López Lujan of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) presented a new study that sheds light on the emergence of the Quetzalcoatl-Tollan dictionary binomial, which was used in the languages of the peoples of Mesoamerica. Surprisingly, its analogue was found in Russia.
A summary of the study is available on the INAH website. It is known that the Maya did not build their cities from scratch. They built them on the ruins of cities of more ancient civilizations, for example, the Olmecs.
The new study provides a detailed analysis of Mayan relics, which indicates that this people borrowed from their predecessors not only buildings and architectural style, but also cultural traditions. In fact, the Maya imitated what the Olmecs did and also used their temples for their ceremonies. And the same was done by the Toltecs who lived after the Maya.
For example, in Tenochtitlan, as the excavations showed, there was a House of Eagles, which the Toltecs used after their exodus from the city of Tula. Before accession to the throne, this place was necessarily visited by the future ruler. Repentance ceremonies were held there.
Inside there was a hall decorated with images of the gods of death. Probably under the Maya, it was used for the burial ritual of sovereigns. And the Toltecs performed there rituals of veneration of all previous rulers, from whom power was passed on to their ruler as if by inheritance.
This discovery helped to explain the long-standing mystery of the dictionary binomial. The fact is that among many peoples of Mesoamerica the word Quetzalcoatl was added to the name of the ruler. Even in written sources, it occurs so often that archaeologists often confuse the rulers of Mesoamerica with each other.
Explaining this, the Mexican scientist cited Russia and Germany as an example. In these countries, the names of the rulers were derived from the Roman word "Caesar", an imperial title, that is, king and kaiser, respectively.
In Mesoamerica, something similar happened, that is, the word Quetzalcoatl is the title of the supreme ruler. It also has another meaning. According to legend, Quetzalcoatl is one of the main deities, the "feathered serpent". His first images date back to 200-150. BC.
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By the way, the Toltec legend says that Quetzalcoatl suddenly appeared in Tula around 980 and ruled there for over 20 years. It was he who taught people mathematics, medicine, astronomy, writing, jewelry and weaving, with him invented chocolate and a calendar with a cycle of 52 years.
A new study says that in ancient times the city of Tula was also called Tollan. Since Quetzalcoatl ruled there, the same word began to denote all mythical, divine places.
Gradually, the peoples of Mesoamerica began to use it as a prefix to the names of the cities in which the rulers lived - Quetzalcoatl. That is, the city of Teotihuacan was called Tollan-Teotihuacan, the city of Cholollan - Tollan-Cholollan, and so on.
This is how binom Quetzalcoatl-Tollan appeared, who hinted that the supreme ruler received his power from the "feathered" god, and at the same time received the right to reside and rule in Tollan - a place for the gods.
In short, the study explained why so many Quetzalcoatles and Tollans are mentioned in the oral legends and written sources of the peoples of Mesoamerica, and they all belong to different centuries.
“All rulers come from the same divine lineage, which Quetzalcoatl began,” says Lopez Lujan. - Therefore, in one historical source we find a reference to Quetzalcoatl of the 8th century, in another - to Quetzalcoatl of the 9th or 10th century. In Tollan's case, everything is the same."
Author: Denis Peredelsky
