The MYSTERIOUS ORIGIN of the SUMERIANS
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- One of the great unanswered questions about ancient history is about the origins of the Sumerians, the people who brought the first great cities into the world. How long were they in Mesopotamia before they began writing and building monumental structures? From where did they come?
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I was already a big history geek but Prof Miano's enthusiasm always gets me going
atheist are such Fools. This further PROVES the BIBLE. ITS mysterious to you cuz Biblically this and the timelines lines EXACTLY with the end of Noah's flood and when the they developed a community in Babel and that area. Yes the first earliest writing system discovered in that time peroid lines up EXACTLY with the Bible and after Noah's flood. atheist keyboard experts will make some low iq excuse trying to seem intelligent. This is why I have NO sympathy for atheist going to Hell. They go out of their way to deny.
Source Summoning Recall
first: Light a candle in your bedside sleeping place: Silence for 30 seconds and start to meditate:
May brothers and sisters of light from the divine love quality of source that transcends all time and space and beyond Matrix, I would like to connect with you all the time.
What you want to do, see, and become, I also want to do, see, and become;
So in the following all the time, the wisdom of the invisible beings guides and guides individuals, prompts, hints and influences, transcending the wisdom of the universe to bring spiritual truth to control the five senses and the Brain
I am the source quality, I return to the source quality
This Kurdish Iraqi film based on the Epic of Gilgamesh explain many hiding things about the Sumerian:
ua-cam.com/video/vqhxi8UIJS4/v-deo.htmlsi=TrRr7ZclSAhRdTSM
As if you would call someone professor hahaha
@@mushroomsamba82 that's funny. I find all these excitement and music and flash stuff associated with informative videos very annoying and distracting. I am trying to learn not be entertained
A pleasure to listen to! Prof. M. is utterly articulate. So many public speakers these days fill their speech with temporizations such as, "y'know" and "um". Such cluttered speech is agonizing to hear. The good prof. is a pure unbridled delight to listen to.
Thank you!
I liked this. I love ancient history because it gets me away from the bs and insanity - and it's fun. I am seventy one. Didn't have the internet until three years ago. I was homeless and a guy told me a story about someone named Vercingetorix. I looked him up and - It is now one of the greatest things in my life. Cannot get enough. I can't believe I have the Library of Alexandria in my hand.
You sir are a walking library urself
Thanks , very interesting, I’ll look that up!
Thank you for posting what you did. Because of your comment I have learned about Vercingetorix.
There is so much history we were never taught in school. And, what we were taught was extremely biased and exaggerated if not downright dishonest.
Again, thank you.
Interesting to hear the vast information we have available appreciated. It is a great thing, I will try not taking it for granted.
@@Andy-dh2sv This thread doesn't have new age, " ancient astronaut " or Bible Thumpers, so far. GOOD.
Very informative, and clearly communicated. Presenting the three hypotheses gives insight into what real historians do. This channel is a great resource for anybody to understand the work of proper historians. It's a great service to everybody
Yes '@AB-et6nj'; I follow you perfectly. But I must add that there is a world-of-Understanding far beyond the "MainStream" authors and generalized professors who are prone to keep their jobs--by making sure they tow the line. Meaning they will have become 'aware' of other Olden eras than those we teach...but dare not chance losing their vaulted positions by even mentioning Olden text--such as: Cuneiform Tablets, which go back to c. 3800BCE!!! The gentleman speaking (above) seems to know and understand Olden Tablets very well. Wonderful!
my Sumerian friend saw this video on his clay tablet and he said: 𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌𒈗𒆠𒉌𒂠𒌌𒌌
🤣🤣🤣🤣
😆😆😆
I tried google translator on that one but it thought it was Chinese! Would you kindly point me in the direction of acquiring one of those shiny---ermm dry clay tablet devices so it can help me make sense of this beautiful script?
"Gilgamesh was Here!"
@@heihan1675 At LEAST their language has A, E, I, O, & U. Egyptian didn't. I didn't envy them. I'm ASSUMING that Sumerian did.
Dr Irving Finkle got me hooked on Sumerians when I was a young wee lad and visited the British Museum.
He was kind enough to spend about 20 minutes answering my very, very dumb and very, very frequent questions about cuneiform.
He was funny and sarcastic and eccentric and I fell in love with the subject. If you want to learn about the Sumerians and cuneiform, there is no better source than Dr Finkle, and hes got plenty of talks on UA-cam!
Thanks for covering this Dr M, you are doing Lord Clapton's work.
Would love to meet Irving one day. Would be great if Dr. Miano could do a live cast with Irving.
@@unrealuknow864 he does not disappoint in person, I promise. If anything, he's even more erasable and eccentric.
