It is said that civilization as we know it began in ancient Sumeria. Ancient Sumer has one of the most extensive and important histories on the planet and through this article, we look at 20 of the most important things about  the first civilization in the world.

The Ancient Sumerian Civilization or ‘Sumer’ was the first urban civilization located in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Many people agree that it was the first civilization on the planet.

Interestingly, the Sumerian language is considered to be a language isolated in linguistics that does not seem to belong to any known linguistic form.

Many people believe Sumer is the place where it ‘all’ began.

Since there are so many fascinating things about Sumer I have decided to point out what I believe are some of the most important things about ancient Sumer.

Let’s start!

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  Sumer is considered the first urban civilization on the planet, many archaeologists consider modern-day Iraq, ancient Mesopotamia as the place where civilization came into existence.

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• According to researchers, the earliest texts found in Sumerian times date back to 3300 BC from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr.
  

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• Mainstream scholars believe that Sumer was permanently settled between c. 500 and 4,000 BC.
  

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• Cuneiform script or cuneiform writing is one of the earliest writing systems developed on Earth. The name cuneiform means wedge-shaped. It is believed that cuneiform emerged in Sumer in the late fourth millennium BC. The original Sumerian script was adapted for the writing of the Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hittite, Luwian, Hattic, Hurrian, and Urartian languages, and it inspired the Ugaritic alphabet and Old Persian cuneiform. Cuneiform writing was gradually replaced by the Phoenician alphabet during the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
  

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• It is believed that the Cuneiform writing system was used on Earth for over three millennia developing across numerous stages from the 34th century BC to the second century CE.
  

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• It is noteworthy to mention that Sumerian speakers were among the earliest people on the planet ro RECORD their religious beliefs in writing.
  

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• Apart from an elaborate language and writing system, this ancient culture developed incredible architectural skills, arts unlike anything present anywhere else at the time and complex knowledge in mathematics, astronomy and other sciences.
  

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• The Ancient Sumerians invented a complex system of metrology sometime around 4000 BC. Their metrology methods eventually resulted in the creation of arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.
  

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• This ancient culture developed an incredible intricate religious system comprised of hundreds of gods and according to their ancient, sacred texts, each Ancient Sumerian city was protected by its own God at a time when Humans and Gods coexisted on Earth and lived together thousands of years ago.
  

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• One of the most fascinating structures ever erected in the region is the Ziggurat orGreat Ziggurat of Ur. It was built in the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, modern-day Iraq. The monument was believed to have been built during the 21st century BCE. The Ziggurat crumbled to ruins sometime during the 6th Century BCE but was later restored by King Nabonidus.
  

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• One of the largest Sumerian cities was Uruk. According to researchers, during its peak the city is estimated to have had a population of around 80,000. Interestingly, researchers estimate that Sumer’s population might have been between 800,000 to 1.5 million people, at a time when the worlds population was about 27 million.
  

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• One of the oldest creation stories was discovered written on a clay tablet that was excavated in Nippur, an ancient Mesopotamian city that came into existence around 5000 BC. The Eridu Genesis, which is believed to have been composed circa 2,300 BCE, is the earliest known account of the Great Flood predating the more popular Great Flood described in the biblical book of Genesis.
  

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• According to Sumerian Mythology, in the beginning of time humanoid ‘gods’ ruled over our planet. Interestingly we find similar accounts in other civilization like the ancient Egyptian.
  

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• Known Sumerian texts discovered in the past include personal texts, business letters, transactions, receipts, lexical lists, laws, hymns and prayers, magic spells and scientific texts including mathematics, astronomy and medicine.
  

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• One of the most interesting discoveries that prove just how sophisticated ancient Sumerians were is a cuneiform clay tablet excavated in the late 19th centuryfrom the underground library of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. According to scholars, this incredible yet controversial tablet indicates that Ancient Sumerians observed the impact of an Aten type asteroid over 5000 years ago.
  

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• The Sumerian King List is one of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries ever unearthed by researchers. Written in Ancient Sumerian, it lists numerous generations of Kings that ruled over Ancient Sumer, detailing their supposed length and location of kingships. One of the most interesting details about the Sumerian King List is the fact that the earliest list, describes eight kings who ruled over Earth for a total of 241,200 years, since the original kingship had ‘descended from heaven’ all the way to the time of the ‘Great Flood’, which swept over the land and once more “the kingship was lowered from heaven” after the Flood.
  

