Origin

A drawing depicting the origin of solid earth (and the shaping of the world) according to the Mexica Cosmology. Here, Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent) and Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror) trap Cipactli, the crocodile/fish-like primeval sea beast, adorned with extra mouths on each of its joints. It's said Cipactli was ever-hungry, and thus all attempts of the deities (Teteoh) in creating solid earth were undone by its efforts. Tezcatlipoca had to sacrifice one of his feet to attract the crocodile-like beast to the surface, and from then trap it. From its body, the earth was created.

This idea of a sea beast's subjulgation being the beginning or formation of the solid earth, or the firmament, is very usual among several ancient cosmologies (such as the Sumerian and later Babylonian Enuma Elish, with the subjulgation of Abzu and Tiamat), for several reasons, including the likely possibility of it being a re-telling of the control of the aqueducts as the foundation of each "civilization". In the case of the Mexica, the city of Tenochtitlán itself was built upon the Lake Texcoco, and they had a sophisticated use of artificial isles and agriculture (the chinampa system).

As the characteristic of this drawing implies, it would be used as the basis for a xylograph.