Great to hear. I've really enjoyed seeing him on UA-cam.
@@bipolarminddroppings It was revealed that what he teaches is pseudo-cuneiform
I'm so jealous! Speaking with Dr. Finkel sounds like such an amazing experience.
One of my favourite channels! Thanks for all your hard work!
You might not see this, but your videos really get me going. I get super excited whenever you upload! The videos are always so well made and informative, and I really love that the research is always very up to date with the latest discoveries. It really makes me happy, and reminds me that there is still so much we don't know, and that knowledge is not stagnant, especially in this field. Thank you so much for your work!
Thank you for saying so!
@@WorldofAntiquity Figurines such as the Statue of Ebih-Il have blue eyes and those individuals traveled from Mesopotamia to Egypt and the Leval 7,500 years ago. They were a prelude to the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Aratta was in Asia Minor, the Balkans or Ukraine. Survive the Jive has a video about Scythians and Fortress of Lugh has another video about the Irish.
@@Channel-sp3fp These are interesting speculations. But without strong evidence to support them, they are no more than that.
@@WorldofAntiquity Did the early Indo-europeans even have blue eyes, or is that an Swedish invention like ABBA and Ikea?
I really love your channel. I'm glad to see the direction you are going. It's smart to lean a little bit more into the concept of "mystery" and the unknown. Lots of channels you have debunked do nothing but that and capitalize greatly so it's nice to see you fight fire with fire so to speak. I also like that this content is not divisive or alienating in any way and I think that is needed in the historical and archeological community. No finger pointing just telling the story of what we know so far. Anyway great job and I think this content series will do very well and maybe even change some minds along the way. So many people are getting into ancient history now that it's become a content type that the content farms are producing relentlessly. I even discussed it with a random stranger at the airport which blew my mind that we would even talk about it. And he also parroted a lot of misinformation I know he heard on Joe Rogan and UnchartedX like the ancients couldn't have produced the artifacts we found in their graves etc. It's sad that narrative is sticking because it's so disrespectful of our ancient human ancestors. Like somehow we are superior to them because of 3000 years. Anyway great work I'm here for it.
I think you have misunderstood Ben (Uncharted X). He is absolutely amazed by what our ancient ancestors accomplished at sites all over the world. He has stated many times how hard it would be for us to replicate certain structures and artifacts in this day with all our modern tools and equipment. It's the timeline he is questioning not if ancient humans did the work. He is passionate about human history and looking for evidence to support the idea that we don't 100% know everything. He initiated the first detailed scanning of an ancient Egyptian vase which resulted in modern machinist being astounded by the results. The scan data is available for free online for all to review.
Calling him disrespectful to the ancient humans is coming from assumptions and isn't true. It's like all the white supremacist crap everyone was spreading about Graham. Total nonsense spread to discredit and attack his name. Graham the racist who has been married to Santha for over 30 years, how rediculus. Shame on all the people who made articles about him with these blatant lies.
@@noodlesmetal Being married to or being someone of an other race doesnt make you not racist. My grandma was panamanian and she was racist towards mexicans.
Im not saying i agree with calling Graham racist. I just think thats a silly defense. Its just a different version of "im not racist! I have a black friend". But you know racism comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. Its not always armbands and pointy hats.
I agree that this is a great process. People will naturally theorise. Some will get quite forthright when they do of course! This will allow others the option to systematically review/appraise :)
Whenever people focus on or present academic consensus you just serve up stuff for people to be sceptical or cynical about.
They say its the age of information, I think its the age of distrust!
just read some of the other stuff on here. its telling when noodlemetal says ''He is passionate about human history and looking for evidence to support the idea that we don't 100% know everything'' -therein lies what I mean. Presentation is key and this is why Miano's approach is great. He doesn't focus on academic consensus, therefore riling the cynics (that call themselves sceptics). By focusing on questions that lack consensus answers, you take away that un-rigorous reaction and offer up 'food for thought', dare I say education haha.
@@jmarsh5485 i like that "age of distrust" its kinda true. I was born in 1995. Just old enough to kind of see the early days of when the internet was really kicking off. I learned at a young age not to believe the things i read online. And that also translated to the real world where im always kind of sceptical unless i find other info to back something up. I wouldnt say im distrustful, im very trusting, but im not very believing. I trust most people are trying to do the right thing, but i dont believe most of them have all the information right or that they havent been tricked by someone else.
Thanks!
And thank you!
Has anyone told you that you'd be GREAT teaching children? Your expressions, and non-threatening demeanor, wrapped in a thoroughly enchanting appearance - FULL of fun! Your character, expression and hand gestures are FULL of color! At least I see that. This is what makes me believe, you would be able to interest children deeply in ancient history, and some, into that very field. Maybe I think like a child? Probably! Lol! It is just something which I have noticed from you since I first found your channel. God Bless and carry on, O GREAT Teacher! ;)
Another fascinating video!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Your lesson is helpfully organized, and fun to follow. I'm so happy you are putting this sort of product out there!
