All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens s21e07 Mysteries Of The Aztecs.eng

NARRATOR:
700 years ago,

a civilization emerged
in North America

that was among the most
sophisticated in the world.

DAVID CHEETHAM:
When the Spanish came into the basin of Mexico,

they looked at the Aztec Empire

and they thought
they were having a dream.

NARRATOR:
The Aztecs built

one of history's
most powerful empires

and they claimed
that its success

was determined
by a war between the gods.

The Aztecs talk
about a final battle.

JASON MARTELL:
This war is happening in space

with two races fighting
over the destinies of mankind.

NARRATOR: Could it be
that the story of the Aztecs

contains profound truths

about humankind's ancient past?

GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: The gods that
the Aztecs worshipped traveled

to Earth from the stars.

Could these otherworldly gods
have been, in fact,

flesh and blood
extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

NARRATOR:
Extending from the highlands of central Mexico

to the jungles of Costa Rica

is a region historians
refer to as Mesoamerica.

It was completely
unknown to Europeans

until the 16th century AD,

but Mesoamerica is considered

a cradle of civilization,

where numerous cultures emerged
and thrived for centuries.

Mesoamerica has
a long, long history.

The total history is
some 3,000 years,

beginning somewhere
around 1800 BCE

with the Olmecs.

The Olmec are widely considered

our first
Mesoamerican civilization.

They are the first to build

major, major architecture.

The Olmec established
many of the things

that subsequent cultures
would use.

They had gods, for example,

like rain gods

and other kinds of gods,
that appear

in other civilizations

in similar,
if not identical form.

So, in many ways,
they're considered

the mother culture
of Mesoamerica.

NARRATOR: Shortly after
the emergence of the Olmecs

came the Mixtec Kingdom
that began in 1500 BC.

Then came the Maya who started
building massive cities

in the Yucat�n Peninsula
around 750 BC,

followed by the Zapotec Kingdom

that formed in 500 BC,

and later the Toltecs

who arose around 800 AD.

Everything from big architecture

to advanced religious practices,

to long-distance trade, uh,

to major urban planning,

all of these were developed

by the civilizations
in Mesoamerica.

NARRATOR:
But in 1325,

a new civilization emerged
in the region

that would become more powerful
than any that had come before.

They were called the Aztecs.

OCHOA: The Aztecs were
a wandering people,

who hailed from the
northern parts of Mesoamerica.

After centuries
of wandering in the north,

they made their way towards
the central valley of Mexico.

BARNHART: The Aztec Empire
started in 1325.

Over the next hundred years,
they build it up.

Their influence suddenly spreads
from Central Mexico

all the way down into Honduras.

They affect the Zapotec,
the Tarascans, the Maya.

Their reach met
the very ends of their world.

CHEETHAM:
The Aztec people created

Mesoamerica's
only fully documented empire.

An empire being a state

that takes over other states.

BARNHART: They are
these violent conquerors.

They are our first
real expansionistic culture.

First they take over
all of Central Mexico.

They go down to Puebla.

Then they take over Oaxaca.

At that time,
the Mixtec and the Zapotec

have been living in
relative harmony for centuries.

But the Aztec come down there

and not only do they take over,

but they rename
all of their towns.

They continue that
all the way down

into the highlands of Guatemala.

WILLIAM HENRY: The Aztec Empire
was enormously powerful.

They were able to network

amongst these cities
and they were

a highly sophisticated
civilization

that had greater
technological capability,

or certainly
pyramid-building capability.

Mathematics and astronomy
were at the center

of the Aztec culture

and it suggests that they were
great watchers of the stars.

Their math, their science was

well advanced for their time.

NARRATOR: As their lands grew,
the Aztec Empire flourished.

They established
vast trade networks,

developed
an advanced counting system,

and created
a sophisticated justice system.

CHEETHAM: Among the many things
that characterized

the spectacular nature
of the Aztec culture

are things like the economy

that was reaching to the
furthest parts of Mesoamerica

to obtain exotic goods.

They had a system of politics,

which divided out nobles
from commoners.

And many, many other traits
that characterized

this fantastic civilization.

