A universal flood shaped early human history. Genesis 6–9 describes a devastating flood ordained by God in response to man’s wicked behavior. All human beings and the “soulish” animals (birds and mammals) they came into contact with were destroyed by this flood—except for Noah, his three sons, and their wives. Contrary to popular perception of the Genesis Flood account, RTB’s model for human origins posits that the Flood was geographically limited (confined to the environs of Mesopotamia), not global.