I got an A+ for an assignment on 'Ancient Sumer' in my year-nine history class, back in 1979.
While my written information was reasonably factual, it was my illustrations that won the day. (Our history teacher was big fan of illustrations and had himself produced sketches for published works).
My recollection is that the Sumerians were a people made up of migrated groups to the area, from surrounding regions.
it's been 44 years, get over it
@@nothanksggl6599 No, still pumped.
@nothanksggl6599 bruh don’t be sad
@@ThrottleAddictionstay awesome!
@@ThrottleAddictionstay gold, ponyboy
I like it that you present the facts and opinions without trying to prove something but rather by admitting that we simply don’t know
LOVE these videos on the Sumerians! Thank you for producing such high quality content.
Good format for a series!
I think Sumerian demonstrates that there were probably many early cultures with their own language that shared language when they came in contact with others. Then there were some languages that so were so dominant that the local languages were lost. We still have Sumerian because they were one of the earliest cultures with writing.
Thanks
And thank you!
I love your detailed, scholarly, evenly stated presentations considered from every reasonable view. I feel more like I understand it rather than merely have an opinion. It's great the way you lay out the most current research, hope to see updates on that exciting genetic news. Keep it up!
Thank you for sharing your expertise with us! I admire how well you break down different points of view and analyze the key pieces of evidence. Cheers!
Just managed to watch the whole video. Thank you. And thank you for leaving the question open instead of plumping for one of the options. Mysteries are fun.
Dr. Miano, i must confess that i have been in love with ancient sumeria for close to 20 years, and its because of zecharia sitchen. I have since come back down to earth as far as believing the anunaki stories which fascinated me when i was more impressionable. But i wanted to say that not all alternative research and theories bare bad fruit. While i did once believe all the crazy stuff. I, today, being older and wiser am still left with a love of ancient civilizations and people. So, some good can come out of that stuff.
Farah Yurtözü annunaleri anlatıyor ondan da dinleyebilirsiniz .
I love with how much glee and passion you present your topics, it's simply joy to listen to you.
Without even watching yet, I must thank you for covering this. The Sumerian civilization is one of the most intriguing and captivating of the ancients and im always happy to absorb the material you cover. Now, on to the video!
Tack!
And thank you!
I love focusing on the things that we don't understand and exploring all the theories. This is way more fun and insightful to how the knowledge is gained instead of just spoon feeding me a conclusion like I was taught in school.
Just discovered Dr. Miano, and I am now officially hooked. The passion he shows and his straightforward delivery really work to send the message home. Especially love the debunking series, some of those should be part of history curriculums to equip young folks with the tools to resist Rogan's "deep thoughts".
That the Sumerians evolved as an amalgamation of several existing cultures kinda makes sense to me. It's not as if the geographic area was totally empty and void of habitation and suddenly bands of "Sumerians" suddenly wandered in. The area surely must have had some populations from the diaspora of early hominids out of Africa between 60,000 and 90,000 years ago. The discoveries at Göbekli Tepe and similar sites indicate there were some sorts of well developed cultures in Anatolia and the neighboring areas from about 10,000 BCE. It seems feasible that the Sumerians could have evolved from this pool of humanity.
The point is, there is in this world a Civilization that has not arose from an amalgamation of other cultures?
Well the Sumerians themselves claim to have ruled the entire Earth so it's possible these civilizations we see from 10,000 years ago in Turkey are related to the people that created the tablets we associate with the area known as Sumer.
@@esti-od1mz we can think of isolation as a counter argument for your case. In the period of a few generations you can get some pretty specific traditions without much contact with the outside. Small contact makes for slow change with one alteration now and then. But an entire nation of pidgin language is something of a rare phenomenon unless I'm wrong
@@RadeticDaniel agreed. I've never assumed the sumerians were a sort confederation of totally different ethnicities: I rather think that influences among different groups are inevitable.
They were a very distinct culture, and had a distinct language, from the Semitic groups in the area such as the Akkadians. The two groups merged over time, but initially they were quite different. I think that supports the migration hypothesis. The fact of Sumerian being a language isolate suggests to me they travelled some distance before settling in Southern Mesopotamia. There are documents where they are referred to as the "black heads". Make of that what you will.
You always strive for the best quality possible, thanks for that!
Wow, I didn't know there was so much mystery about the Sumerians! Great idea for videos, hope to learn more ancient mysteries in future videos!
