The Caracol (FIG. 14-16) at Chichén Itzá establishes that the
northern Maya were as inventive with architectural form as they
were experimental with construction and materials. A cylindrical
tower rests on a broad terrace that is in turn supported by a larger
rectangular platform measuring 169 232 feet. The tower, com-
posed of two concentric walls, encloses a circular staircase that leads
to a small chamber near the top of the structure. In plan, the build-
ing recalls the cross-section of a conch shell. (Caracol means “snail”
in Spanish.) The conch shell was an attribute of the feathered ser-
pent, and round temples were dedicated to him in central Mexico.
This building may therefore also have been a temple to Kukulkan.
Windows along the Caracol’s staircase and an opening at the summit
probably were used for astronomical observation.
TULA The name Toltec, which signifies “makers of things,” gener-
ally refers to a powerful tribe ofinvaders from the north, whose ar-
rival in central Mexico coincided with the great disturbances that
must have contributed to the fall of the Classic civilizations. The
Toltec capital at Tula flourished from about 900 to 1200. The Toltecs
were expert political organizers and military strategists, dominating
large parts of north and central Mexico. They also were master arti-
sans and farmers, and later peoples such as the Aztecs looked back
on the Toltecs admiringly, proud to claim descent from them.
Archaeologists have noted many similarities between the sites of
Tula and Chichén Itzá.
At Tula, four colossal atlantids (male statue-columns;FIG. 14-17)
portraying armed warriors reflect the grim, warlike regime of the
Toltecs. These images of brutal authority stand eternally at attention,
warding off all hostile threats. Built up of four stone drums each, the
sculptures stand atop pyramid B. They wear feathered headdresses
and, as breastplates, stylized butterflies, heraldic symbols of the
Toltec. In one hand they clutch a bundle of darts and in the other an
atlatl (spear-thrower), typical weapons of highland Mexico. The fig-
ures originally supported a temple roof, now missing. Such an archi-
tectural function requires rigidity of pose, compactness, and strict
simplicity of contour. The unity and regularity of architectural mass
and silhouette here combine perfectly with abstraction of form.
By 1180 the last Toltec ruler abandoned Tula, and most of his
people followed. Some years later, the city was catastrophically de-
stroyed, its ceremonial buildings burned to their foundations, its
walls demolished, and the straggling remainder of its population
scattered. The exact reasons for the Toltecs’ departure and for their
city’s destruction are unknown. Although the Toltec demise set the
stage for the rise of the last great civilization of Mesoamerica, the
Aztecs (see Chapter 32), that culture did not reach the height of its
power for another 300 years.378 Chapter 14 NATIVE ARTS OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE 130014-16Aerial view (looking south) of the Caracol, Maya, Chichén Itzá, Mexico, ca. 800–900 CE.
Caracol means “snail shell,” and this unusual round northern Maya structure encloses a circular staircase. The building may have been a temple to
Kukulkan with an astronomical observatory at its summit.