TULA. PYRAMID OF THE SUN. ANTIQUITIES OF TULA.
Caryatides—Columns—Capitals—Carved
Shell—Tennis-ring—Tlachtli—Ancient Bas-reliefs—Toltecs
Portrayed—Historical Jottings—The Temple of the Frog—Indian
Vault—The Plaza—El Cerro del Tesoro.
Tula extended over a plain intersected by a muddy river winding round
the foot of Mount Coatepetl, which commanded the city. The modern town
occupies but a small proportion of the area of the ancient capital, and
the few antiquities that adorn the plaza were found in clearing the
river of some of its mud or whilst ploughing the adjacent fields.
[Illustration: TOLTEC CARYATID, TULA.]
[Illustration: PARTS OF A COLUMN, TULA.]
[Illustration: TENNIS-RING, TULA.]
First in order are three fragments of caryatides: one, a gigantic
statue which we reproduce, is about 7 ft. high; the head and upper
part of the body below the hips are wanting, the legs are 1 ft. 3 in.
in diameter, and the feet 4 ft. long. The two embroidered bits below
the waist were no doubt the ends of the royal _maxtli_, the exact copy
of which we shall see later on bas-reliefs in Chiapas, Palenque, and
Lorillard City. The greaves, of leather bands, are passed between the
toes and fastened on the instep and above it by large knots, recalling
the Roman _cacles_. This statue is of black basalt, like all the other
fragments; and although exceedingly rude and archaic in character, is
not wanting in beauty in some of its details. Next comes a column in
two pieces, lying on the ground, having a round tenon which fitted
closely into the mortise and ensured solidity; it is the only specimen
we have found where such care had been bestowed. The carving on the
outward portion of the column consists of feathers or palms, whilst
the reverse is covered with scales of serpents arranged in parallel
sections. This fragment answers Sahagun’s description about the
columns of a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, already mentioned,
where rattle-snakes formed the ornamentation. It is also interesting
from the fact that we shall see a similar column at Chichen-Itza in a
temple of the same god. Here also among other fragments I noticed a
Greek column with a Doric capital, but on which I dare not pronounce
definitely, although there is nothing else in the place denoting
Spanish influence. All we can say is that it shows the marvellous
building instinct of the Toltecs, and that we found some remains of a
like description in the Yucatan peninsula. By far the most interesting
object seen here, on account of the study and the archæological issues
it entails, is a large carved stone ring about 6 ft. 5 in. in diameter,
having a hole in the centre some 10 in. in circumference, evidently
a tennis-ring. Tennis, _tlacheo_, _tlachtli_, was first known in
Anahuac and transmitted to the Chichemecs, Acolhuans, and Aztecs by
the Toltecs, who carried it with them to Tabasco, Yucatan, Uxmal, and
Chichen; and in the latter place we found a perfect tennis-court with
one ring still in place.
We must turn to Torquemada[45] for full particulars respecting this
national game, which was played in buildings of so typical a character
as to be easily recognised. It consists of two thick parallel walls 32
ft. high, at a distance of 98 ft. from each other, having a ring fixed
in the walls 22 ft. high, as seen in our cut; whilst at each extremity
of the court stood a small temple in which preliminary ceremonies
were performed before opening the game. It was played with a large
india-rubber ball; the rules required the player to receive it behind,
not to let it touch the ground, and to wear a tight-fitting leather
suit to make the ball rebound. But the greatest feat was to send the
ball through the ring, when a scramble, a rush, and much confusion
followed, the winner having the right to plunder the spectators of
their valuables. Sending the ball through the ring required so much
dexterity, that he who succeeded was credited with a bad conscience
or supposed to be doomed to an early death. Tennis seems to have
been in such high repute with the Indians that it was not confined
to individuals, but also played between one city and another, and
accompanied, says Veytia, by much betting, when they staked everything
they possessed, even their liberty. But this writer errs in ascribing
the game to the Aztecs in honour of their god Huitzilopochtli, as we
shall show.
[Illustration: WARRIOR’S PROFILE, FOUND AT TULA.]
Among other objects which we found at Tula is a large curiously-carved
shell of mother-of-pearl; the carving recalls Tizoc’s stone, and
notably the bas-reliefs at Palenque and Ocosinco in Chiapas; also two
bas-reliefs, one in a rock outside the town, the other, by far the
most valuable, in the wall of a private house, but very old and much
injured, representing a full-face figure and another in profile; their
nose, beard, and dress are similar to those described by Veytia[46]
in the following passage: “The Toltecs were above middle height, and
owing to this they could be distinguished in later times from the other
aborigines. Their complexion was clear, their hair thicker than the
nations who followed them, although less so than the Spaniards. This is
still observable among the few who remain claiming Toltec descent.”
These remains are priceless in every respect because of their analogy
and intimate connection with all those we shall subsequently discover,
forming the first links in the chain of evidence respecting our theory
of the unity of American civilisation, which it is our object to prove
in the course of this work.
