Changes

For the creation myths that relate to chaos, or the world emerging from chaos, the oceans are often seen as the initially created entity that a god or spirit then allows the Earth or even the heavens to emerge from this primordial sea. Chaos, war, and conflict are also common in the Old World. Both in Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythology, nothing exists and creation brings order to a world of nothingness.In the New World, birth is a common theme, where the spirits or gods beget other godsand emergence from a divine entity enables another divine entity until the gods decide to create other creatures and humans. Sometimes the gods are impregnated in a divine miracle. Themes of war also appear, such as in the Hopi creation epic, which recounts the wickedness and promiscuity of humans that leads to conflict and downfall. Emergence out of a pre-human world, including the emergence of key elements that allow life to happen, are also common in the New and Old Worlds. The Tree of Life is perhaps one of the most important symbols in the Old World in relation to creation. It is symbolic in connecting heaven and the underworld and living things are connected through this tree (Figure 2). This theme is evident in ancient religions but also later monotheistic and other later religions in the Old World. In the Navajo tradition, spiritual aspects were created first before the world and other beings were createdonce the spiritual was enabled in a series of worls. The spiritual characteristics of life enable the physical world, including humans, to exist. Both in east Asia and the New World, the Earth emerges as dry land created by a divine being or being sent by the gods. For instance, the Ainu creation myth from Japan has a water wagtail bird create the Earth by flapping its wings and exposing dry land.<ref>For more on common themes among different creation epics and myths, see: Leeming, D.A., Leeming, M.A., 1995. <i>A dictionary of creation myths</i>. Oxford University Press, New York.</ref>