Mapping the Origin of Life, the Universe, and Everything

According to Haudenosaunee tradition, the Earth was once entirely covered by water. One day a muskrat swam to the bottom of the great sea and surfaced with a tiny clump of mud. This mud was placed on the back of a giant turtle, where it grew until it became the earth.

This is just one of dozens of creation stories that you can explore on the Origin Myth Map, an interactive atlas of the myths that civilizations have used to explain the origins of the universe, the earth and humanity. The map brings together the origin traditions of 51 civilizations spanning five historical eras, from prehistoric societies to the early modern period.

What makes the Origin Myth Map particularly compelling is that it isn't simply a collection of stories plotted on a map. It provides a range of tools for comparing myths across both geography and time. The Haudenosaunee story, for example, can be explored alongside more than two dozen other myths involving primordial waters or great floods. With a click of the Water & Flood theme, the map reveals just how widespread this idea was, appearing in cultures separated by oceans and thousands of years of history.

Water and flood myths are only one of the recurring origin themes that you can explore on the map. You can also trace stories involving the separation of the sky and the earth, sacred fire stolen or gifted to humanity, and even the surprisingly widespread idea that the universe began inside a giant egg.

Some of these shared themes can be explained by the movement of people and ideas across the globe. The Origin Myth Map's Migration Paths mode highlights some of the great journeys that carried myths and cosmological beliefs from one region to another. For example, the Silk Road transported far more than silk, spices and precious goods. For over 1,600 years it also served as one of history's greatest conduits for the exchange of religions, philosophies and cosmological ideas. 

Buddhist cosmology travelled east into China alongside merchants and monks, while Persian religious thought and Indian astronomical traditions spread westward. By tracing these routes, the map reveals how the exchange of ideas helped shape creation myths across the continents.