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• The Sumerian King List details: “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28800 years. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. 2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years.”The Sumerian King list describes a time on Earth when Gods ruled for thousands of years over mankind.
  

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• The Ancient Sumerians speak of the Anunnaki. The Anunnaki are said to be a group of deities in several ancient Mesopotamian cultures like the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian.
  

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• The Anunnaki are also one of the MOST controversial subjects among many people around the globe. Millions of people around the world believe the Ancient Anunnaki are the creators of man and are not mythological beings but in fact flesh and blood ‘gods’ who came to Earth in the distant past.
  

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• The main Gods worshipped by Ancient Sumerians were Anu: god of heaven, Enlil: god of the air, Enki: god of knowledge, Ereshkigal: goddess of the underworld, Inanna: goddess of warfare, Nammu, Ninhursag, Nanna: god of the moon, and Utu: god of the sun among others. However, it is noteworthy to mention that the earliest accounts of Sumerian literature dating back from the 3rd millennium BC identify four primary deities; Anu, Enlil, Ninhursag and Enki.
  

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Have I missed something in the list? Have I not include something that should be here? Or if I got something wrong, please let me know.

There is an Ancient Sumerian Cylinder Seal, believed to be around 4,500 years old that curiously seems to depict our Sun and twelve planets within our Solar System, one of them supposedly being Nibiru, the elusive planet lurking somewhere on the outer edges of the Solar System.

One of the most controversial seals ever discovered and discussed among scholars is dubbed VA/243 and seems to depict –accoridng to many—12 planets within our Solar System with the Sun at its center.

The Seal which dates back –at least- from the third millennium B.C. can be found at the State Museum in Easter Berlin and is cataloged as VA/243.

According to numerous researchers, this ancient Akkadian Cylinder Seal is one of the most ancient cylinder seals ever discovered and appears to be one of the most mysterious as well.

The reason? Well, it allegedly depicts the entire family of our Solar System and a rogue planet identified by authors such as Sitchin as Planet X, or Nibiru, home planet of the Ancient Anunnaki.

Zecharia Sitchin discusses the cylinder seal with great detail in his book the 12th Planet.

According to Sitchin, the cylinder seal undoubtedly depicts our solar system with the numerous heavenly bodies and their relative size.

There are nine planets we know of today, –if of course you still think Pluto should be a planet and not a dwarf planet— our moon, the Sun, and a rogue planet commonly referred to as Nibiru.

This interpretation by Sitchin has led towards a great number of criticisms and as Michael S. Heiser indicates, the symbol depicted on the cylinder seal Va/234 is not the sun but a star.

According to Heiser, the alleged planets identified by Sitchin are not planets but other stars.

Heiser further argues that there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the Sumerians had knowledge of more than five planets in our solar system.

Heiser indicates three main things in his study:

1)  The inscription on the seal says nothing about astronomy, Nibiru, or planets.

2)  The alleged “sun” symbol on the seal is not the sun.  We know this for sure because it does not conform to the consistent depiction / symbology of the sun on hundreds of other cylinder seals, monuments, and pieces of Summer-Mesopotamian art.

3)  There is not a single text in any extant Summer-Mesopotamian text that says the Sumerians or Mesopotamians knew of more than five planets.  There are a number of cuneiform tablets that deal with astronomy, all of which have been compiled and published.  These sources are accessible to the reader but at varying levels of difficulty.

Now, this has made me think about both sides of the story, what Sitchin offers as an explanation and what a scholar like Michael S. Heiser has to say.

First of all, I am not saying that I believe any of them is correct in their interpretations, I am just forming my own little opinion.

The curious depictions on the Sumerian cylinder seal are fascinating. I find it extremely interesting that the creator of the seal decided to place a huge star (which resembles the sun) at the center, surrounded by other celestial bodies.

Even though Heiser argues that the star in the middle inst our star, but another star, I wonder why the creator of the seal did not depict the other stars (according to Heiser) just as he depicted the one in the middle?

Also, I wonder why the size of the star in the middle is represented as a larger body compared to the other celestial bodies.

Also, if all of the celestial bodies are stars as Heiser indicates, then why is the one in the middle depicted differently with characteristics eerily reminiscent of rays coming out of it?

Are these characteristics just another coincidence?

Or is it possible that we are missing something in this story?

However, if the mysterious objects depicted on the cylinder seal are in fact planets, how is it possible that the ancient Sumerians knew about our complete solar system in the 3rd millennium BC?

