In nahui quiahuitl , or four rain, the people were destroyed by fire and the men became chickens. And, finally, during nahui atl , or four water, the water lasted 52 years, and the people were destroyed and turned into fish. According to the legend, the first sun had its beginning 2513 years ago. Under the fifth sun, the people would be destroyed by earthquakes and hunger. In many ancient cultures, to have a specific time-frame for situating the beginning of time or of the ages, is of most significance.
Debate continues to rage around the earliest dates of most cultures.
And, that such an affirmation is followed by a precise pattern of time periods only raises further doubts about the purpose of such a statement. The legend also specifies that the first 676 years ended in the corresponding year 13. The elements offered in the stated legend would appear to be formulating a puzzle, something that could possibly be analyzed, and decoded. The message, it would appear, was encoded in the numbered pattern, but it was encoded in order to be decoded, to be known and communicated. Something that becomes quite significant is the fact that the year 1073 in precisely 485 years difference from the year of 1558 when the legend was stated in this version.