This room features three sculptures that were recovered from the outskirts of the Tula Archaeological Zone. These pieces reflect the grandeur of the Toltec civilization, which built an urban center with complex social and political structures, as evidenced by the layout, orientation, and planning of its civic, religious, administrative, and residential buildings.

This introductory room honors archaeologist Jorge R. Acosta, a pioneer in the study of Tula, while also acknowledging early explorers and writers who contributed to the site’s history. Antonio García Cubas was the first to describe the “ruins” of the city in 1873.

In the 1880s, explorer Désiré Charnay conducted the first excavations and published his findings extensively. Later, around 1933, Francisco Mújica Diez de Bonilla created detailed drawings based on Charnay’s work and documented pieces scattered throughout the modern town of Tula.

On display are basalt sculptures and various ceramic vessels from Tula’s early urbanization phase. After the fall of Teotihuacan in the 7th century CE, Tula absorbed various peoples into a new cultural system. The room highlights the blending of two cultural traditions: the earlier urban legacy of Teotihuacan and another, possibly from the Bajío region in northern Mesoamerica, linked to the Coyotlatelco Red-on-Buff pottery found in Tula Chico.

Panels explain that Tula thrived for more than four centuries. Its urban development began around 650 CE with densely populated settlements and the creation of Tula Chico, a civic-religious center built with terraces and retaining walls. By 800 CE, Tula had become a metropolis with terraces, plazas, neighborhoods, and streets covering five to six square kilometers.

This room showcases sculptures, carved stones, and ceramics from Tula’s peak. By the year 900, the core area known as Tula Grande featured structures such as Pyramids B and C, the Burned Palace, the Royal (or East) Palace, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Buildings J and K, the central altar, the Tzompantli (skull rack), and two ball courts.

This space explores the fusion of Toltec architecture, worldview, and religion. Objects used in religious and funerary ceremonies are exhibited, offering insight into sacred practices.

Displayed here are architectural elements such as G-shaped battlements, carved from tuff stone and once covered in stucco. These battlements, shaped like cross-sections of conch shells with grooves, are interpreted as symbols of Venus and associated with the deity Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli.

Toltec battlements adorned the tops of temple parapets, columned halls, and the northern wall called the Coatepantli. The Toltecs transformed decorative cornices into a hallmark of Postclassic architecture, later seen across Mesoamerica, including the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Xochicalco, the Temple of Kukulcán at Chichén Itzá, Plazuelas in Guanajuato, and El Cerrito in Querétaro.

This room displays sculptures that tell the story of Tula’s decline. After the city was abandoned, it was looted and burned. This is represented by severed sculpted heads and fragmented Chac Mool figures, symbolizing the city’s violent end.

This room presents long-distance trade goods. These include Fine Orange ceramics, obsidian from Pachuca (Hidalgo) and Ucareo (Michoacán), and turquoise likely sourced from what is now New Mexico. From far southern Mesoamerica, Nicoya Polychrome pottery—made in Nicaragua or Costa Rica—is featured.

Also highlighted is Plumbate Tohil pottery, a hallmark of Toltec presence and Tula’s prosperity. This trade ceramic, with a metallic orange or gray finish, was produced on Guatemala’s and Chiapas’s Pacific coast. A special case is dedicated to stone tools, emphasizing their significance in Tula’s material culture.

This room provides a visual comparison between Tula and Chichén Itzá’s architecture and sculpture. Visitors can see parallels between their main pyramids, sculpted processions of pumas and coyotes on temple facades, and hybrid reptile-human figures associated with the god Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. Other shared features include Atlantean columns and Chac Mool statues.

Also exhibited are Aztec-period materials such as black-on-orange and red-on-black vessels, figurines, braziers, copper and bone artifacts, models, and sacrificial knives.