NARRATOR: The sparkling jewel
in the crown of the Aztec Empire

was their capital,
which was built

on the same location
where Mexico City stands today.

Called Tenochtitlan,

it was a magnificent
floating metropolis

on Lake Texcoco.

OCHOA:
Tenochtitlan, in its heyday,

was likely the largest city
in the world.

A population of about
150 to 200,000 residents.

Larger than Paris.

It is located on an island
in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

That island metropolis
is connected

to the mainland
by four major causeways

that connect it and allow it
to engage in economic trade.

BARNHART: All of the causeways
out to the mainland

from their capital island city

had garden after garden
after garden.

As you walked through the city,

you walked through this just
beautiful botanical landscape.

There were more rivers
than there were walking paths.

Everyone that lived
in the town had a canoe

parked outside like their car.

When the Aztecs build
their capital Tenochtitlan

there, in that lake,

they built the pyramids
and other structures there

aligned with the Pleiades
and to other planets

and solar systems as well.

NARRATOR: At its height,
the Aztec Empire controlled

over 80,000 square miles

and more than
five million people.

The Aztecs were not only one
of the greatest civilizations

anywhere in the world,
but also the most feared.

This stemmed from
a wide-spread religious practice

that was equal parts
terrifying and mysterious:

Human sacrifice.

BARNHART: The main temple
in the city of Tenochtitlan,

we call it the Templo Mayor.

It was actually a double temple.

One side was dedicated
to Huitzilopochtli, the war god,

the other one to Tl�loc,
the rain god.

So it was a place
central to the city.

All of the major festivals
took place

at its base and around it,

but its first
and foremost function

was sacrifice.

HENRY: Upon the opening
of this pyramid,

over 20,000 men, women,
and children

were sacrificed to the gods.

The reasoning was
that the gods needed the blood

to keep the universe in order

and also to appease
all the gods.

OCHOA:
The Aztecs had an understanding

of the world as being ordered
by order and chaos.

And their gods had
to be appeased.

And so that meant human
sacrifice on a regular basis

as part of religious expression
and religious ritual.

NARRATOR:
But if the Aztecs felt compelled

to perform human sacrifice
to appease the gods,

who taught them this?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

the answer can be found
by examining

the hundreds
of Aztec historical documents

that have survived until today

and their accounts
of powerful beings

who came from the stars.

NARRATOR: A team
of historians working closely

with The National Museum
of Anthropology

makes
an incredible announcement.

They have acquired three
never-before-seen Aztec texts,

called codices,
that had been hidden away

in a family archive
for hundreds of years.

We have documents
about Aztec life and history.

We call them codices.

The ones that are made in Mexico

in their fashion
are fan-fold books.

They're a single piece
of amate bark paper

that folds out
like an accordion.

They tell us all sorts of
information about Aztec origins,

Aztec politics,
and who conquered who.

NARRATOR: The codices have provided
historians detailed accounts

of the Aztec government,
trade, and religious beliefs.

But most interesting
to ancient astronaut theorists

is a set of pages
known as the Codex Boturini,

that tells
the Aztec origin story.

OCHOA: When it comes
to the origins of the Aztecs,

they claimed to have originated

from some mythical land
called Aztl�n.

HENRY: The name "Aztec"
means "people of Aztl�n."

To them, Aztl�n was
their original homeland.

It was this Edenic paradise.

It was a land
with a lake and an island.

Very peaceful.

BARNHART:
In the accounts of the Aztecs,

Aztl�n is a real place.

It's not some sort of heaven
or other world.

It's somewhere to the north.

NARRATOR:
According to the Aztec legend,

in the middle of Aztl�n
stood a steep hill

and inside was a mysterious cave

with seven chambers
called Chicomoztoc.

The Aztecs say that from here,

all of the people
of Mesoamerica emerged

after a visit
from an otherworldly being.

HENRY: Aztl�n was the domain
of a goddess named Coatlicue.

She is a creator goddess.

And in Aztec mythology,
she brings this flint knife

to Earth, and she places it
in the seven caves.

And from within
these seven caves then emerge

all the tribes,
including the Aztecs.

