Aftermath of the Toltec collapse in the 1120s

Timeline

1. c. 1121–1126Tula · HidalgoArchaeology shows interrupted building maintenance in Tula's core area and some ritual facilities damaged or abandoned, suggesting Toltec royal power could no longer sustain centralized control over the Central Highlands, with local chieftains carving out their own domains.
2. c. 1123–1129Central Highlands of Mexico · Central HighlandsLegends of Toltec artisans, priests, and warriors migrating to Yucatán, Oaxaca, and farther north are often embellished by later ages, but elements such as feathered serpent imagery and colonnaded architecture did indeed persist in many places, forming a post-Toltec cultural synthesis.
3. c. 1125–1130Northern frontier of Mexico · NorthAfter the decline of the Toltec military system, pressure from northern nomadic and semi-nomadic groups intensified, heightening the fortification of settlements along the southern edge of the highlands and demographic reorganization, laying the background for the later rise of new polities such as the Aztecs.