Many ancient cultures around the world have stories of creation, sometimes being difficult to put into a category of world creation or local creation. Often creation of human beings happens from a backdrop of an already established spiritual group or domain like the underworld as we see in Mesoamerica with the mayans.

It is interesting to note that the language of the mayans tells us the first people were made of corn which was one of the main foods that was cultivated and central to life at that time. Also the fact that some bathing sites were used to not only wash and cleanse bad spirits, the bathing water would flow down to banks where crops were grown and processed the water used that were later consumed. Showing not only the cleansing but also the processing of filth literally and spiritually.

The underworld or sheol in hebrew is part of many mythologies and a place in ancient cultures where any human would pass through and did not have any connotation with the modern interpretations of hell.

With the Sumerians and the outflow into Mesopotamia much more can be translated. Not everything is translated from the many tablets and cylinders that were found surrounding Mesopotamia. It is one of the oldest best recorded civilizations we know. The creation story story is also about battle against grandparents that are like gods. The children overcome the primordial gods to reclaim creation. Marduk rises as the Hero of all time to recreate the world from the bodies of his grandparents and mediate between the gods to establish a golden age.

Interesting about this story is that Marduk defeats the primordial gods striding in a chariot, a net and bow and arrow. Given that it is a special net of the four winds. Still it is clear that the writer used understandable language and means to visualize and portray this event which could be also a poetic description. It is unknown just like the bible, who the writers are and what their sources are. With the sumerians it is probably something that was mouth to mouth stories that have been elevated to myth. It is even possible that it is describing rising and falling human rulers.

One of the main things across many ancient texts including chinese, is the flood story. In Mesoamerica it is the pre-mayan cultures that talk of an ‘adam and eve’ like couple being saved in a hollow tree that drifted to a mountain. In chinese mythology they are high enough to not be completely flooded but are extremely bothered by the amount of water and someone is appointed to get rid of the flooded parts of the lands. This is done through the summoning of a turtle and a dragon to dig channels, after much failing and hardships eventually there is success.

It is telling that so many mythologies have the story of the flood and their dealings with it. And it makes sense that some parts of the world that have people in mountains would not be affected in the same way.

Literal interpretations of these texts are very difficult to justify except for some similarities which still leave much room for interpretation. The pantheon of gods however after ancient sumer, into Mesopotamia, into greek culture, roman culture, the start of hebrew also started from Mesopotamia most likely. The gods are much the same and seem to reflect human traits and characteristics romanticised, displayed/portrayed.

In any case there must have been trade relations between east and west and even the Mesoamerican world. Trade in ancient times was the most important way of knowledge transfer.