TOLTEC CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO

The Toltec civilization was one of the ancient groups of people found in Mexico.  Known for creating a warrior aristocracy, the Toltec people gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico sometime after AD 900, which was after the fall of Teotihuacan.  During the early years, these people were believed to have connections with the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations.

The capital for the Toltec civilization was Tollan.  Then, when it came to arts and agriculture, the Toltecs were brilliant masters.  Influences strongly by the Teotihuacan and Olmec cultures, the Toltec people were great creators.  In fact, historians believe this civilization was ahead of their time, coming up with creations far advanced for what they had on hand.  For instance, they would smelt metals and create high tech stonework.

The Toltecs had a polytheistic religion in the later years, which was focused primarily on Quetzalcoatl.  They were known for offering human sacrifices during ceremonies, as well as worshipping the sun.  The Toltecs also had a sacred ball game, which was called Hatchli.  It is believed that this civilization discovered the fermented drink called Pulgue and their knowledge of astronomy was quite incredible, which is proven through their cycle of 52 years that consisted of 260 days.

The southward expansion of the Toltec civilization began around 1000, which provided them control over the Maya of Yucatan, which occurred from the 11^th to 13^th centuries.  However, both the Tula and Toltec empire collapsed due to nomadic people that were called Chichimec that occurred in the 13^th century.  With this, we saw a huge rise of the Aztec civilization.