The Sumerian Creation (An and Ki)
In Sumerian cosmology, An (the sky) and Ki (the earth) are the first pair — the 'parents' of the world. From their union (or from the separation of heaven and earth), the gods and the world emerge [S5]S5 · etcl.mca.edu — Electronic Text Corpus of cuneiform (transliterations + translations)corpus (Sumerian/Akkadian texts)corpusOpen source ↗. The 'Apsu' (the fresh water) and the 'Tiamat' (the salt water) are the two primeval waters [S5]S5 · etcl.mca.edu — Electronic Text Corpus of cuneiform (transliterations + translations)corpus (Sumerian/Akkadian texts)corpusOpen source ↗.
Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian traditions are one layered, continuous religious world. Sumerian names survive inside Akkadian texts; the succession of 'supreme' gods (An → Enlil → Marduk) is presented as political history, not mythic replacement.
The Sumerian creation is less well-attested than the Babylonian (Enuma Elish); it is reconstructed from Sumerian texts [S5]S5 · etcl.mca.edu — Electronic Text Corpus of cuneiform (transliterations + translations)corpus (Sumerian/Akkadian texts)corpusOpen source ↗.