tlatollotl:herstoryandcoffee:tlatollotl:mostly-history:Temple of the Warriors (Chichén Itzá). The r
tlatollotl:herstoryandcoffee:tlatollotl:mostly-history:Temple of the Warriors (Chichén Itzá). The rows of columns leadingup to the temple’s stairway entrance are a Toltec influence.I would argue that they are not influenced by the Toltecs. The columns appear Central Mexican because the Itza were attempting to associate themselves or recall an ancestral connection to Teotihuacan. The Temple of the Warriors at Chichén (above) is very similar to Temple B at Tula, the Toltec city. The main plaza at Chichén closely replicated the layout of Tula - just reversed and rotated. Source: Mary Ellen Miller, Maya Art and Architecture (1999)Photo: Temple B at Tula. Image shows a four-tiered platform structure surrounded at its base and crowned at its top by Atlantean columns that would have supported roofs made of perishable materials. Source: britannica.comSimilar, but not the same. And it ignores other colonnaded buildings found elsewhere in Mesoamerica (particularly West Mexico).But the site core is more different than a simple “reversed and rotated”, because it isn’t.TulaChichen ItzaAt Tula, Pyramid B is to the north with the large ballcourt to the west. At Chichen, the Temple of the Warriors is to the east with the ballcourt to the west. There’s no secondary ballcourt to the north at Chichen as it is at Tula. And there’s no equivalent of Pyramid C, Building J, and Building K at Chichen. There is no equivalent of The Castillo at Tula in the center of the plaza, which is the focus of the site space. Instead, Tula has this tiny platform that is not centrally located.With all those differences, it is difficult to say that they are that similar. It’s even more difficult to say that the Toltec had any deciding factor in the site layout or design of Chichen Itza. Even more so when you consider the lack of Toltec material culture at Chichen Itza (households, burials, etc.).I recommend checking out this book,Kristan-Graham, Cynthia. Twin Tollans: Chichén Itzá, Tula, and the epiclassic to early postclassic Mesoamerican world. Dumbarton Oaks, 2007.Or to read this summary I wrote,https://tlatollotl.tumblr.com/post/188643678551/the-tula-chichen-tollan-connection -- source link