On beholding these caryatides, the question naturally arises as to what
monument they were intended for; and in turning to Veytia,[47] we read
that under the Emperor Mitl (979-1035) the Toltecs reached the zenith
of their power; that their empire extended over one thousand miles,
bordering on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and that the population
was so dense as to cause the soil to be cultivated on the highest
mountains, whilst an influential priesthood performed the sacred rites
within innumerable sanctuaries. The great cities of the high plateaux
were Teotihuacan and Cholula, as later Palenque, Izamal, and Cozumel
were those of the warm region. This emperor, jealous of the flourishing
state and religious superiority of Teotihuacan, “the habitation of the
gods,” wished to set up a new and rival deity for the veneration of his
people; to this end he chose the songstress of the marsh, the “Frog,”
whom he presented as the goddess of waters. And that the new deity
should be ushered in with due pomp and solemnity, he had a magnificent
temple built in her honour, and her gold statue placed within the
temple, covered with emeralds, the size of a palm, and cunningly worked
so as to imitate nature. Up to that time, temples had been large
mounds erected on the summits of mountains, like that of Tlaloc, or
on artificial pyramids like that of Teotihuacan, where the idols were
exposed to the elements; that of the Frog was the first which was
built with stones and given a _rectangular shape_, having a _kind of
solid vault_ (boveda), also of stone, _which by a skilful arrangement
covered the whole edifice_.[48] Here, then, we have a very plain
description of the Indian vault, the Yucatec vault, a vault we have
observed in the north and the whole extent of our Toltec journey; seen
by Guillemin Tarayre in the tombs at Las Casas Grandes, mentioned by
Ixtlilxochitl as the distinguishing feature in the monuments of Toluca
and Cuernavaca, and by Humboldt at Cholula in the following passage:
“On visiting the interior of the pyramid, I recognised a mortuary
chamber, having the bricks of the ceiling so arranged as to diminish
the pression of the roof. As the aborigines were unacquainted with the
vault, they provided for it by placing horizontally and in gradual
succession very large bricks, the upper slightly overlapping the
lower, and in this way replaced the Gothic vault.”[49] This remarkable
writer further says, that “Yucatan and Guatemala are countries where
the people had come from Atylan and reached a certain degree of
civilisation.”[50] Far greater would have been his appreciation, had
his investigations been directed to the Toltecs and Central America,
where the overlapping vault was introduced by them in all public
edifices, temples, and palaces. With the testimony of these writers, we
may consider the vault question definitely settled.
[Illustration: TOLTEC BAS-RELIEFS.]
The town, or rather the plaza, with its diminutive garden, planted
with a few consumptive shrubs and flowers, with its porticoes giving
access to the Town Hall, the Law Courts, the Church and shops, only
gets animated on Sundays and market-days, when the population of the
surrounding districts pours in for the purpose of buying or selling.
Except meat, all articles are sold on the ground, spread on plantain
leaves or clean cloths; where vendors dispose themselves in long rows
about the plaza, offering their goods, crockery, and fruit. Customers
stand about in groups, surveying the animated scene, enjoying a little
gossip, or trying to drive a hard bargain; whilst Indian matrons ply
from one vendor to another in almost silent dignity, accompanied
by their daughters, who look at this and handle that, sometimes
with the intention of buying, often to exchange a few words with
the merchant or an acquaintance. Some look quite pretty, with their
glorious eyes, their long hair reaching below the waist in two long
plaits, with glass or stone beads around their necks; their scanty
costume leaving uncovered their shapely arms, necks, and ankles. On
looking at them, I seem to myself to be carried back a thousand years
amidst that grand old race whose ruins I am here to study. Further on,
under a monumental ash-tree, primitive kitchens have been set up, round
which a dense throng of customers, settled on the ground, are enjoying
their _tortillas_, or when they are well-to-do, their portion of black
beans, _frijoles_, pork or turkey, in _jicaras_, the whole highly
seasoned with Chili pepper; the best dinner not costing more than
threepence.
[Illustration: YOUNG GIRLS OF TULA.]
Every human type seems to have congregated here, from the Egyptian
sharp outline of features to the flat-nosed, flat-faced Kalmuk. Most
women are bare to the waist; but as this seems a matter of course, no
one notices it.
The area of ancient Tula has now been under cultivation for three
hundred years—hardly a desirable condition for the explorer. We know
that the city stood here; but its only vestiges are to be found on the
hill overlooking the town to the north. It was called _Palpan_ in the
time of the Toltecs; but now it is known as _Cerro del Tesoro_, because
a poor shepherd-boy, some twenty years since, whilst scratching the
moist ground, discovered a vase with five hundred gold ounces in it;
but not knowing the value of his newly-found treasure, he parted with
it for a few coppers. We are going to try our luck on the same hill;
and better advised than the poor shepherd, we shall not give up our
discoveries in favour of any one.
[Illustration: RUINS OF A TOLTEC HOUSE.]