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[[File:Pangu.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 1. Pangu was seen as creating the world out of an egg-shaped universe in which he was trapped in for 18,000 years. ]]__NOTOC__
Creation myths are common in many cultures in the New and Old Worlds. Creation myths often form parts of religions but they are also stories or traditions passed on among different cultures. Creation myths also shape the worldview of different cultures and we see that they often are important in how societies understand their place in the wider world.
====What are the most common themes in most creation myths?====
[[File:Yggdrasil.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 2. The Tree of Life was an important symbol of Earth's life and divine connection to the heavens and underworld. ]]
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 gods and 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.