洪水神话是探究社会契约的关键。洪水神话一般围绕两个问题展开,一是解释种族形成和异族通婚;一是解说王室家族谱系和等级社会的构成。可以说每一洪水神话都是一种发生神话,因为它们通常是叙述人类生活在自然社会当中的进程,或描述这一或那一族群的形成; The flood myth is the key to exploring the social contract. Flood myths generally focus on two issues, one is to explain the formation of racial and interracial marriage; one is to explain the royal family pedigree and the composition of a hierarchical society. It can be said that each flood myth is a myth, because they usually describe the process of human life in natural society, or describe the formation of this or that group;