Main CONTRIBUTIONS of the TOLTECA culture

The cultural zones are places in which many cultures inhabit in a more or less long period of time and in which each one of these civilizations contributes numerous elements to the rest until creating a joint advanced society. One of the most important cultural areas in history is Mesoamerica and to know the elements that one of its main peoples brought in this lesson from a Professor we must talk about the contributions of the Toltec culture.

The toltec culture It was one of the main civilizations of those located in the Mesoamerica cultural region, occupying the region in the so-called Postclassic Period and, more specifically, between the years 950 and 1150.

During this stage, the Toltecs were changing their location, but they remained more or less in the areas of Huapalcalco and Tollan-Xicocotitlan, places that years later would be occupied by mayans and aztecs.

The Toltecs were a common Mesoamerican people, in the sense that they had most of the elements that define Mesoamericans, and, therefore, being a clear sample of the area cultural. Between his

main Mesoamerican characteristics can we talk about:

• Nahuatl as a language
• Economy centered on corn cultivation
• Polytheistic religion
• Human sacrifices
• Mesoamerican ball game
• Creation of pyramids to worship the gods

Without a doubt, the most important element of Toltec culture was his incredible military capabilities, being considered one of the most bellicose and powerful peoples of the entire Mesoamerican area. You could say that the people most similar to the Toltecs were the Aztecs, with whom he was similar in terms of his military way of life.

To continue this lesson from a Teacher on the Toltecs, we must talk about the contributions of the Toltec culture, in order to understand the importance of this civilization knowing all the elements that contributed to the American culture and the following Mesoamerican peoples.

We must bear in mind that many of the contributions that we are going to name played a key role in the future Mesoamerican peoples, forming the idea that we have in mind about these societies.

Quetzalcoatl

The feathered snake, Possibly the best known deity in the entire Mesoamerican world, appearing in practically all beliefs, and having an important role in all of them. We do not know for sure what the origin of this deity is, but many sources make reference to that it could be in the Toltec world where it first appeared and it was expanding towards other Mesoamerican towns.

Commercial networks

Until the arrival of the Toltecs there was no type of commercial route within what was the world Mesoamerican, since although if it was traded between peoples, these were still simple commercial agreements and not constant. The Toltecs formed roads and routes through which it was easier to trade, thereby achieving better trade and, therefore, greater economic power.

Human sacrifices

Although it is true that before the Toltecs there were already numerous cultures that performed sacrifices, the reality is that human sacrifice became much more common after the influence of the Toltecs than before. The importance of these was such that spaces were created specifically to house and perform the sacrifices, being a part key to society for its role in asking the gods for things, since it was considered that some gods only received through sacrifices.

Sculptures

Possibly, the best known and most prominent element of the Toltecs are their sculptures, which served to represent both important people and gods or other important figures. His work in stone and other materials to create sculptures were imitated by peoples later that had not achieved such an advanced evolution at the time of creating representations of this type.

Crafts

Toltec artisans are considered the most advanced throughout the Mesoamerican world, and it is even often thought that in some respects they were more advanced than the European artisans who were on the other side of the world. Among his main abilities was that of working complicated materials such as gold, making weapons with such a material complicated like obsidian, and to achieve mass productions on a large scale that in Europe would not be achieved until almost the Modern Age.

Advances in agriculture

The Toltecs also made great strides in the field of agriculture, managing to evolve many of the tools that were used for the field and achieving some new technologies. Of all the advances, the most outstanding, especially due to its later importance, has been that of the crops on the terraces of the slopes, the which gave greater importance to irrigated production in height and thus allowed more crops in regions where it did not seem possible.