Pyramid B and the Atlantes

Toltec pyramid topped by four carved basalt warrior columns.

Pyramid B is the image people come to Tula for: a low stepped temple platform topped by four basalt Atlantean figures, each carved as a Toltec warrior with a butterfly breastplate, darts, and a spear-thrower. They once supported the roof of a temple, but now they stand in the open sky, which gives them a stark authority.

The pyramid is not as overwhelming as Teotihuacan's great structures, but the sculpture is much more personal. Walk around the platform and look closely at the reliefs before moving on; the details explain why later Mexica stories treated Tollan as a model city of warriors and craftsmen.

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