Cycles of Civilization: Rise and Fall

American traditions across many tribes speak of previous worlds that were destroyed with only

a few people surviving to populate the current world. The Hopi described four previous worlds

each destroyed when humanity became corrupt or when natural catastrophes occurred.

The current world in their tradition is the fifth. In South America, Andean traditions

speak of Viracocha, a creator deity or culture hero who appeared after a great flood to

teach civilization to the survivors. Similar themes of flood, destruction,

and renewal by divine or heroic figures appear throughout the region. These myths could

be purely symbolic archetypal stories that humans create to explain the origin of their societies