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From Tula Chico to Chichén Itzá: Implications of the Epiclassic Sculpture of Tula for the Nature and Timing of Tula-Chichén Contact

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Keith Jordan
Keith Jordan*
Affiliation:
Department of Art and Design, California State University, Fresno, 5225 North Backer Avenue, M/S CA65, Fresno, California, 93740-8001 ([email protected])
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Abstract

In the last four decades, a number of archaeologists and art historians have posited that “Toltec” Chichén Itzá (Yucatán, Mexico) flourished during the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. They argued that because the “Toltec” style in Yucatán predated the Tollan phase at Tula (Hidalgo, Mexico), most of the style features shared between the cities originated with the Maya. Here, I examine the relevance of the Epiclassic relief sculpture of Tula Chico for the timing and nature of contact between Tula and Chichén Itzá. The presence of reliefs of reclining figures in clear “Toltec” style at Tula Chico in contexts predating their occurrence at Chichén Itzá suggests that claims for a predominantly Maya origin for that style stand in need of revision. Such a rethinking is supported by other fragmentary images from Tula Chico (eagles and Venus symbols), as well as by new studies of ceramic materials and chronology at Chichén Itzá. It is clear that Tula was an active participant in whatever interactions led to similar visual arts at Chichén Itzá, and at least some of the shared iconography has temporal priority at Tula.

En las últimas cuatro décadas, un número de arqueólogos e historiadores del arte han propuesto que el estilo “Tolteca” de Chichén Itzá (Yucatán, México), floreció durante los siglos nueve y diez A.D. Estos investigadores argumentaron que, dado que el estilo “Tolteca” en Yucatán precedió a la fase Tollan en Tula (Hidalgo, México), la mayoría de los rasgos compartidos entre las ciudades se originaron de los Mayas. En este trabajo se examina la relevancia de la escultura relieve de Tula Chico para el tiempo y la naturaleza del contacto entre Tula y Chichén Itzá. La presencia de relieves de figuras reclinadas de estilo claramente “Tolteca” en Tula Chico, en contextos anteriores a su existencia en Chichén Itzá, sugiere que las afirmaciones acerca de que el origen del estilo fue predominantemente maya necesitan ser revisadas. Este replanteo es apoyado por otras imágenes fragmentarias de Tula Chico (águilas y símbolos de Venus), así como también por nuevos estudios de la cerámica y la cronología de Chichén Itzá. Es claro que Tula fue un participante activo en cualesquiera que hayan sido las interacciones que llevaron a las semejanzas del arte visual en Chichén Itzá. Además, al menos una parte de la iconografía compartida tiene prioridad temporal en Tula.

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Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 462 - 478
Copyright
Copyright © by the Society for American Archaeology 2016

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