Toltec

“LA HISTORIA de la conquista de México” constituye la parte segunda de la Historia general de Indias, como ya hemos indicado. Podemos pensar que la idea primaria de Francisco López de Gómara fue escribir sólo sobre la conquista de México, pero para ubicarla en el contexto americano, decidió referirse primero a todo lo acontecido en América. Decimos tal cosa porque los dos textos los escribió durante su residencia en la casa de Hernán Cortés y por supuesto que de sus pláticas con él, y de informaciones recabadas de otros conquistadores, le nació el deseo de escribir y dar a conocer todo lo relativo a la actuación del extremeño en tierras mexicanas.
Para nosotros el plan de la obra tuvo un diseño muy sencillo. Se trataba de referir la actuación de Hernán Cortés durante la conquista de México y, a la vez, dar a conocer quiénes eran las gentes que habitaban estas tierras, así como las costumbres y formas de vida de que eran poseedores. Éste fue el programa que desarrolló López de Gómara al escribir su Historia de la conquista de México, como tendremos oportunidad de comprobar en el curso de este estudio.

The fourth known pre-Columbian Maya codex—the only one discovered in the 20th century—was found by looters in the mid-1960s. First exhibited in New York in 1971, what has come to be known as the Grolier Codex is half of a hybrid-style 20-page, 104-year Mesoamerican divinatory Venus Almanac. With new radiocarbon dates that place it in the 13th century CE, it is likely to be the oldest surviving book on paper from the Americas as well as the only ancient Maya codex now residing in Mexico. Although most Mayanists have accepted it as authentic, based in part on the author’s 40 years of research,* it remains an unacknowledged Mexican national treasure as it has never been officially recognized except in the State of Chiapas. Mesoamerican Venus Almanacs were widely used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to regulate practices of sacred warfare and ritual sacrifice, the goal of which was to obtain captives whose blood was shed to invoke the personified forces of rain and fertility. The Grolier Codex offers unique images of 10 of the 20 manifestations of Venus (named in the Maya Dresden Codex), greatly enriching our knowledge of these traditions documented in four other pre-Columbian codices as well as numerous archaeological and ethnohistoric sources. This article is a summary of the talk given on November 7, 2014 to the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC and includes a brief history of accounts of the discovery of the Grolier Codex and allegedly associated artifacts; photographic history; outlines the author’s comprehensive program of research, including several new scientific discoveries leading to an interpretation of the Codex—based on the Dresden Codex and other sources; and offers a new Latinized name that recognizes that the “Codex Mayano-Mexicanus” is an authentic ancient book deriving from the Maya culture and now properly residing in Mexico.

          *See <http://umd.academia.edu/JohnBCarlson>.

Also utilized as part of the November 7, 2014 talk are TWO 1983 historical STUDY GUIDE documents which can be viewed at the following academia.edu links:

• GROLIER CODEX Page Study Guide: Pages 1-9 and Reconstructed Page 10/11 (1983): 

https://www.academia.edu/7911420/GROLIER_CODEX_Page_Study_Guide_Pages_1-9_and_Reconstructed_Page_10_11

• GROLIER CODEX Comparative Study Guide (1983): Grolier pages 1-9 and reconstructed page 10/11 with Maya Dresden Codex Venus Almanac page numbers 48/1 – 50/2 with Venus Station and Directional Associations; Names (on Dresden Rows 17 & 22) of the associated Venus Impersonators; and Initial (1983) interpretations of the Grolier Codex scenes & iconographic interpretations. Over the three decades since 1983, some of the glyphic and iconographic interpretations have changed, as discussed in the presentation. The details are in press:

https://www.academia.edu/9208071/GROLIER_CODEX_Comparative_Study_Guide_1983_

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This article has been posted on Academia.edu as part of the Grolier Codex Project of the Center for Archaeoastronomy under the directorship of John B. Carlson, Ph.D.  The Grolier Codex Project seeks to further advance the study of the Maya Grolier Codex.

The famous Toltec historical figure Nacxitl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, in Yucatan known as Kukulcan and referred to as Nacxit in the Popol Vuh, appears in Mixtec historical codices and Lienzos of the Coixtlahuaca Valley as Lord 4 Jaguar, ruler of Cholula and important ally of the Mixtec ruler Lord 8 Deer. Different arguments for this identification are presented and the chronological implications are discussed in detail.

