The Toltec, according to the historical annals, built the first great empire in Meso-America.

At the height of its splendor, Tula had around 40,000 inhabitants who practiced agriculture

by means of small systems of dams and canals, since rain was scarce in the area.

It would seem that related families built their houses next to one another

and separated them from the outside world with walls.

The ceremonial center of Tula has pyramids, rooms and ball courts.

The site is characterized by the great warrior figures known as Atlantes.

The macabre tzompantli, a wall on which the heads of sacrifice victims were hung,

was built here for the first time.

Among the Toltecs, war took on a greater significance than it had for the cultures of the Classic period.

Professional soldiers appeared in Tula, and were organized in sects or brotherhoods that identified them

with certain animals: eagle, jaguar or coyote warriors. Evidence also shows

that the number of human sacrifices increased; this was

Representation of Tlᬯc, the god of rain especially the case when prisoners of war were taken.

This militaristic spirit was a characteristic of all the cultures of the Postclassic period.

Not only did the Toltecs spread their influence by means of war, but also through trade.

In Tula, as in Teotihuacan, they worked obsidian and made ceramics.

Their artisans were famous for producing the most beautiful and complicated objects in Mesoamerica.

Tula also called Tollan, ancient capital of the Toltecs in Mexico; it was primarily important

from about AD 900 to about 1200. Although its exact location is not certain, an archaeological

site near the contemporary town of Tula in Hidalgo state has been the persistent choice of historians.

Some scholars, however, are reluctant to accept this identification,