US DOLLAR
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AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
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Product Description
Rarely ever seen offered and our first time ever offered, this is a scarce open carved applique shell bead from the Pre-Columbian Toltec Empire of Mesoamerica. Once centered in what is now Tula, Mexico, an iconic and mysterious trace of this enigmatic empire is the colossal Atlantean warrior sculptures on top of Pyramid B.
Out of the four beads we acquired in the collection this came from, this was the only square bead (the others were circular) and it was also the only drilled bead. This flat carved shell bead still retains its iridescent nacre and displays a rainbow of color as the shell is turned in strong light yet, it was difficult to capture this in the photos. It has intact ancient deposits to provide positive proof of its age and authenticity. This bead was likely a major component of jewelry or had been sewn onto a garment or crown for a decorative motif. This bead was one of four we acquired with all being offered right now on the website simultaneously. It is the only time we have ever been fortunate to acquire objects from the Toltec Empire, making this a highly desirable offering for its scarcity and uniqueness!
HISTORY
The Toltec culture was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE. The later Aztec culture considered the Toltec to be their intellectual and cultural predecessors and described Toltec culture emanating from Tōllān (Nahuatl for Tula) as the epitome of civilization. In the Nahuatl language the word Tōltēkatl came to take on the meaning "artisan". The Aztec oral and pictographic tradition also described the history of the Toltec Empire, giving lists of rulers and their exploits.
While the exact origins of the culture are unclear, it likely developed from a mixture of the Nonoalca people from the southern Gulf Coast and a group of sedentary Chichimeca from northern Mesoamerica. The former of these is believed to have composed the majority of the new culture and were influenced by the Mayan culture.
Beginning around 650 CE, the majority of settlements were abandoned as a result of Teotihuacan's decline. The Coyotlatelco rose as the dominant culture in the region. It is with the Coyotlatelco that Tula, as it relates to the Toltec, was founded along with a number of hilltop communities. Tula Chico, as the settlement is referred to during this phase, grew into a small regional state out of the consolidation of the surrounding Coyotlatelco sites. The settlement was roughly three to six square kilometers in size with a gridded urban plan and a relatively large population. The complexity of the main plaza was especially distinct from other Coyotlatelco sites in the area, as it had multiple ball courts and pyramids. The Toltec culture, as it is understood during its peak, can be tied directly to Tula Chico; after the site was burned and abandoned at the end of the Epiclassic period, Tula Grande was soon constructed bearing strong similarities 1.5 kilometers to the south. It is during the Early Postclassic period that Tula Grande and its associated Toltec culture would become the dominant force in the broader region.
At its height, Tula Grande had an estimated population of as many as 60,000 and covered 16 square kilometers of hills, plains, valleys, and marsh. Some of the most prominent examples of the Toltec material culture at the site include pyramids, ball-courts, and the Atlantean warrior sculptures on top of Pyramid B. Various civic buildings surrounding a central plaza are especially distinctive, as excavations show the use of columns inside these buildings and in surrounding colonnades. One of these buildings, known as Building 3, is argued to have been a symbolically powerful building for the Toltec due to its reference in architecture to the historic and mythic homes of the people's ancestors.