The pictographic codices from the Mixtec region (State of Oaxaca, Mexico) are fascinating examples of pre-colonial Mesoamerican historiography. The most important protagonist of these manuscripts is Lord 8 Deer 'Jaguar Claw' (A.D. 1063-1115). A crucial element in his dramatized biography is his interaction with a king of the Toltecs, called Lord 4 Jaguar. This article compares the codex scenes in which these personages are present with the information given by Central-Mexican and Maya chronicles on Toltec history. The Toltec capital mentioned by the Mixtec codices is identified as Cholula. The Mixtec description of Lord 4 Jaguar coincides completely with what other sources tell about the ruler of Cholula, known as Nacxitl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan, who connected the Toltec realm with the Maya world in the Early Postclassic period.

Commentary on the precolonial Mixtec historical codex Zouche-Nuttall, which contains several important ancient genealogies and also a crucial part of the dramatic biography of the Mixtec ruler Lord 8 Deer 'Jaguar Claw'. The commentary discusses the Map of Teozacualco (with geographical identifications) and offers examples of readings of passages in the Mixtec language.

Smith, Michael E. (2007) Tula and Chichén Itzá: Are We Asking the Right Questions? In Twin Tollans: Chichén Itzá, Tula, and the Epiclassic to Early Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Jeff Karl Kowalski and Cynthia Kristan-Graham, pp. 579-617. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.

In this paper presented at the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC, November 2013, the author proposes answers to questions which have puzzled scholars since the 19th century concerning the enigmatic recumbent Mesoamerican figure known as the "chacmool", so named by French adventurer and photographer Augustus Le Plongeon.  While most scholars are convinced that chacmools were a genuine innovation for a specific type of sacrificial altar for the placement of an offering bowl, several key questions have remained: (1) What was the culture and place of origin of this remarkable sculptural innovation? (2) Who were these male figures?  (3) What is the origin and meaning of the challenging recumbent pose for these human figures with the unblinking, enigmatic gaze? (4) What were they, and what were they called, or described with a phrase, in any Mesoamerican language? Based on recent archaeological discoveries, the author presents a new interpretation of the "chacmool" as the elite "hip ulama" ball game ballplayer stylistically rendered in a serene and formalized ritual “por abajo” stance, well after the game is over, to play the final role as the recipient of the sacrifices. With this new interpretation the author hopes to open the door to finding the indigenous name or description of the "chacmool".

these Toltecs and Itzas anyway? Were they related to the Olmeca Xicalanca, the Xiu, or the Nonoalca? Was there a special relationship between Tula and Chichin? These are typical of the questions scholars have asked about the relationship between Tula and Chichtn ItA, from early debates between Desire Charnay and Daniel Brinton through some of the chapters in this volume.

Una de las principales discusiones sobre el papel de Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl en la historia de Mesoamérica se ha centrado en el lugar que éste ocupó en la sucesión de gobernantes de Tula. Paul Kirchhoff y Wigberto Jiménez Moreno iniciaron esta discusión. A partir de entonces, algunos autores sostienen que Ce Acatl fue uno de los primeros tlahtoque de los toltecas; otros, que fue contemporáneo de Huemac y testigo de la caída de Tula. Este artículo ofrece un análisis de la historia de Ce Acatl desde la tradición colhua, a través de la cual es posible establecer que este gobernante se ubicó en la mitad de la línea de sucesión. Además, en el texto se abordan temas como los vínculos familiares de Ce Acatl, el contexto en el que se estableció la primera excan tlahtoloyan y las características del sistema de gobierno entre los toltecas.

Reconsidering the "Epic" in the Epiclassic Period of Mesoamerica
Cynthia Kristan-Graham & Andrew Turner, organizers

The Epiclassic period (AD 600-900) embodies “epic” in both its noun and adjective forms, referring to heroic narratives and something that is impressive and grand in scale. The volumes "Mesoamerica After the Decline of Teotihuacan" and "Twin Tollans" (both Dumbarton Oaks) illuminated this period, yet given a recent resurgence of scholarship devoted to the Epiclassic, further assessment is timely. The declines of Teotihuacan and the Classic Maya cites were nuanced processes, as were the growth and development of the cities that arose in response to new economic and political opportunities. Papers will address specific aspects of the Epiclassic period, including the evolution of new population centers, exchange patterns, language, and other symbol systems; the value of visual culture in helping to discern social change; archaeological evidence that affirms or suggests new chronologies; and archaeological evidence that expands the original idea parameters of the Epiclassic. Finally, some papers will offer theoretical models for approaching this crucial era in Mesoamerica and ponder the validity of the Epiclassic period as it is currently understood.