Not only that but how did they know their approximate size?

This leads to other questions like… where did the Sumerians obtain this knowledge from?

Did they develop it independently?

Or is it possible as many ancient cultures suggest, that some of that knowledge was passed on to them by ‘gods’ who came down from heaven and brought vast knowledge to man?

Does this ancient Sumerian Cylinder Seal depict the Solar System with all of its planets including Nibiru as Sitchin indicates?

Or is it possible that authors such as Michael S. Heiser are correct, and that the cylinder seal does not have any astronomical value and DOES NOT depict our solar system, planets, the moon, nor the sun?

There are other questions that must be raised when looking at the cylinder seal. For example, would a cylinder seal be the ‘appropriate’ medium by which someone —4,5000 years ago— would transmit such important astronomical knowledge?

What do you think?

Source:

http://www.sitchin.com/teapot.htm

http://www.michaelsheiser.com/va_243%20page.htm

A NASA-funded study has found that ADVANCED ancient civilizations that existed on Earth thousands of years ago were as susceptible to collapse as WE are today. 

Is there a mysterious, chaotic pattern within civilization?

How many times have you heard in history books that a superpower in the distant past became so advanced and uncontrollably powerful that it eventually collapsed?

You may think you haven’t heard of that in history books at all, but you may be wrong.

If we look back at our history books –which by the way are totally incomplete— you will notice that in the distant past, looking at the 18th century, for example, there were countries like France who were considered a world superpower.

Their mighty culture developed at such a rate that they eventually felt supremacy and acted irresponsibly in turn.

With vast territories overseas, spending money uncontrollably, eventually lead to catastrophic budget deficits which in turn caused them to enter into debts and their currency was devaluated, chaos followed.

Even though France did not disappear entirely from history, it is evidence of a small chaotic pattern present in modern-day society. This chaotic way researchers believe has been present in civilization for thousands of years.

The truth is that even before that, there were numerous cultures and civilizations that just as France and other countries, were the makers of their own collapse.

If we look back in history 3000–5000 years, we will find a historical record that clearly shows us how advanced and sophisticated civilizations were just as susceptible to collapse as we are today.

While lifestyles were much different in the distant past than they are today, it turns out that there is an ongoing pattern encrusted into humanity that raises numerous questions about our sustainability as a civilization which ultimately challenges our ability to stay ‘afloat’ as a complex society and culture.

If we look back in time over 10,000 years, we will discover that numerous advanced civilizations that predate the Inca, Olmec, and Egyptian civilization existed on Earth which mysteriously vanished without a trace.

Look back at the Ancient Maya for example. The Ancient Mayas were one of the most advanced and sophisticated ancient civilizations ever to rule on Earth.

This ancient Civilization, which flourished in the jungles of present-day Mexico(south), Guatemala and Belize is noted for the Maya script, the only known developed writing system of the Pre-Columbian Americas.

In fact, the ancient Maya were so ahead of other societies even in Europe, that they had perfected the use of rubber creating various products from it 3000 years before people in the Old World even knew what it was.

The Maya created fascinating monuments, pyramids, ancient cities, writing techniques and strangely, like many other great civilizations, they too disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

But in addition to the Ancient Maya, researchers around the globe have found similar patterns in other civilizations that just as the Maya, collapsed and vanished.

Many scientists argue that it is difficult to overlook the sheer number of repeating patterns in most of these civilizations, and a study partially funded by NASA provides us with evidence that there are certain (chaotic) characteristics present in ancient cultures that lived on Earth thousands of years ago and eventually disappeared.

This is considered by many people as a sign that clearly states that ancient civilizations have reset a number of times.

In the report, applied mathematician Safa Motesharri and his “Human and Nature Dynamical” model claim that “the process of rise-and-collapse is actually a recurrent cycle found throughout history.”

“The fall of the Roman Empire and the equally (if not more) advanced Han, Mauryan, and Gupta Empires, as well as so many advanced Mesopotamian Empires, are all testimony to the fact that advanced, sophisticated, complex, and creative civilizations can be both fragile and impermanent.”

In the study, we find that“Technological change can raise the efficiency of resource use, but it also tends to raise both per capita resource consumption and the scale of resource extraction, so that, absent policy effects, the increases in consumption often compensate for the increased efficiency of resource use.”

Sources:

http://www.sciencedirect.com