Era of Raava

The time before the Avatar refers to a specific era within the history of the world of Avatar. Not much is revealed about this era, but it is known that the Avatar cycle began at some point. Before the Avatar existed, people did not bend the four elements; rather, they bent the energy within themselves. The state of such a world is not revealed, but the most ancient of creatures, such as the lion turtle, do remember it.

At some point, people split into Four Nations and began bending air, water, earth, and fire, as learned from the flying bison, the Moon, the badgermoles, and the dragons, respectively. At this time, the Avatar was incarnated into the world.

Conceptually, such a golden age features heavily in most world mythologies, especially in Greek and Chinese myths. This is most likely the real-world analog to the fictional era before the Avatar.