CHILDRESS: This flint knife
descended from the sky

into the seven caves of Aztl�n.

And you have to wonder
what this giant flint thing was.

Was it perhaps
an extraterrestrial craft?

TSOUKALOS: The original stories
of somebody descending

from the sky
and imparting knowledge

happened, in reality, by flesh
and blood extraterrestrials,

whom our ancestors

misinterpreted as gods.

Why were our ancestors
considering them as gods?

Well, because they descended
from the sky.

NARRATOR: Could the Aztec legend
of a flint knife

descending from the sky
be describing

an extraterrestrial craft?

As far
as ancient astronaut theorists

are concerned,
even more intriguing

are the striking similarities
that exist

between descriptions of Aztl�n

and the legendary
lost city of Atlantis,

a place that was said
to be ruled

by otherworldly beings.

There are some very provocative
similarities between the stories

of Aztl�n and Atlantis.

They're both considered
to be Edenic sort of paradises.

They both had
canals or waterways.

They are both
described as circular.

In fact,
when you look at paintings

of Tenochtitlan and compare them
with paintings of Atlantis,

they're
virtually interchangeable.

And then, when you remove the Z,

Aztl�n is actually
Atlan or Atlantis.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
the Aztecs' ancient homeland

of Aztl�n was, in fact,
the lost city of Atlantis?

Perhaps further clues about
this otherworldly origin story

can be found by examining

a mysterious ancient site
just north of the Aztec capital.

This impressive complex,

encompassing
nearly eight square miles,

is home to two of
the largest pyramids on Earth:

The Pyramid of the Sun

and the Pyramid of the Moon.

The ancient city is believed
to have been built

sometime around
the first century AD.

But just who built it
remains a mystery.

One of the more interesting
things about Teotihuacan

is the fact that
we don't know who built it.

But there's no question
that Teotihuacan

was a metropolis.

Teotihuacan before the Aztecs

was the largest city
ever constructed in Mesoamerica.

At its height, it had

somewhere around 200,000 people
living there.

It had the most massive pyramids
that had ever been built.

NARRATOR:
In the 1977 book

Mysteries of
the Mexican Pyramids,

written by Peter Tompkins,

engineer Hugh Harleston Jr.

mapped Teotihuacan and declared

that its buildings have
a profound connection

to the stars.

What's so fascinating there
is that many of these pyramids

there align directly
with our planets

in our solar system,

including Pluto.

Now, officially, Pluto was
not discovered until the 1930s.

So how did the people

of Teotihuacan know about Pluto?

Well, the answer to that
is that somebody told them.

And who told them?

The extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: In their codices,
the Aztecs called Teotihuacan

"the birthplace of the gods"

and described hundreds
of otherworldly beings

arriving on Earth
at this location.

But as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the notion
that extraterrestrials

once inhabited Teotihuacan

is supported
by physical evidence

that was discovered
at the site in 2015.

Beneath Teotihuacan's
third largest pyramid,

called the Temple
of the Feathered Serpent,

a team of archeologists
unearthed a series of tunnels

containing
some very curious substances.

HENRY: Mexican archaeologists
opened up a tunnel

that had been sealed
for the past 1,800 years.

And when they went inside,
they found this liquid mercury.

And there's no other reason
for the Aztecs

or any other culture to have
been using liquid mercury

unless it had
some technological purpose.

Another discovery was
large sheets of mica

in chambers within the pyramid.

TSOUKALOS:
Mica is used in computers

and also it is used
as a heating shield

in space travel.

So now what does that do

underneath Teotihuacan?

We know that spinning
of mercury can actually

create some type
of electromagnetic lift.

So mica, mercury;

these are all high signs
of something technological.

Something involving high heat.

Either a capacitor or some type
of lifting mechanism.

CHILDRESS:
So it has been suggested

that the pyramids at Teotihuacan

were energy devices,
very high-tech stuff.

So you have to wonder if,
in a way, this is also probably

extraterrestrial technology.