Super thanks! Lovely video! It’s amazing how many tools exist to illuminate the past now vs just 20 years ago.
I was really hoping you'd bring something about the Sumerians. And Dr Miano just can't disappoint, even if he doesn't know!
Thanks Dr. Miano
Great episodes Everytime💗
This is great thank you. It boggles my mind that we know the age of the buildings these civilisations leave behind but we don’t know how long they were just hanging around beforehand. Feels like it could be a long time before deciding to build something significant
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Nice one! Thanks for your detailed synopsis of where current knowledge stands on the issue.
Great video, I always wondered this too, I hope you do more ancient mysteries!
The presentation, enthusiasm and content are exceptional as always, thanx for another good one😊
The language conglomerate thesis is what I thought of as well. It’s like a reverse Tower of Babel thesis where different languages blended into a functionally new one. A unifying trade language can easily become a unifying imperial self-image. If this empowered an ordering elite, as “owning” language narratives tends to do for tyrants, then a relatively “new” identity could emerge for those who could speak this conglomerated language. When Judaic ideology forms a retrospective lens to establish its authority, we can see how an observation of language commonalities AFTER Sumerian had been lost when Semitic Akkadians fell out of power. As we know, Sumerian was preserved by Akkadians as a scholastic/ritual relic like Latin or Sanskrit is today and Judaism is a very late summary ideology of these cultures, which were considered ancient to the early kingdom of Judah.
There is the idea of first urbanized networks built up around Temple complexes around the globe, tying nomadic tribes together, forming a generally conglomerated paradigm network. This means that temple complexes helped form an ideological paradigm wherein certain temples specialized in, as well as shared and stored, particular wisdom. This is the “Priest-King” era of humanity. One can see how trading networks, where certain tribal migrations empowered certain tribes with specific cultural identities based on materials along their migration territories, fed temple wisdom traditions. Raiders along these routes would need to be defended against, giving rise to the Warrior class from which the Temple (“on high”) empowered kings…and early Sumerians talk about how kingship was brought from Heaven (the Temple).
This is just my thoughts on the topic.
Noah was summerian arian
@@maximilianogabriel9982 I’ve never heard that, but ok. Do you think Noah was truly from the Sintashta culture? It seems to me that Utnapishtim was MUCH older than the Aryan age. I would think he would have been at least 5000-3000 BCE era. Who knows…maybe he represented the naval arrival of the “Sumerians” to the Southern coasts during the Ubaid period?
Mr. David Miano is my *New-Best-Friend here OnLine. I respect his obvious venture of Reading-Widely; while having the ability to staunchly put this under-studied Olden Era History: (3000 back to 445,000BCE) clearly and cleanly into perspective! I surely will support these wonderful Works.
Although I’m not a fan of your debunking videos, I really enjoyed this video. You’re a talented story teller and I hope you’ll make more videos like this.
What a gem of a channel. Thanks for the great content.
Thank you for clarifying that mud as far as this interested layman can understand any of it. I have been watching the haplotype tracing efforts in the past ten years and I am glad this mess is getting some proper due. It must be scary for professionals to delve into such deep and unknown waters. Very interesting stuff.
This was very informative! I never knew that about the perhaps similarities between ancient Sumerian and the Basque and Georgian languages.
Wow, very interesting stuff here. Can you make a video about where the Harappans came from and the Indian subcontinent during that time? Great video as always.
No one can, because no one can say with absolute certainty where they came from. It is a fascinating culture that we know very little about.
I second this. Great idea.
How could we? We have even less information than the Sumerians, which you see can be ethnically identified only when their writing appears.
All ancient civilisations said hi to each other via pigeon .
And Sd good bye forever without leave any trace and reason 😂😂😂
Ancient Iranian farmers+ south Asian hunter gatherers= Indus valley civilization
Excellent! Riveting! I couldn’t look away. You really paint a complete picture of the landscape… very efficiently. Kudos!
My favorite educated guess is, during the 4th millenium BC, major urban centers in the river deltas in Indus and other rivers became inhospitable for agriculture due to rising sea levels. Sumerians were refugees landing in Mesopotamia just in time for optimum conditions there, bringing their peculiar language and culture with them.
I have a similar hypothesis but with them originating from what is now the Persian Gulf and the date being ca. 12000-5000 BP. I can cite a couple of papers if you're interested.
A good Presentation is very rare
Your presentation is perfect
Thank you
just found your channel and i’m loving it already! could you please make some more videos on this fascinating culture?
