Tula is the name of a large archaeological complex in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, about 50 km (~30 miles) northwest of Mexico City. Tula is spread across an area of at least 17 square kilometers (4,200 acres) at the junction of the Tula and Rosa rivers, and within a wide variety of habitats, including alluvial flats, marshes, plains and hills.
Tula wasn't a single city, per se, but rather an agglomeration of at least 22 different separate communities and a wide hinterland, that in its heyday probably represented what the Aztecs referred to as the Toltec capital city of Tollan. At its height during the Late Postclassic period, Tula held about 60,000 people in its urbanized center, with an additional 30,000-50,000 in the hinterlands, living in small or dispersed settlements. Estimates of the entire span of Tula's influence prior to the arrival of the Aztecs include the entire Basin of Mexico.
Chronology at Tula
- Early/Middle Formative (900-300 BC), first settlement of the region
- Late Formative (300 BC-AD 200/250), four small communities based at Tula, the largest of which is La Loma (15 ha)
- Classic Period (AD 200/250-700) Chingú Phase, connection to Teotihuacan apparent, 12 large nucleated sites, the largest is Chingú (2.5 km2), ~475 mounds
- Epiclassic Prado and Corral Phases (AD 700-850), dispersed sites plus 9 largish sites including Tula Chico
- Early Postclassic Tollan Phase (AD 900-1200), maximum size, Tula Chico destroyed, Tula Grande constructed, urban growth, population at ~60,000
- Middle Postclassic Fuego Phase (AD 1200-1400), first Aztec ceramics appear
- Late Post Classic Palacio and Tesoro Phase (AD 1400-1520), substantial Aztec settlement at Tula
