The Loss of the Ancients

The Loss of the Ancients is a mythic event detailed amongst the Aztecs about the loss of the first people. In 1790, a stone calendar was discovered that detailed the plagues that destroyed the Ancients beginning with jaguars, wind, fire and flood. Other legends recommended that Tezcatlipoca and his rival Quetzalcoatl fought over the sun, with Quetzalcoatl chasing Tezcatlipoca to earth. On earth, Tezcatlipoca turned in a jaguar and devoured the first people.

The Fifth Sun

By the Aztec reckoning, they lived during the time of the fifth sun. The world was flat and dived equally into four quarters. Each quarter was relegated to certain days, special gods and colors. At the center of the earth, the god of fire gave warmth to the land while above the flat earth existed thirteen heavens with nine underworlds. Among the Aztecs, nine was a very unlucky number.

One myth of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl discusses their actions in kidnapping a woman of the sky, contorting her until her limbs formed the four quarters. Thus the earth was this woman and angered by her rough treatment, she devoured the first people and all the dead that came after.

Ancient Aliens

Some archaeologists and crypto zoologists agree that a race may have existed in the region before the rise of the Aztecs. Certainly the Maya to the south were regional rivals and later, the arrival of the Spanish signaled their downfall. One theory speculates that the first people were aliens seeded among the earth to teach science, art, history and more.

Scientists argue that the specificity of mathematics used during the early Aztec, Egyptian and Mayan civilizations was out of context with the rest of their civilization. The mythic event resulting in the loss of the ancients could simply be a primitive people's way of documenting the exodus of this alleged alien race.

As with many cultures, the loss of the first people or Ancients marks a new age and the rise of the Aztec Empire as a regional power.