Sites & cities that bear the name of Tula

Tula

Today in : Samoa
First trace of activity : ca. 6th century B.C.E
Last trace of activity : today

Description : Tula is a village in the Eastern District of Tutuila Island in American Samoa. Tula is located in Vaifanua County and had a population of 405 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Matātula is a cape in the village. The site of the former upland ridge settlement of Lefutu (AS-21-002) is also part of Tula. Tula was one of the first settlements on Tutuila, and was first settled in 600 BCE. Numerous ancient artifacts have been discovered at the prehistoric quarry near the town.

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Tula

Today in : Mexico
First trace of activity : ca. 4th century B.C.E
Last trace of activity : 1179 C.E
Recorded names : Tollan Xicocotitlan

Description : Tula is a Mesoamerican archeological site, which was an important regional center which reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Tenochtitlan. It has not been well studied in comparison to these other two sites, and disputes remain as to its political system, area of influence and its relations with contemporary Mesoamerican cities, especially with Chichen Itza. The site is located in the city of Tula de Allende in the Tula Valley, in what is now the southwest of the Mexican state of Hidalgo, northwest of Mexico City. The archeological site consists of a museum, remains of an earlier settlement called Tula Chico as well as the main ceremonial site called Tula Grande. The main attraction is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, which is topped by four 4-metre-high (13 ft) basalt columns carved in the shape of Toltec warriors. Tula fell around 1150, but it had significant influence in the following Aztec Empire, with its history written about heavily in myth. The feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl is linked to this city, whose worship was widespread from central Mexico to Central America at the time the Spanish arrived.

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