods and warriors, vessels, containers and other ceramic utensils decorated in red in the Toltec Coyotlatelco style .

The Toltecs also developed another style known as Mazapa , which was characterized by including red or brown straight or wavy line designs inside the vessels. 

toltec sculpture

Toltec art was also noted for its refined sculptures carved in stone with well-defined lines and a standard theme. Generally, they represented male figures who could be warriors, rulers or gods, who carried weapons and wore a feathered headdress. They could also be accompanied by representations of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. Some of these sculptures served as decoration for buildings, pyramids and temples.

The most characteristic sculptures of Toltec art were:

• The Atlanteans: they were stone statues with standing anthropomorphic figures, generally large, which served as support and decoration for the roofs of temples and other buildings. The best-known example of this type of sculpture is the 4.65-meter-tall Atlanteans carved from basalt stone on top of Pyramid B in Tula. These sculptures were made with the tenoning technique in four parts and represent four high-ranking Toltec warriors. The Atlanteans guarded the Temple of the Morning Star. In their right hand they hold an atlatl or dart shooter; and on the left they have darts.
• The Chac Mool: they were smaller statues, which represented men sitting and reclining, with their heads to one side and holding different containers on their bellies. These sculptures were associated with the cult of the rain god, Tlaloc, and represented the fertility of the earth and of human beings. Chac Mool means “red tiger” and it is a name assigned to them by the American archaeologist Augustus Le Plongeon, when he discovered the first sculpture of this type in Chichén Itzá.

Another interesting example of Toltec sculpture that allows you to observe the detail and relief of the works of this civilization is the Calendar with four glyphs, a stone sculpture that contains Mayan symbols.

toltec architecture

The Toltecs also stood out for their architectural style which, although it had a certain Teotihuacan influence, was characterized by incorporating several of its own elements in its structures and decoration, such as the Atlanteans, the Chac Mool, the murals, friezes and walls with reliefs, among others. In the Tula Mayor archaeological complex, there are ruins of the great Toltec constructions, among which were included: pyramids, temples, palaces, bureaucratic buildings and houses.

Toltec architecture stands out for:

• The use of limestone and basalt.
• Pyramid trunks: they were stepped structures that functioned as the base or pedestal of temples, palaces and other important buildings.
• Buildings with low doors and no windows. The dwellings included an altar in the center, and a pottery kiln.
• Murals and reliefs: These generally included depictions of gods or historical figures, and details of their attributes, clothing, and rank. They were accompanied by ornaments of geometric designs and other elements of the Toltec cosmogony, such as snakes. One example is Tula’s Wall of Snakes, which delimits the city’s sacred precinct and is adorned with reliefs of snakes devouring human skulls.
• Friezes: they were stone plates that were embedded in the walls or walls of buildings, pyramids or palaces. They used to depict religious, ritual and military scenes. An example of a Toltec frieze is the one found in Building 4 in Tula, which shows the procession of a priest disguised as a feathered serpent, representing the god Quetzalcoatl.
• Pilasters: they were supports with a quadrangular base and quite high, which fulfilled a function similar to that of the Atlanteans, that is, as support for other structures. Generally, the pilasters represented armed warriors. The Toltecs also included snake-shaped pillars.
• Stelae: they were stone pieces that were embedded in the ground and commemorated important people. The stelae showed people standing and facing them, as if it were a portrait or a photograph.
• Sidewalks: they were structures that were added to the lower part of the walls and served as seats. 
• Decoration: In addition to the aforementioned elements, Toltec ornamentation included mosaics with feathers, snakes, and jewels and adobe finishes, painted in different colors.

Other examples of Toltec architecture

Other examples of Toltec architecture are:

• Pyramid B: of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in the Tula Grande architectural complex, dedicated to the “morning star” or the “lord of dawn”, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the god of life, fertility, light and knowledge. This pyramid contains four Atlanteans, that is, assembled sculptures that represent warriors with knives, arrows and darts. Also, it includes four sculpted pilasters of human figures of Toltec rulers, each one with a glyph that probably indicated their name. In one of them there is a figure of Quetzalcóatl, as a man with a beard and a glyph in the shape of a feathered serpent.
• Pyramid C: although it is in ruins, this structure is considered the main axis of the sacred enclosure from which the city of Tula was designed and built.
• The Burnt Palace or Building B of Tula: in this building, vessels for domestic and ritual use, pipes, censers, braziers and other ceramic objects were found. It also contains friezes with the tezcacuitlapilli sun disk, cuauhxicalli or vessel with bleeding hearts, several Chac Mool sculptures, benches and altars.

Sources

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• Mexican history. Art and architecture in the Toltec Culture (2020). Available here .
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• Báez Urincho, F. The functionality of building 4 in Tula Grande . National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico. Available here .
• Hermoso-Espinosa García, S. The Toltecs, a People of Craftsmen and Warriors . (2008, April 9). homines. Available here .