caa a22 4500 388057912 CHVBK 20180307125112.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130s1998 xx s 000 0 eng 10.1017/S0956536100001954 doi S0956536100001954 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.1017/S0956536100001954 The Return of Quetzalcoatl [Elektronische Daten] Evidence for the spread of a world religion during the Epiclassic period Continuing analysis of the site of Chichen Itza suggests that its construction dates primarily to the Late Classic period, ca. a.d. 700-1000, rather than the Early Postclassic. This paper examines the implications of this redating for the well-known "Toltec” problem. Since Chichen largely antedated Tollan-phase Tula, we conclude that what is usually identified as Toltec imagery in fact dates to an earlier Epiclassic horizon extending from Morelos and Puebla to the Gulf Coast and Yucatan. Chichen Itza, we suggest, was the eastern node in a network of shrine centers dedicated primarily to Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan. This network transcended political boundaries and included such sites as Cholula, Cacaxtla, El TajIn, Xochicalco, and ultimately Tula. The Quetzalcoatl cult is manifested by a specific complex of traits and seems to have expanded militarily with messianic vigor. Pilgrimage was also an important activity at these centers. This cult axis apparently continued into the Postclassic period, and was responsible for the distribution of the Mixteca-Puebla art style. In Yucatan, Mayapan would seem to have assumed Chichen's position as the major Yucatecan node, although accompanied by several new shrines along the Caribbean coast. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998 Ringle William M. Department of Anthropology & Sociology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28036, USA Negrón Tomás Gallareta Centro Regional de Yucatán, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Apartado Postal 1015, Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico Bey George J. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS 39210, USA Ancient Mesoamerica Cambridge University Press 9/2(1998), 183-232 0956-5361 9:2<183 1998 9 ATM https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536100001954 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536100001954 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ringle William M. Department of Anthropology & Sociology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28036, USA NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Negrón Tomás Gallareta Centro Regional de Yucatán, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Apartado Postal 1015, Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Bey George J. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS 39210, USA NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Ancient Mesoamerica Cambridge University Press 9/2(1998), 183-232 0956-5361 9:2<183 1998 9 ATM CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge