jozzEK] EXCAVATION AT SANTIAGO AHUTTZOTLA, MEXICO 15 



and the prreater number of objects found belon<»: clearly to this cul- 

 ture. The site Avas occupied for a considerable period of time, as 

 indicated by the frequent changes of plan and by the superimposed 

 floors. The Aztecs dwelt here at a later date, as shown by the fact 

 that Aztec pottery and figurines are found near the surface over 

 the whole hill. 



It is impossible to determine Avith exactness the demarcation be- 

 tween the Toltec and Aztec cultures. It seems probable, howcA^er, 

 from a careful study of the remains coming from each room and 

 from each of the different leA^els, that the greater part of the walls 

 and floors date back to pre- Aztec times and that the frequent de- 

 struction and rebuilding, floor oA^er floor, Avas undertaken, for the 

 most part at least, by those of the same period. This question of the 

 relatiAe time in Avhich each part w-as erected will be discussed later 

 in taking up the sequence of the construction (p. 87). 



Age of site. — Only a very rough approximation can be made of 

 the time of the erection of this Toltec mound, and Ave have to go 

 rather far afield for some of the data on this point. According to 

 one tradition, Tula Avas founded by the Toltecs in 752 A. D. and Avas 

 destroyed in 1064. These dates have usually been considered too 

 late to be regarded as historic. We know that the Toltecs Avere used 

 as mercenaries by the people of Mayapan in Yucatan against the in- 

 habitants of Chichen Itza. The influence of the Toltec culture is 

 A^ery strikingly shown in the latest period of Chichen Itza, which was 

 from about 1200 to 1450 A. D. We can, therefore, with some ap- 

 proximation of truth, say that the Toltecs flourished toAvard the end 

 of the first millennium after Christ, and that their influence in Yuca- 

 tan, at least, extended into the fifteenth century.^ 



Orientation. — The walls of the buildings, Avith one exception, 

 seem to have been carefully oriented. The general direction is a fcAv 

 degrees east of north. The wall built over Floor M in the north- 

 Avest corner is not in line Avith any of the other walls of the buildings. 

 It is to be hoped that the Inspector of Monuments of Mexico Avill haA'e 

 a careful survey made of the site in order to establish the exact align- 

 ment of the walls in reference to the true north. 



Plan in general. — The ground plan (pis. 1, 2) of the excavation 

 may be divided roughly into seven sections : 



1. Main structure inclosed by a low terrace or step, making it, to a 

 great extent, a unit. 



2. Highest Floor A built OA^er the center of the Main Structure. 



3. The Southern Extension, including Rooms VIII-XI. 



4. The Northern Extension. 



6 For additional data on these points, see Tozzer, "The domain of the Aztecs and 

 their relation to the prehistoric cultures of Mexico " In Holmes Anniversary Volume, 

 pp. 464-468, 1916. 