Se presentan los resultados generales de un salvamento arqueológico realizado en San Simón Pochtlan, Azcapotzalco, Cuenca de México. El sitio tiene ocupación humana desde desde el Postclásico temprano, en un asentamiento vinculado con producción salinera, además de la presencia de tipos reportados en Tula. El carácter de sitio continuó durante el Postclásico medio, ahora con materiales Azteca II; no obstante, en un momento posterior de la misma fase, se construyó ahí una plataforma arquitectónica de dos metros de espesor. Esta estructura tuvo un sistema basado en cajones de adobes como parte de su núcleo constructivo.

In Mesoamerica, the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) is characterized by the long-distance circulation of pottery with a very hard and shiny coating with a metallic aspect, known as Plumbate ware. Plumbate is linked stylistically to the Toltec culture but was produced in workshops in Soconusco (Chiapas). The discovery of a similar collection of sherds during recent work at the site of El Palacio (Zacapu, Michoacán) shows that Plumbate ware also reached this region of Western Mexico. We carried out instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) on 11 of the Zacapu fragments and compared the results to the data from ceramic pastes from the region of Soconusco and Pátzcuaro Basin (Michoacán). Ten sherds were produced in Michoacán and are thus a local imitation, whereas the last fragment corresponds to a Tohil-type Plumbate paste and was transported over a long distance. This raises questions of the modalities for the circulation of this pot and the conditions allowing for production of an imitation (transfer of technical know-how?), which we suggest is linked to the Toltec culture in the center of Mexico.

Survey course focusing on the major historical, political and social developments in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Australasia, from the Neolithic to the Reformation. This course incorporates multiple formative assessments to foster critical reading and analytical skills to help students prepare for summative projects and assessments.

The article illuminates the philosophy of the Toltecs, based on the evolving human consciousness. The ancient practices allowed for the warrior-Toltec to expand his consciousness. Then he could “see” and realize the transcendental realities, thus they cease to be illusions, unreal and fantasies.
        The author puts an accent in the article on the “flying creatures” (voladores) that are described by the Nagual-mystics as beings feeding on human consciousness; that is accordingly the reason why the human mind could comprehend only the 3D reality. The human population has forgotten its spiritual nature due to the lack of energy and consciousness and developed an aggressive way of living. The cosmic energies emanating after 2012 will influence the human consciousness by allowing it to change its perceptions and remember its cosmic origin.

Maya, Azteken, Tolteken, Teotihuacán, Chimú, Moche, Tiawanacu und Inka – die alten, präkolumbischen Hochkulturen Lateinamerikas waren vielfältig und spannend. Das Seminar ermittelt einen Überblick zur Besiedelung und Entwicklung Lateinamerikas, noch bevor die Europäer in der „Neuen Welt“ landeten: von den ersten Jäger- und Sammelkulturen bis zu mehr und wenig bekannten, hochentwickelten Zivilisationen, ihren Religionen, Sprachen, Geschichte und Archäologie.

Maya, Azteken, Tolteken, Teotihuacán, Olmeken, Zapoteken und Mixteken – die alten, präkolumbischen Hochkulturen Mesoamerikas waren sehr vielfältig. Das Seminar ermittelt einen Überblick zur Besiedelung und Entwicklung Mesoamerikas, noch bevor die Europäer in der „Neuen Welt“ landeten: von den ersten Jäger- und Sammelkulturen bis zu mehr und wenig bekannten,hochentwickelten Zivilisationen, ihren Religionen, Sprachen, Geschichte und Archäologie.

During an archaeological rescue on Tula’s southwestern urban settlement, two zoomorphic pendants made of the nacreous bivalve Pinctada mazatlanica were found. Such elements belong to a residential compound dedicated to the production of prestige goods for the elite at the Toltec capital.
The importance of these objects analysis lies on the fact that both are on-site taxidermy renderings of two canines. This essay main purpose is to identify the biological zoomorphic renderings and its character, since it’s possible that the samples were not living animals but a depiction of their hides. This research will also analyze the manufacturing technology of these pendants using experimental archaeology, Optical Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy, which indicate a local production controlled by the ruling class.