Caves and Comets
The concept of the Maw of the Earth as Mother Earth seems to be fairly recent. Many cultures around the world have a variation of a time of great heat when people fled to the caves. The Old Fire God is the primary actor in this scene. He emerges from the mouth of a great serpent and is shown with wind in his hair and face. He appears to be discussing a serious subject with the younger earth fire God who touches the clouds. God K is on the tail of the elder wind/sky serpent is behind both of them.Yet, the young god is Quetzalcoatl, the original comet figure who is also called Ehécatl, the god of the wind.
The one codex that shows the four ages of the sun in simple picture format is the Codex Ríos. All four plates show stones falling. The first page indicates by its color that the stars first fell when the known earth was covered with water. The text annotated in Nahuatl implies water, and a kind of dust, but not large meteorites.
I - Apachihuilliztli (born of water) - Chalchuitlicue - Aqua -
water
[Yuyupeuiliztli - caida de caspa - dandruff)
One can assume that caida de caspa or dandruff tells us that the fallout consisted of dust, not stones. This is in agreement with the iridium layer found in many parts of the world which is thought to have caused the death of the dinosaurs. Even so, the Aztec calendar dates this about 2068 years previous to the Conquest of Mexico, roughly about 500 BC.
The annotated text of the second page indicates the Lord of fire.
II - Titlaltotonametli (titlal - Lord); (totona - sign - spirit);
metli - planting maguey) - fire
Excessive heat is a product of fire, but here the heat caused the maguey to flourish. Apparently it was a new plant for the area. This date is about 1352 years before the Conquest.
The third page of the Codex Ríos is also recorded at Chichen Itza. The comet at the top of that mural has a large sun-like image with a man inside of it. A loop extends from the sun-image to a smaller enclosure behind it, the location of another male figure. The Ríos does not show a person at the end of the serpent tail, but does 
indicate wind (by the tumbling deer heads and monkey forms around the cave) and a great heat (by the feathers in the fan, an Aztec symbol of fire)Every school child knows the Greek story of the young god who drove the horses of the sun and fell to his death. One can say the young brash chariot driver was a personified meteorite. It was during this time when the "sun" came too close to earth that men and beast had to flee to the caves until this great heat dissipated. Those who survived began anew with an appreciation of the Earth Mother/Protectoress/Womb.
In one of Justin Kerr's vase photos, which shows an elder person with a net around his neck in the mouth of a better-defined image of a serpent. God K is usually attached to the tail. These large sky serpents wrap itself around a personage. Some of which are male figures; others, female being oogled by the ancient one. The male figure (the younger god noted above) who reaches for the clouds could be a fire mountain tall enough to create clouds (over 4,000 feet). One must only remember that such a sky event would have been noticed world-wide. Comets do not travel very far during a single night if they are coming towards the earth, away from the sun. It is an optical illusion, even though the comet is actually moving quickly. The Old God wears a net around his neck. It reminds one of the story of the golden net Hephaestus created to entangle Mars (a constellation once called Ares, but now called Orion) and Venus, a planet which goes retrograde around the upraised hand (or club) of Orion. And sure enough, a similar series of vases, photographed by Justin Kerr, shows this ancient personage fondling a busty female who is leaning backwards, attempting not to be rude but to get away from the reaching fingers. If the old serpent fire god is the comet with a flaming tail (God K), then it is possible that Venus (Aphrodite) went retrograde near Orion, when they were found in close proximity by the old one.
The third page of the Ríos contains several Nahuatl words:
III - Tremore - Xuitecutli - as serpent emerging from half the image of the Aztec Calendar Stone - birds (split) - jade - turquoise - comet - returning.
All know Quetzalcoatl as a younger form of this wind/sky serpent, who slashed the earth with his scythe. We know from Aztec myths that Xolotl, an avatar of Quetzalcoatl, went into the underworld to save the sun for the world. Other Maya vases, show a "jaguar-baby" falling onto an earth serpent form. According to Eric Thompson, in his book on Maya civilization, the jaguar-image is the god of the Underworld. (p. 206) By default then, since the Maya jaguar-baby fell onto the earth serpent (mountain), as did Huitzilopochtli, one can actually recall the Aztec version as the same story. Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl then would be the god names for the wind/sky form, part of which fell to earth. Huitzilopochtli would not have acquired his name until the great battle in defense of his mother when he became a separate entity by reason of his new role as warrior. Other lands in the Americas would call the first a decapitator god. The second became the victim or sacrificed one. The third stayed in Central America.
In this drawing of the codex, the tool that cut the earth is visible; as is the feather (fire) fan which was used to burn the earth. It was here that the caves were used as protective coverings, giving credence to the "Mother/Father" parent image in the caves or maw of the earth. The approximate date is 1040 years before the Conquest.
The last page in the set shows a mountain image with flowers and fruit
falling over it when, at the same time, the stones fall from the sky.
IV - Sochiquetzal -(Xochiquetzal) tierra de frutales - green
(feathers - jade - enaltetione - flowers)
Peace and tranquillity was the last vision of the Parent "Mother-Fathers."
Here it was 364 years previous to the Conquest.