About Drowned, Shipwrecks, and Ocean Monuments

  Think about the conduits. They are obtained with a heart of the sea and eight nautilus shells. The nautilus shells are obtained by killing drowned (theoretically the same as zombies, but related to the sea). The heart of the sea can be obtained in buried treasures, whose locations are specified by a map found in shipwrecks. The conduit is then used with prismarine obtained in ocean monuments to create a water-like beacon that gives you powers. Now, trying to put it all together: probably the ocean monuments' constructors are the same as the shipwrecks since they relate to each other through the conduit. The three elements involved in this are the drowned, the shipwrecks, and the ocean monuments. My theory is that the drowned (when still alive) were responsible for the construction of both, they could be an ancient civilization, and even the "ancient builders" that have remains in the nether.

Putting it All Together

  Maybe this answers the question about who came before the player, these "ancient builders" that left marks in all three dimensions, building fortresses in the nether, temples, and monuments in the overworld, and exploring and practically bringing the ender dragons to extinction and also somehow ending the trade routes to the end (as explained by MatPat). I just think they are all the same people who did almost all these. I still don't have a good explanation for the villagers. I also like to relate this to the end poem and the gods that read minds. If they make part of the game lore story, it would be nice to understand them further, although I don't think it is the case.

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Thanks for reading and please continue the discussion,
  Leony