In some sort of cataclysm, the details of which even the gods have difficulty recalling, the primeval sea retreated from the land which would become the coast. This caused the extinction or near extinction of many of the great oceanic civilizations and paved the way for the terrestrial dominance of mankind. The recession of the great ocean left behind many of the landmarks, architecture, and creatures which would become the huacas and deities of the new race of bipedal apes.