Thanks for fantastic content. World of Antiquity. Sumerian civilization facinates most people. It is a mystery. 😊
It's very possible that all of our historical records could be lost in some future cataclysm leaving our descendants wondering just from where we originated. It is fun to speculate but how humans detest the unknowable! Thanks, Dr. Miano, for your enjoyable and thought-provoking video. ❤
That's exactly what's happening to me. I'm trying to understand where we came from and what is our origin
atheist are such Fools. This further PROVES the BIBLE. ITS mysterious to you cuz Biblically this and the timelines lines EXACTLY with the end of Noah's flood and when the they developed a community in Babel and that area. Yes the first earliest writing system discovered in that time peroid lines up EXACTLY with the Bible and after Noah's flood. atheist keyboard experts will make some low iq excuse trying to seem intelligent. This is why I have NO sympathy for atheist going to Hell. They go out of their way to deny.
@@Eman_Ismailatheist are such Fools. This further PROVES the BIBLE. ITS mysterious to you cuz Biblically this and the timelines lines EXACTLY with the end of Noah's flood and when the they developed a community in Babel and that area. Yes the first earliest writing system discovered in that time peroid lines up EXACTLY with the Bible and after Noah's flood. atheist keyboard experts will make some low iq excuse trying to seem intelligent. This is why I have NO sympathy for atheist going to Hell. They go out of their way to deny.
Records would but lost but not physical evidence of their civilization.
@@samkostos4520 you completely missed their point. people would still wonder where we came from, and physical evidence is still left over from ancient Sumer. We still wonder where they came from.
Thank you, I've been obsessed with the Sumerians for some days now and your theory made me understand more of what we know of their origin than in any other videos I've watched so far, you put it simple yet mind-blowing
Excellent video, Prof Miano. You could make a video about who were the ancient egyptians
Thank you for the vid Professor Miano!
Always love to see another video presentation from the Man, the myth, the Miano!
Wait, is he a man or a myth?
@@kenlieck7756 why not both 😅
Thanks a lot for sharing this knowledge!
Great video! I am always interested to hear anything about the Sumerians, they are absolutely fascinating. I heard a theory that the Sumerians could have possibly been immigrants who were gradually forced inland from the Persian Gulf as a result of rising sea levels due to melting glaciers after the last ice age. Have you heard of this theory, and do you think it is a real possibility? I found it very intriguing, but I would love to hear your thoughts on whether it is a valid theory or not! I love your work, thank you so much!!
Maybe the Biblical account gives some clues.
Sumer and Elam are ancient Iranian farmers, proof they also left their DNA and language in India, when this Iranian farmers migrated to India they intermix to South Asian hunter gatherers and created the Indus valley civilization and Dravidians language
A couple of related papers: J.I. Rose, _New Light on Human Prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf Oasis,_ 2010 and K. Lambeck, _Shoreline reconstructions for the Persian Gulf since the last glacial maximum,_ 1996.
very interesting Dr.Miano keep em coming
This is definitely a question that will only have a satisfactory answer after DNA can be recovered from multiple sources over the appropriate frame of time and hopefully with accompanying cultural grave goods. Of the several hypotheses mentioned, there may be features representing more than one found once adequate genetic representations can be recovered. Of course even then there will remain room for further questions. Such a fascinating topic.
Or a Time Machine
@@johnsondoeboy2772 A time machine would be fun. Of course it's still hard to determine someone's genetic ancestry by looking at them so you'd have to ask them for a cheek swab.
@@jonmars9559 Yep
love to see how your channel has grown
This guy should have way more subs he does a killer Job ❤!!!!
First video I've seen of yours. I like your style. Thank you.
The concept of the Sumerian culture as an amalgamation arising from the meeting of many different migrant cultures is really interesting, & not one I'd previously encountered? I guess we see a very similar phenomenon more recently in the rise of groups like the Métis, although there the linguistic links to contributory cultural groups are easier to find, just due to being less long ago.
It's fascinating that despite the centuries of enquiry & speculation, there is still more we can learn about these enigmatic ancient peoples!
Its also weird that a group like that would invent a totally new language with no links to any of the previous ones used in the area, that suggests their culture formed somewhere else and moved there.
this has a bit of the feeling of mystery of a show I used to love when I was a kid called "In Search Of...," except it's real history. Great video. thanks.
Very interesting videocast Professor Miano, could their be some sort of clues to the Sumerian people in the Sumerian reliefs and sculptures and art work? There seems to have been some very skilled artists and sculptors in the time period that they lived in.
Thank you for making a scientific approach to ancient civilizations just as exciting as some of the wild speculation that’s out there!
It would be interesting to look at the development of trading centers by nomadic groups in gradual contact into more permanent settlements.
Excellent rhetorical questions to highlight the main topic outline of content
What about theory that the Sumerians were from the drowned Persian Gulf as the waters rose up? I know it was a couple thousand years before, but is there any traction at all?
