Area B: Northeast

State of Queretaro

Toluquilla is located at quite a distance from the nearest town, San Joaquin, and by car is the only sensible way to get there, although taxis from that town may take you. Take the road just south of San Joaquin for Maravillas.

History

Culture: The Sierra Gorda Culture

The history of this city has been archaeologically considered to be more or less the same as for Ranas.

The city of Toluquilla was constructed and occupied during the blossoming of the northern cultures, in the Early Classic period. This site and also Ranas became very important trading centres in the region. Evidence has also suggested that the culture had significant contact with the Gulf Coast region and also with Teotihuacan.

Toluquilla, along with the majority of northern sites, suffered from a terminal decline at the end of the Classic period. Blame is directed to the ethnic changes sweeping the region at that time and with the fall of Teotihuacan, the ensuing chaos meant that cities like Toluquilla never recovered.

For more about other Cities of the Sierra Gorda, see Cultural History.

Tour  (Scroll down to follow complete tour, or click on feature below and use your BACK key to return to the map)

The layout of Toluquilla is elongated and spread along the ridge of the hill.

After walking up the hill from the end of the rough road, we pass through the gate and into the first Residential Unit consisting of semi-restored buildings.

Beyond this is Ball Court 1 which has steep, bricked sides. At the far end of the court is the pyramidal Structure 15,  the most massive at the site, with two stages of steps still evident. Unfortunately it is slowly crumbling away and overgrown.

The path takes us around the side of Structure 15 and up to a small open area known as the Plaza. It is noted for the interestingly designed buildings surrounding it which take the form of the typical building style here at Toluquilla: walled, open room-like units. On the right is a building with a doorway lintel still remaining. On the left is a unique building with a semi-circular platform: probably an altar. Structure 24, on the other side is larger and retains most of its walls.

Plaza

To the south, an open corridor carves a path through the heart of the next section of the ruins. Here we find seven more rectangular walled rooms clustered together. They all come in different sizes and orientations but all have doorways and front courts. The largest court lays between Structures 32 and 33 near the far end of the unit. Structure 33 is interesting for the short flight of steps leading to its entrance. Some of the smaller buildings on the west side of the corridor may have been religious in function, while the largest are thought to have been residential.

Toluquilla Central Section

The trail wanders over a small area of wilderness where we still find the scattered stones of buildings which were dismantled, so we are told, by recent inhabitants of the vicinity to construct there own homes.

Beyond this, we arrive at the second half of Toluquilla. A narrower corridor leads us through a cluster of half a dozen or so more closely spaces buildings. These are very overgrown and unrestored. They were probably residential in function.

        Old Section

The corridor opens into a pleasant, shaded area where we find Ball Court 2,  which is of the same length as the first but slightly wider and with lower walls.

Ball Court 2       

On the west side of the court we find a better preserved unit of buildings, two of which possess the entrance steps and the most impressive courtyards yet seen; the one at the far end with semi-circular steps. From this we can surmise that either these structures were important centres of worship, or housed the most important personages of the ruling elite.

    North Section   

    Structure 57

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