The Atlantes
Four basalt warriors at the top.
AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lgarciar — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Karen Rojo Martínez — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Atlantes are stone columns in the form of warriors standing on top of a pyramid at the archaeological site of Tula, in the south-west of Hidalgo state. Tula was the Toltec capital between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Tenochtitlan, less famous than either but a strong influence on the Aztecs. The first clear settlements in the area appeared around 400 BCE, and the city fell around 1150. The Aztecs wrote about its history at length, blending it with myth, and its name is tied to the god Quetzalcoatl. Its central plaza had room for 100,000 people, which researchers read as a shift to large ceremonies dominated by warriors. You climb the five-tiered Pyramid B to find four basalt columns 4 metres high at the top, each a warrior with a spear thrower and a butterfly-shaped chest plate. They once held up the roof of the temple. At the foot lie the Burnt Palace with its broken columns and the serpent wall that inspired a similar one at Tenochtitlan. The reliefs show jaguars and eagles, along with scenes of war and sacrifice. The site is 73.5 km in a straight line north of central Mexico City, close to the town of Tula. A museum at the entrance is named after the archaeologist Jorge Acosta. The ground is open with little shade, so bring a hat and water, and do not touch the painted reliefs.
Four basalt warriors at the top.
Broken columns and painted reliefs.
It inspired one at Tenochtitlan.
Tula de Allende, Hidalgo state
A people of central Mexico after Teotihuacan, with Tula as capital, admired and written about by the Aztecs.
Yes, visitors' photographs show people among the statues at the top, but check for any limits at the entrance.