AFAIK there hasn't been much research done on the topic. Not surprising given that most of the evidence would be submerged. The only papers that I'm aware of that touch on this subject are J.I. Rose, _New Light on Human Prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf Oasis,_ 2010 and K. Lambeck, _Shoreline reconstructions for the Persian Gulf since the last glacial maximum,_ 1996.
I did come across one paper that specifically focuses on this topic:
D.J. Kennett and J.P. Kennett, _Early State Formation in Southern Mesopotamia: Sea Levels, Shorelines, and Climate Change_
Note however that J.P. Kennett is regarded as somewhat of a fringe scientist, being a proponent of the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis and a co-author of the infamous _Nature Scientific Reports_ Sodom meteorite paper.
If I remember correctly, the Sumerians mentioned Dilmun as their starting point. Maybe it’s related to the current Dilmun, maybe not…..but I find it VERY strange that we are scouring the furthest Northern regions, and not look to the south/SE where there was a high culture (Harappan) which the Sumerians traded with. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro is by far more interesting
Very well written … good job man keep it up please
Obviously aliens. At least the History Channel says. lmao
Obviously! Lol🍻
We're NOT saying they were aliens, but we're not NOT saying they were aliens either...😂
That was confirmed by Joe Rogan so it must be true.
We love myth making and no one dose it better than history or discovery Channel other than evolutionary mythology they would make even ancient greeks blush with some of their once upon time theories.
There's no other possible explanation.
Really measured and fair presentation of various theories on this topic. I subscribed because of your fair presentation. Way too many channels spreading misinformation or presenting one theory as truth. The academic approach is better. Nice work!
I suspect they originated in the Persian/Arabian Gulf basin. If any of those words actually have origins in non-Sumerian languages, they may have been picked up from contact with other peoples in that basin -- before it flooded to the level it was at at the founding of Eridu.
Surely people lived in that basin as the ice sheets began to retreat. It would have been a very nice place to live, with a large river, lakes, and so forth, and better weather than surrounding regions.
The Sumerians may have moved slowly ahead of the advancing waters over many centuries, following the river. This origin is compatible with some of their old myths, and the fact of their language being an isolate.
I have long thought that was the basis of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the possible origin of the Sumerians. 10k years ago the Persian Gulf was almost non existent. People who lived in that valley with the river running through it would have experienced a rather sudden rise in sea levels and been displaced.
@@unrealuknow864 - And the earliest period of the Eridu settlement was, IIRC, _roughly_ around the time when the gulf waters would have stopped advancing significantly, I believe. That's ... suggestive, at least.
Excellent summary of the evidence!
Thank you for another great video!
I never thought about this until hearing you say they called their language "native tongue", but am I right in inferring that this means the Sumerians were aware of other languages?
Yes, they were aware.
Of course. Most Sumerians became bilingual already in the late third millennium BCE and they ultimately switched their language into Akkadian (called eme-uri in Sumerian) around the 18th century BCE. There are a few Sumerian texts that list several languages, dialects and speech registers that have been lost, so its likely that the linguistic landscape was pretty diverse for some time, until everything was replaced with Akkadian.
Only thing we know about these mysterious languages and dialects are their names (in Sumerian), except for one dialect known as eme-sal, which literally means a "fine tongue". This was likely originally a dialect of Sumerian that was later adopted as a cultic language, primarily for lamentations. This language is basically Sumerian with strange phonetic transformations. For example, the Sumerian word dugug 'heavy' is zebed in Emesal, and similarly dug 'to be good' is zeb.
Tak!
And thank you!
The Sumerian religion suggests they came from mountainous region, for certain major deities such as Enlil (who might be Semitic though) or Ninhursang are connected with mountains. Since Mesopotamia is a flat land, this importance of mountains is rather surprising. Or it is simply because mountains are spiritually charged areas where gods live?
That's an interesting thought regarding references of mountains within Sumerian religion. The "Mountain House" as one way of translating Ekur, the most sacred site among Sumerians. Home of the gods, the Anunnaki, Enlil included.
There's a hymn to Nanna "In your house on high, in your beloved house, I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in your cedar perfumed mountain" - Cedar may seem to indicate something, as it tends to grow at mountainous elevations, and maybe reference a people accustomed to living at higher elevations relative to a flood plain?
All this being said, the "Mountain House" (Ekur), being elevated relative to its surroundings, being considered the center of the creation of the world - the site is in the heart of Mesopotamia, at Nippur. So that fact alone really indicates more of an indigenous formulation of the religious concepts of Sumerians. This does not mean that the Sumerians were all indigenous, but it does show that wherever Sumerian peoples came from, they had a tendency to revere sites within the Mesopotamian region, not referencing someplace in Iran, India, the Caspian etc. No hard proof for anything specific, but on the other hand, flood plain regions tended to attract migrations as agricultural productivity made them more and more attractive, leading to ever growing populations, cities, civilization and so forth.
