RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Oosten, JarichYR 1998 T1 The Origins of Society in the Creation Myths of Genesis1Preliminary versions of this paper were presented at a philosophical seminar in Münster, September 26, 1995, and a theological Ph.D. seminar in the Hague, March 29, 1996. I started the study of the creation myths in the mid-seventies in collaboration with my friend and colleague David Moyer (D.S. Moyer & J.G. Oosten, ‘The Ambivalent Gardener: The animal and vegetable codes of Gen. 2.4 to 9.29’, Bijdragen KITLV 135.1 (1979), 118-127; and J.G. Oosten & D.S. Moyer, ‘De mythische omkering: Een analyse van de sociale code van de scheppingsmythen van Genesis 1.4b-ll’, Antropologische Verkenningen 1.1 (1982), 75-91. I wish to thank Jos Platenkamp and Karel van der Toom for their invitations to present the paper at these seminars and their valuable and stimulating comments. An Anthropological Perspective JF NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion, VO 52 IS 2 SP 107 OP 123 DO https://doi.org/10.5117/NTT1998.52.002.OOST PB Amsterdam University Press, SN 2590-3268, AB Abstract The narratives of Genesis 1-11 are examined from an anthropological perspective focusing on the origin and development of human society. The actions of ancestors give rise to cultural institutions which deny or inverse those actions. A social world requires the existence of cultural rules and ancestors who precede it. The world is created and recreated so that society can take shape. The development of society is a gradual process requiring an increasing differentiation in terms of image, name, social hierarchy and language., UL https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/NTT1998.52.002.OOST