English
Español
We have the so-called Atlantes of Tula, of whom the following is officially said: "The four amazing anthropomorphic figures, known as Atlantes of Tula, are representations of Quetzalcóatl as the Morning Star" [Wikipedia]. although others say that they are only the custodians of the temple of Quetzalcóatl. So there is no consensus on them. Likewise, it is unknown who really built them,
But there is no evidence to indicate that they were Atlanteans or originally from Atlantis, is there? Their features are a square face, chubby legs and arms and most importantly, their height, although their total height is about four and a half meters, the proportion they have is only 4.5 heads. Previously no one had taken this situation into account. I mean that the body proportion of 4.5 heads corresponds to that of a dwarf, even more so because of its chubby arms and legs.
Here you can see the proportion in the heads of a dwarf, an "Atlantean" and a normal human.
In archeology there are many assumptions and misunderstandings, most of these originated by the first (and still current) scholars with a Eurocentric personality, others have been originated simply because the discoverer or some scholar thought of calling a discovery a certain way. without there being the slightest evidence for it to be called or interpreted that way. Unfortunately, these randomly assigned names have endured and have become part of their official nomenclature, affecting the full understanding of reality.
Exactly that happened with the so-called "Altantes de Tula", the 4 columns with an anthropomorphic shape at the top of Temple B in Tula, Hidalgo (Mexico). They are officially part of the Toltec culture, although apparently they existed prior to its existence.
At this moment we will not take into account other aspects of their iconography such as their clothing, etc., only their morphology, they are proportional dwarfs. In pre-Columbian America there were legends of entire towns of "little people", both in the Amazon and in other cultures, specifically in the Mayan culture, it is said that the construction of the Temple of the Fortune Teller in Uxmal was built by a dwarf magician who later ruled the city.
In Mesoamerica, dwarfs were perceived as having special power, with divine qualities. They were also part of the courts, in a similar way to medieval Europe, although in Europe they were normally jesters. Bernal Díaz del Castillo and other sources point out that in the In Montezuma's court there were dwarfs (men and women), who had, among other functions (performing rituals and being part of the court), entertainment.
So why place four dwarfs at the portal of the temple in Tula? Auspicious or protective figures are usually placed in the porches; it is never customary to place a main deity or simply an ornament in an entrance porch, so let us discard the official version that they are sculptures of Quetzalcoatl.
The bodily characteristic of dwarfism was not perceived in Mesoamerica as a physical deformity, but rather brought them closer to their ancestors and the underworld. Although they were part of the government and provided entertainment for the Tlatoani, it is also reported that on some occasions they were sacrificed.
In pre-Hispanic times, the dwarfs were in charge of officiating ceremonies and participating in dances, playing musical instruments, especially rattles. Present in the narrative of the gods, they participated in the dances in honor of the corn god, and they also appear in the iconography of the Holmul vessels.
Related to the ancestors, they are also beings associated with caves and the underworld, “where life is generated.” This is how they appear on vessels and iconography during the Classic Mayan period, says Zalaquett Rock, attached to the IIFL Center for Mayan Studies.
The parallelism of placing dwarfs in a porch that we also find on the other side of the world, in Egypt with the god Bes. Bes was a divinity with demonic characteristics, he was a family divinity. Bes was the protector of the home and children, particularly linked to the critical phase of birth and defense against harmful animals.
He was a god of war, but also a protector of childbirth and the home, he was also linked to desire, entertainment, music and dance. Although his role originally appears to have been that of the pharaoh's guard, he was also the protector of the royal household.
As the god of music, Bes wears a crown of vertical feathers, a harp, and as the god of war, a short sword and shield.
A. Shield; B. Plume of straight feathers; C. Short sword; D. "Duck's mouth."
We would say that there are too many coincidences: Both Bes and the "Atlanteans" of Tula wear a crown of vertical feathers, a short sword (not perfectly identifiable in the Atlanteans of Tula), a shield and above all, they are dwarfs and were placed in the porch of a construction. Finally there is a point of coincidence that has not been described previously, the facial expression, the one today called "duck's mouth", both the "Atlanteans of Tula" and the god Bes in all their representations have it.
This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that we will find parallels between pre-Columbian cultures and the ancient cultures of the old world. Proof of the existence of a global global culture?