Toltec, ancient civilization of Mexico. The name in Nahuatl means "master builders." The Toltec formed a warrior aristocracy that gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico c.A.D. 900 after the fall of Teotihuacán. Their early history is obscure but they seem to have had ancient links with the Mixtec and the Zapotec. Their capital was Tollán (see Tula). In architecture and the arts they were masters; they were influenced by Teotihuacán and the Olmec culture. Cholula is considered to be a Toltec site. Toltec civilization was materially far advanced. They smelted metals, and their stonework was highly developed. Their polytheistic religion in later days seems to have centered about Quetzalcoatl. Their ceremonies included human sacrifice, sun worship, and a sacred ball game, tlatchli. They are said to have discovered pulque (a fermented drink), and they had considerable astronomical knowledge, as shown in their calendar cycle of 52 years of 260 days each. A period of southward expansion began c.1000 and resulted in Toltec domination of the Maya of Yucatán from the 11th to the 13th cent. Nomadic peoples (collectively termed the Chichimec) brought about the fall of Tula and of the Toltec empire in the 13th cent., thus opening the way for the rise of the Aztec. See also pre-Columbian art and architecture.

Nahuatl-speaking people who held sway over what is now central Mexico from the 10th to the 12th century. Whether their urban centre was Tula or Teotihuacán is a matter of dispute. In the 10th century they formed a number of small states of various ethnic origins into an empire. They introduced the cult of Quetzalcóatl, and other Toltec religious and military influences spread through the Yucatán region and were absorbed by the Maya. They were noted as builders and craftsmen; artifacts include fine metalwork, gigantic statues, and carved human and animal standard-bearers. They were succeeded by the Aztec. Seealso Mesoamerican civilization.

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