NARRATOR: Does Teotihuacan
contain physical evidence

that the hundreds of gods
the Aztecs documented

in their codices were,
in fact, alien visitors?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining the Aztec god

that the Temple
of the Feathered Serpent

was built to honor...

Quetzalcoatl.

At the southern end
of this ancient metropolis

stands the Temple
of the Feathered Serpent.

Its magnificent fa�ade
is embellished

with numerous ornate
stone statues of a snake head

ringed in feathers.

This visage depicts
one of the most prominent gods

worshipped
throughout Mesoamerica,

a being known to the Aztecs

as Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl was undoubtedly
one of the major gods

for multiple civilizations
in Mesoamerica.

A particular characteristic
of Quetzalcoatl

is the feathers
on the bottom of his body

that really denote the deity.

Quetzalcoatl is one of the,

if not
the primary Mesoamerican god.

He's a god of light,
a god of wisdom,

a god of healing,

and, ultimately, a peacemaker.

In their codices,
the Aztecs write

about Quetzalcoatl
teaching their ancestors

various disciplines
that were essential

to establishing
their vast civilization.

Quetzalcoatl
descended from the sky

in physical form and taught
the local populations

in different
scientific disciplines.

Like mathematics,

agriculture, medicine,

writing,
all these different things.

It's interesting to see
that this is not the only place

where, in ancient mythology,
the same takes place.

Because there are
other cultures around the world

that also refer to teacher gods
who descended from the sky.

NARRATOR:
Throughout the ancient world,

stories can be found
of powerful beings

who came from the stars
and shared wisdom

with early humans
to help jumpstart civilization.

In Egypt,
the god Ptah shared knowledge

of technology and metalworking.

Prometheus taught
the Ancient Greeks

how to wield fire.

And the world's
first civilization,

the Sumerians,
wrote that they were visited

by divine teachers
known as the Annunaki.

AMIR HUSSAIN:
In the Sumerian tradition,

one of the gods, Enlil,

teaches human beings
about agriculture,

teaches human beings how to plow
into the ground and plant seeds.

It's the gods
who show human beings

how to use technology,

how to create this technology.

TSOUKALOS: This idea
that there were teacher gods

a long time ago... the ancient
astronaut theory suggests

that our ancestors were all
visited by the same teachers.

The same extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Could Quetzalcoatl represent

an extraterrestrial visitor

who helped to establish
civilization in Mesoamerica?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

support for this notion
can be found

not only in the Aztec codices,

but also by examining a number

of curious depictions
of the Feathered Serpent God.

La Venta, Mexico.

1955.

American archeologists
Philip Drucker and Robert Heizer

begin an excavation
of an Olmec pyramid mound.

North of the main pyramid,

they unearth a mysterious
carved stela that they date

to around 1200 BC.

Now known as Monument 19,

it is believed by many
to be the oldest depiction

of Quetzalcoatl ever discovered.

La Venta Monument 19
is such an interesting

and evocative piece of art
that it's gotten a ton of names.

One of them is "the Rocket Man."

TSOUKALOS:
It depicts this weird scenery

of some guy
enclosed inside a snake.

And it's as if he's sitting
on some sort of a seat.

The guy's, you know,
wearing some sort of a suit

with a helmet.

And he is, you know, just
sitting inside this enclosure.

In my opinion, it's an example
of misunderstood technology.

Monument 19 is a representation

of Quetzalcoatl, the Teacher
God, inside of a flying craft.

NARRATOR: Does Monument 19's
unique depiction of Quetzalcoatl-

not as a feathered serpent,

but as a human-like figure

sitting within
the body of a serpent-

provide further evidence

that he was a real-life visitor
from another world?

Curiously, the Olmecs weren't

the only people to depict
Quetzalcoatl in human form.

There are also Maya
and Aztec depictions

of Quetzalcoatl
that show a human face

seeming to emerge
from the mouth of a serpent.

VON D�NIKEN: Now according
to Central American tradition,

Quetzalcoatl is supposed
to have descended from a star.

He's represented
as the feathered serpent,

but also he's represented

in a human form with the helmet.

There are many of these
representations of Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl was
definitely an extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR: As far
as ancient astronaut theorists

are concerned, Quetzalcoatl was

just one of many
otherworldly visitors

encountered by the Aztecs.

