24 
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 146 
pantlis" or altars of skulls, and circular temples dedicated to the god 
of the wind. Among the most frequently represented gods are 
Ehecatl, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Quetzalcoatl, Cinteotl, Tlaloc, and 
Xiuhtecuhtli. Other traits making their appearance at this time in- 
clude metallurgy, fine orange pottery, plumbate, nearly flat mold- 
made figurines, pottery pipes, colonnades, colossal figures, irrigation 
via a system of canals, axes perforated for hafting, palates for grind- 
ing pigment, descending gods, flat roofs (in the Maya area), sacrifi- 
cial scenes associated with the ball game, and stone facings on 
structures. Sites such as Tula, El Taj in, Xochicalco, Monte Alban, 
Isla de Sacrificios, Zempoala, Armeria, Ixtlan, Guasave, La Que- 
mada. El Cerrito, El Coporo, La Magdalena, El Teul, Chichen Itza, 
and Tulum are characteristic of this first phase, (a.d. 800 to 1250). 
While Toltec influence was being felt in various places, other north- 
ern groups were moving onto the plateau, especially the Mixtecs. For 
this second phase of the Militaristic Period, a number of written 
sources provide additional information on the culture of the various 
groups in existence at the time of the Spanish Conquest. The society 
can be characterized as colonialist or military expansionist, being 
based on warfare, conquest, and the imposition of tribute as im- 
portant economic factors. Power was centralized in the military caste. 
Some settlements achieved a supranuclear level of development 
(such as Tenochtitlan), with a highly stratified society characterized 
by military orders, private property, wars of flowers, gladiatorial 
sacrifice, intensive irrigation, "chinampa" cultivation, and aqueducts. 
The elaboration of gold working, feather working, the manufacture 
of codices, carving in bone, wood, and alabaster, sculpture, glossy 
polychrome pottery (Cholulteca-Mixteca), twin temples, and ydcatas 
are other characteristics of the latter part of this period (a.d. 1250 
to 1550). 
In the field of commerce, there existed trade routes, specialized 
merchants who also acted as spies, objects that served as a medium of 
exchange, market days, and judges. Herbal lore, historical records, 
literature and poetry, religious ritual, and many other aspects of 
learning were more highly developed than in earlier periods. 
Sites such as Azcapotzalco, Tlatelolco, Castillo de Teayo, Zem- 
poala, Quiahuiztlan, Quauhtochco, Tenayuca, Tzintzuntzan, Ihuatzio, 
Teopanzolco, El Tepotzteco, Malinalco, Mitla, and Zaachila cor- 
respond to the terminal part of this period, and although the Spanish 
Conquest interrupted the aboriginal cultural evolution in Mesoame- 
rica, people continue to live in these same regions today. 
