INHABITANTS OF MEXICO. 



63 



who made long journeys to distant lands, and who were the " torchbearers " of 

 Nahua civilisation in Central America. 



Altogether it would seem probable that " Toltec " was not the name of any- 

 particular people, and that the " artists " were simply Xahuas like their Aztec 

 successors. The term Colhua, or " ancestors," which is also applied to them, is 

 also an indication of their common ethnical unity. 



The Tula domination lasted till the second half of the eleventh century, when 

 the strength of the powerful Nahua tribes was for the first time broken by 

 intestine strife, foreign wars, and the invasion of the Chichimecs, or Barbarians, 



rig. 27.— Extent of the Aztec Conquests. 

 Scale 1 : 13,000.000. 



Aztec Conquests. 



_ ISfi Miles. 



accompanied by famine and pestilence. The chronicles speak of millions perishing 

 amid all these disorders, and, for whatever reason, after this date no further 

 mention is made of the " Toltecs," or else they are represented as fugitives 

 dispersed amongst the surrounding populations, or else going southwards to found 

 new states in Yucatan, Chiapas, or Guatemala. 



Numerous migrations are also related of the Chichimecs, who displaced the 

 centre of Nahua power southwards to the Anahuac plateau properly so called, 

 first to the shores of Lake Xaltocan, then to the plains around Lake Texcoco not 

 far from the present confederate capital. Lastly, the royal residence was estab- 