And while he is credited
as a key figure

in the establishment
of their civilization,

there was another sky god

that would come
to define the Aztec society.

One who demanded
human sacrifice.

NARRATOR:
Tula, Mexico.

Here, 50 miles north
of the Aztec capital

of Tenochtitlan, lie the ruins

of another
incredible Mesoamerican city.

It was home to the Toltecs,

who flourished from
roughly 950 to 1150 AD.

The site is full
of monumental stone structures

and beautiful carvings,

but the people who built it
left behind

no written record
of who they were.

The little that historians have
been able to piece together

about the Toltecs
comes from the Aztecs,

who claimed
to be their descendants

and chronicled
their oral history.

CHEETHAM:
The Aztec always wanted

to demonstrate their heritage.

And the Aztecs would claim
descent from Toltec peoples.

BARNHART: The Toltecs are said
to be the master artists of all time,

the most eloquent speakers,

the best musicians,
the best politicians.

To be civilized
was to be Toltec,

but most of these are stories
that the Aztecs told us.

NARRATOR: Among
the most intriguing artifacts

left by the Toltec are
several giant monolithic statues

standing on top of a pyramid.

According
to ancient astronaut theorists,

these figures represent beings

from a technologically
advanced society.

In Tula, Mexico,
there is a site that's famous

for these gigantic,
colossal statues

known as the Atlantean Columns.

And in my opinion, it's
one of the best representations

of ancient astronauts
because what you're looking at

are essentially people
that are dressed in some sort

of a pressurized suit.

Their hands are on the side

and they're holding
some sort of weaponry.

It's unlike anything that was
ever found in that region.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the enormous statues

at Tula depict
otherworldly visitors?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and point to
Aztec writings that claim

the Toltec were guided
by the god Quetzalcoatl.

According to the Aztec codices,

Quetzalcoatl taught them
not only the skills needed

to develop their civilization,

but also to live in peace
among one another.

CHILDRESS: Quetzalcoatl is known
as a very benevolent teacher god

who taught peace and love.

And he forbade human sacrifice,

which was very common
in Central America

for thousands of years.

NARRATOR:
But the Aztecs described that

within their vast
pantheon of gods

there were opposing agendas.

And a brother of Quetzalcoatl,

named Tezcatlipoca,

had very different intentions
for humanity.

Tezcatlipoca is
more of a sorcerer.

Understanding of
the dark wisdom.

A god of the night,
demanding that blood be spilled.

BARNHART:
Tezcatlipoca validated powers

through strength and violence.

Tezcatlipoca was
an agent of chaos.

NARRATOR: For the Aztecs
and their Toltec ancestors,

Tezcatlipoca offered
strength and conquest.

And he wished to be honored
through human sacrifice.

But Quetzalcoatl
stood in his way.

Tezcatlipoca demanded
human sacrifice.

And he schemed
to have Quetzalcoatl,

uh, evicted, if you will, from
the Toltec and Aztec tradition.

BARNHART:
The Aztecs talk about

a final battle in which
the forces of Tezcatlipoca

and those of Quetzalcoatl meet.

And Quetzalcoatl is
defeated and repelled.

NARRATOR:
According to Aztec codices,

coinciding with this battle
between the gods

was an earthly conflict

between those
who worshipped Quetzalcoatl

and those devoted
to Tezcatlipoca.

When the followers
of Tezcatlipoca

emerged victorious,

it sealed the Aztecs' fate

to become a war-like people

who conquered their neighbors

and sacrificed humans
to the gods.

MARTELL: Looking at this through
the lens of the ancient astronaut theory,

I wonder if this war
between Quetzalcoatl

and Tezcatlipoca

is something happening
above the veil,

that in space
there's something going on

with two races fighting
over the destinies of mankind.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
a certain group of extraterrestrials

influenced the Aztec people
to become more warlike

and even engage
in human sacrifice?

For ancient astronaut theorists,

what makes the story of
Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca

even more intriguing is

that the notion
of gods warring over humanity

can be found
in numerous ancient cultures

throughout the world.