A confluence of peoples from inside and outside the region, living in success and growing in demographic size, built the first cities of the Sumerians would be the best guess - in absence of direct evidence of a specific migration with the culture of the Sumerians.
They came down from mount judi after the flood
@@MrKobeFuentes The flood that the myth is based on is known to have been restricted to the lower Euphrates River (within ~100 km of the Persian Gulf coastline at the time).
Fantastic job! Thank for making this.
Very interesting. I hope some ancient remains are discovered that allow the archaeogeneticists to get some viable samples. That could teach us so much.
Excellent talk- no BS. Peace, love and bellbottoms from Canada.
What about a theory that Bantu...Kushitic similarities in language?...an "out of Africa" theory...including ancient roots of Marsh Arabs? Loved the lesson.
You communicate well! Bravo. A good educator and researcher.
i saw a lecture on UA-cam by Peter Revesz, a Hungarian-American professor of computational linguistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who claims to have begun to decipher Linear A on the basis that it is a Finno-Ugric language. He says that there is a Finno-Ugric substrate to some of the vocabulary of ancient Greek. He also said in passing that Sumerian was a hybrid language, with Finno-Ugric and Dravidian origins. That's explaining one unknown by two other unknowns.
And the fact he's "Finno-Ugric" himself has nothing to do with it.
@@audeboutet6059 There would not be many American computer types conversant with Hungarian other than those of that descent. What surprises me, if this is a real thing, is that no one noticed this before, given that Latin and Greek were basic school subjects throughout Europe well into the 20th century. Unless, of course, it's well known in Hungary, Estonia and Finland.
Great video. Thank you for putting the time and effort into it!
i guarantee they were not the first to develop a system for keeping time, they were simply the first ones to document it in such a way that it was not only preserved this long, but in a way that we would even understand
Akam (Tamil) - Ekim (Sumerian): "Inside" or "interior"
Muruku (Tamil) - Muru (Sumerian): "To be abundant" or "plenty"
Ur (Tamil) - Ur (Sumerian): "City" or "town"
Kal (Tamil) - Gal (Sumerian): "Stone" or "rock"
Naram (Tamil) - Naram (Sumerian): "Human" or "man"
Iru (Tamil) - Eru (Sumerian): "To exist" or "to be"
Mun (Tamil) - Mun (Sumerian): "Before" or "in front of"
Val (Tamil) - Bal (Sumerian): "Strength" or "power"
Mulai (Tamil) - Mulu (Sumerian): "Breast" or "chest"
Kaasu (Tamil) - Ka (Sumerian): "Silver" or "money"
My englısh not good,sorry.To that oppınıon is fırst Sumerıan s come from Indıa or Africa or Casparıan sea sıde.Nobody know that who was them.Second natıons called themself under name KENGİR-Kıngır.Wrıght belong to them.But they had not let down anythınk.After Kengir Akaddıans comed.Babilians Asyruans ... ... Guttı.Water get up ın Ur cıty.In fırst tıme People run around.And come back they found anımals has stıll ın lıve.They saıd angel comed down and safe them.UR name get to Nur.Nur get to Nor Noar Noah.I thınk ın Asyrus NUH.İn Sumerian storys say Noah hıgh water ... ... Kengir people come ... ın you whrıgt Tamil ... they had lıfe together ... but ın that tıme one day Sumerıans go norh.Kengir stay.Today Kengir name can see ın Orhun ruıns that Turkısh old stone s.Nuh word is Turkısh.Ur in Turkısh town.In travel in Azerbaycan there is Kengir part.Ur İr İl and Ur ir yir yer next to next ın tıme rhıs word stay ın lıfe.And useıng.Ur is mean that people come together place.Uruk ın get UYRUK ... stıll ın Turkısh language is that mean where you home ... where you from ... ait olduğun sorumluluk alanı neresi... in tıme Ur and Uruk cıty states come togater and made Urum cıty ... urumıye lake.Where you from ... answer Uyruk urum ... ın Turkısh tıme to tıme Uyruk Ur and Uygur natıon name come ... some do much walked to maıunton ... they called there Ural ... menim al am ... benim balam ... son s of Ur ... Fın s to east Uygur s get to east walked ... today ın sıde UrumÇİ stıl ınsıde Chıne.Çi gıven that new Urum ... one ın İran ıf today one ın Chıne and walk ın Turks lıfe map.Sümerians fırst Turkısk.From Casparıan sea ... Noah was Ur cıty ... not a person ... Kengir ın you show Tamil ... may be they had get to Indıa ... UR same ın Tamil and Turkısh ... but Turks walk much.word is get ... ... ... bla bla bla ... Tamil s must show them ... Kengir s ın Orhun ... some of them was Turks ... ın Azerbaycan stıll they have place.
