950-1150 CE
From 950 to 1150 CE, the Toltecs cast a shadow across Mesoamerica that would outlast their empire — Tollan's colonnaded halls and warrior columns setting the standard for every kingdom that followed, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl becoming the god-king whose return haunted Aztec nightmares. Whether their influence reached Chichén Itzá through conquest or commerce, their legacy defined what it meant to be civilized until the Spanish came.