Throughout human history,
we have

this continuous interplay
between

the dark gods
and the light gods,

very similar to what we see

among the Toltecs
and the Aztecs.

For example, in Ancient Sumeria,

you have the conflict
between two brothers,

Enki and Enlil.

You find the same story played
out in the Greek tradition

between Prometheus and Zeus.

This idea that there were
good gods versus bad gods

could be a distant memory

of some sort
of an extraterrestrial war

that happened here on Earth.

NARRATOR:
According to the codices,

when Tezcatlipoca
replaced Quetzalcoatl

as the primary deity,

human sacrifice
began to take place

on a scale never seen before.

And the Aztecs not
only sacrificed their enemies,

but even their own people.

CHEETHAM: Those that
witnessed some of this

talk about tens of thousands

of people being dispatched

in a single ritual event.

And they did it because
the gods demanded it.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that this bloody ritual

was inspired
by otherworldly visitors

who had some nefarious agenda
for humanity?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest further evidence

of an extraterrestrial influence
in Aztec culture

can be found
by examining the arrival

of the Spanish conquistadors

and the downfall
of the Aztec Empire.

NARRATOR: The Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan.

1509.

Over the course of five nights,

King Montezuma II witnesses
a rare celestial event,

which he interprets
as a sign from the gods.

BARNHART: Montezuma II
is sitting on the throne

when there's
a bad omen of a comet

that comes through the sky.

Comets were unexplained
and bad juju.

In this particular case, though,
Montezuma

goes to the king of Texcoco,

who is a philosopher king.

And he asks him,
you know, what does this mean?

And he says
"Well, all of our omens say

"that you will
be sitting on the throne

at the end of the Aztec Empire."

Montezuma and
his wise men read this as a sign

that now is the time
for the return of Quetzalcoatl.

NARRATOR:
According to the Aztec codices,

when Quetzalcoatl was driven
from the Earth

by his more violent brother
Tezcatlipoca,

he vowed he would
one day be back.

And the possibility
of his return

weighed heavily
on King Montezuma.

HENRY: One might think
they would be welcoming

the appearance of Quetzalcoatl,
but not Montezuma.

He's very concerned
that they've reimplemented

human sacrifice,

much to the chagrin
of Quetzalcoatl.

And they're terrified that this
will be judgment day for them.

NARRATOR:
In November 1519,

ten years after
the appearance of the comet,

500 Spanish conquistadors arrive

at Tenochtitlan,

led by Hern�n Cort�s.

Armed with swords, lances,

shields and crossbows,

they are prepared
to be met with hostility.

But as they cross
the causeway into the capital,

they are shocked to be greeted
warmly by a friendly king.

Cort�s's physical
appearance precisely matches

the description of
the god Quetzalcoatl.

He's a powerful type
of a figure.

And Montezuma's looking at him,
thinking,

here's this representative
of this god,

if not the god himself,

appearing before him.

TSOUKALOS: When the Spanish
conquistadors arrived,

the local population
of present-day Mexico,

they never moved a finger
to protect themselves.

BARNHART: Cort�s actually
captured Montezuma himself

right in the middle
of his own city.

And from there, he took
control of the entire city.

Montezuma's belief
that Cort�s was Quetzalcoatl

had devastating consequences.

After Cort�s seized control
of Tenochtitlan,

the Aztec people violently
rebelled against the Spanish

and stoned King Montezuma

to death.

Unrest quickly escalated
to all-out war.

HENRY: The Aztec Empire
was enormously powerful.

And when Cort�s comes along
with his 500 men,

Cort�s went to
all the outlying tribes

and made alliances with them

and made a pact that they would
end human sacrifice

if they assisted Cort�s

overthrowing the Aztecs.

And this is exactly
what happened.

BARNHART: Less than
a thousand Spaniards could've

been easily dispatched.

But the Spanish met
the Tlaxcalans.

And the Tlaxcalans
fielded 50,000 people

against the Aztecs.

The Indigenous allies
of the Spaniards knew

how to maneuver in Lake Texcoco

and find where the Aztec

and Tlatelolcan warriors
would be located.