Kal (Tamil) Kıl-Çakıl (Turkısh) naram (Tamil) Nara*nahi *Nahiye (Turkısh) Ur (Tamil) Ur İr yir yer - Ur ir il (Turkısh) Sib İR ... no lıfe placecıty ... Seb ir lıfe cıty ... tıme to tıme Şeh ir ... fırst ı remeber ... ... ceza YİR ... ... Tatar Turk
Ancient Iranian farmers+ south Asian hunter gatherers= Dravidians... That's why south Indians have words like that
@@hiphopandpop Proto-Elamo-Dravidian was in southern Iran. Early farmers. The western branch became Elamite. The eastern branch carried agriculture east into India.
Excellent Presentation! Chapeau!
Great vid Dr. Miano. I think with more ancient DNA this puzzle will be solved👍🏻
@@D19DMO128D yes😄
Great video! Looking forward to even more videos about Mesopotamia.
Would such a creole have developed into a language without leaving more traces of which family structure it came from? Don't languages often use the grammar of one of the elite classes and the vocab base of what more people speak with, so if it were a PIE or Semitic Language even if it were one created through this type of influx and cultural creation and assimilation, would it truly be seen as a language isolate?
Massively fascinating though! I think I first learned about the Marsh Arab people DNA through Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages (RIP Nick) a couple years ago, always down to learn more, Dr. Miano!
Also that intro would've totally grabbed like 8-14 year old me super hard lol
i like the way you discussed and presented. I enjoyed this.
The excavations at Eridu, who many believe to be the earliest Sumerian city state unveiled a culture created out of a mixture of three elements: a fisher-hunter culture of people living in reed houses who came from the south, that is the Arabian littoral of the Persian Gulf, representatives of the Samarra culture who lived in rectangular brick houses and who came from the north, from central Mesopotamia and nomads living in tents who likely came from semi-desert areas, could have been the east, south or west.
It is interesting to see that while until about 5400 BC when the Ubaid culture arose in southern Mesopotamia areas in what is now central and northern Iraq were more technologically developed but than the center stage of economic and cultural development shifts to were Sumer would be in the future. It is clear that an influx of Samarra elements around that time contributed to this, that is a significant contributor to the rise of the Ubaid culture was the northern Samarra one.
David, what do you think is the best book or study ever written on Sumerian history? And would you recommend a particular one on Sumerian origins?
Love the way you narrate! Info sticks with one because of the way you say things.
Some others have commented about the sea levels and changes to topography, but I think the important point is that the idea "first settled the alluvial plain" needs a bunch of asterisks. Modern humans migrated out of Africa into southwest Asia at least 70kya, and perhaps much earlier. Not only were sea levels lower at that time (thanks to continental glaciers) but the upper parts of what today we call the Persian Gulf would have been ideal homes for humans: not too cold, not too hot, full of wildlife to hunt. The deep past is beyond the realm of historiography proper, but it does allow us to ask questions about from where certain groups originate with an understanding that over tens of thousands of years many groups could have come and gone.
10k years ago the Persian Gulf probably didn't exist.
Some petroglyphs where discovered in Sweden recently dating back 2700 years. In the article it says they are 3 metres high on a rock face and in the article it says 2700 years ago the sea level was 12 meters higher than it is today and these people made the carvings on a boat next to the cliff face...
@@dreddykrugernew Quite interesting ! Thx !
@@unrealuknow864 The Persian Gulf began flooding around 12000 BP and fully filled by around 5000 BP. Citations if you're interested.
@@dreddykrugernew That whole region was lower during the Ice Age due to the weight of the ice sheets. Even today the land is still rising.
Thanks! I like this format best from you! Your knowledge is appreciated. Lafayverte
Pretty unrelated, but I have a question regarding an inscription written by King Ashurbanipal. When he speaks about his literary accomplishments, he mentions being able to read Akkadian and Sumerian as well as being able to "read the pre-flood texts engraved upon stones", is there any idea as to what script he is referring to? Or even what flood? Thanks for the very informative video
Oh my gosh, all the Cuneiform tablets now translated by Oxford University.
@@HeavensPeace A) cuneiform tablets are stamped into clay not engraved upon stone
B)why would he list it separately from the Sumerian texts if they are one in the same
Super great video!
Ever since the 4th Millenium BC.....We've taken so much from them. Glad no one has to pay royalties on that stuff.
blacks will soon ask for reparations
Really enjoyed this one, Doc.