The Archaeology of Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico

Abstract

The site of Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, is well known for its distinctive architecture and sculpture that came to light in excavations initiated some 70 years ago. Less well known is the extensive corpus of archaeological research conducted over the past several decades, revealing a city that at its height covered an area of c. 16 km 2 and incorporated a remarkably diverse landscape of hills, plains, alluvial valleys, and marsh. Its dense, urban character is evident in excavations at over 22 localities that uncovered complex arrangements of residential compounds whose nondurable architecture left relatively few surface traces. Evidence of craft production includes lithic and ceramic production loci in specific sectors of the ancient city. Tula possessed a large and densely settled hinterland that apparently encompassed the surrounding region, including most of the Basin of Mexico, and its area of direct influence appears to have extended to the north as far as San Luís Potosí. Tula is believed to have originated as the center of a regional state that consolidated various Coyotlatelco polities and probably remnants of a previous Teotihuacancontrolled settlement system. Its pre-Aztec history exhibits notable continuity in settlement, ceramics, and monumental art and architecture. The nature of the subsequent Aztec occupation supports ethnohistorical and other archaeological evidence that Tula's ruins were what the Aztecs called Tollan.

Cerro Portezuelo: States and Hinterlands in the Pre-Hispanic Basin of Mexico

“…Clayton's (2009, 2013) comparison of Cerro Portezuelo with the Classic site of Axotlan in the northwest basin (García Chávez 2002) suggests that, although Cerro Portezuelo fell within Teotihuacan's orbit and probably paid tribute to Teotihuacan, Teotihuacan most likely administered the southeast basin through Cerro de la Estrella (Pérez Negrete 2004) or perhaps through Azcapotzalco (Sanders et al 1979). Cerro Portezuelo's material culture and domestic rituals were not as closely tied to Teotihuacan as were those of Axotlan in the northwest basin, which is a stronger candidate for settlement by Teotihuacanos or people closely linked to Teotihuacan (see also Healan [2012] for a discussion of Teotihuacan's presence in the Tula area). Apparently Teotihuacan saw the southeast basin as relatively marginal to its interests.…”

After Teotihuacan: A View of Collapse and Reorganization from the Southern Basin of Mexico

“…Some scholars (Brambila Paz and Crespo ; Braniff Cornejo ; Cobean ; Healan ; Mastache et al. ; Rattray ) describe similarities between Coyotlatelco decorated wares and Classic period pottery from the Bajío region of Guanajuato and Querétaro.…”

Anthropological Archaeology in 2012: Mobility, Economy, and Transformation

“…The data suggest centralized provisioning mechanisms and some element of centralized redistribution patterns, but contra neoevolutionary models, the products of such centralized production appear to have functioned mainly outside of elite prestige‐goods contexts. Other studies have noted aspects of autonomous production, including domestic household‐based craft production in Mesoamerica (Healan ) and decentralized ceramic production in the Tarascan state (Hirshman and Ferguson ).…”