Did Adam and Eve come from Saudi Arabia? A taxi driver in Egypt tells Mineke Schipper they did, but it grew so hot there that they fled to south-east Africa, where scientists now believe humans originated. People everywhere have wondered about our beginnings. Who were our first ancestors? Why are there two sexes? Their answers can be found in myths of origin and in creation stories, of which the biblical version is but one example.
Schipper has collected hundreds of stories from all over the world and looked for shared patterns. The stories are remarkable and fascinating, and they have a surprising amount in common. Part one of In the Beginning There Was No One is about the first human beings: How did we get here? Were we cast down from heaven or did we crawl out of a hole in the ground? Or hatch from a golden egg? Were we fashioned from clay or wood, stone or gold, or did a powerful word from our creator do the job?