That was a war that involved

over 100,000 Indigenous warriors

fighting on the side
of the Spanish.

So, in essence, this was
a Spanish-Indigenous war

versus the Aztecs.

NARRATOR:
By 1521, just two years

after the Spanish arrived
in Tenochtitlan,

the Aztec Empire had fallen.

The prophecy
that Montezuma II would be

be the last Aztec king
had come to pass.

But is it possible
that Quetzalcoatl was a real,

extraterrestrial entity
who had a hand

in the downfall of the Aztecs

in order to put an end
to human sacrifice?

You have to wonder if there was

an extraterrestrial agenda
behind all this,

in that Quetzalcoatl himself
was perhaps

an extraterrestrial
who was benevolent

and here to bring mankind
out of these dark ages

of human sacrifice
and brutality.

NARRATOR: After the fall
of the Aztec Empire,

the Spanish demolished
the city of Tenochtitlan,

drained Lake Texcoco,
and began to build

modern Mexico City in its place.

OCHOA:
The fall of the Aztec Empire

transformed
the western hemisphere.

There are new rulers heading

what once was the Aztec Empire.

There is a whole new
civilization in the Americas.

NARRATOR: Although
the Aztec Empire came to an end

more than 500 years ago,

their descendants are
still around today.

And some of them claim
there is physical evidence

that the story
of the Aztecs' otherworldly past

is true.

NARRATOR: Located
in the California desert,

just west of the Arizona border,

an estimated
300 gigantic figures

can be seen
etched in the arid ground.

Known as the Blythe Intaglios,

these ancient geoglyphs
depict animals,

spirals,
and gigantic humanoid figures.

They are protected
by descendants of the Aztecs

known as the Chemehuevi.

And according to Chemehuevi
elder Alfredo Figueroa,

two of the largest geoglyphs

represent very early versions
of Aztec gods

Tzitzimitl and Quetzalcoatl.

We don't use the word gods.

We use the word "creator."

[speaks native language]

TSOUKALOS: Our ancestors
wanted to convey to us

that they experienced

an ancient visitation
by extraterrestrials.

Because Quetzalcoatl
and all these ancient gods

promised
that they would return one day.

NARRATOR: Chemehuevi historian
Patricia Robles says that

what makes these geoglyphs
of even greater importance

is their age.

PATICIA ROBLES: They were known
to Indigenous people

for thousands of years

through our native
cultural traditions.

They're more
than 10,000 years old.

The glyphs were made
by the first humans

that came to this Earth.

Ancient civilizations
are coming to surface

because the time has come

to tell the truth
about human origin.

We are star people.

We came from the stars.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the Blythe Intaglios

include depictions of Aztec gods

that were created
more than 10,000 years ago?

And if so, might this suggest

that the Aztec origin story

that involves gods descending
on Mesoamerica

in the distant past,

giving rise to civilizations
like the Olmecs,

Mixtecs, Toltecs, and others,

is true?

CHILDRESS: For centuries the
Americas were this unknown land.

And we are finding out
all kinds of new things.

We're pushing back
the dates of civilization.

And, with the Aztecs,

the gods are credited

with starting
their civilization.

And they believe
that they traveled

to Earth from the stars.

Now, what if there is
something to that?

HENRY: In the story
of the Aztecs is a drama

that has played out
multiple times in human history,

between what appear to be
almost factions

of different
extraterrestrial species.

And in the Aztec story,
we have Quetzalcoatl.

The same entity appears over
and again in numerous cultures.

TSOUKALOS: North America
is one of the few places

where we still have
living mythologies

where we can ask living people
about their history.

And these cultures
did speak of physical beings

descending from the stars
and imparting knowledge.

NARRATOR: Could it be
that the incredible ruins,

writings,
and oral history of the Aztecs

tells a story
of otherworldly activity

in the distant past?

Were the hundreds of gods
recorded in the Aztec codices

in fact extraterrestrials

who influenced civilizations
throughout Mesoamerica?

Perhaps the truth
will be revealed

not by some newly discovered
archaeological site or relic,

but by the return

of our alien ancestors.

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