I will present two problems, each dealing with mere humans and=20
firmly determined dates, and from two widely seperated areas of the=20
world--across oceans as a matter of fact. The information I present is=20
available on the web, for everyones convienience (including my own).
First let's simply look at the area of the world were the action=20
is supposed to transpire, the ANE (ancient near east). As should come to=20
no surprise to anyone, the area has been extensively investigated, and=20
dates for many of the key events quite well determined and agreed to by=20
scholars of the subjects concerned.
So what do we know to have happened in the period of 3000-2500=20
BCE? Quite a bit.
The following information, much of which will be quoted without specific=20
attribution comes from pages you can enter at:
http://www.sron.ruu.nl/~jheise/akkadian/bronze_age.html
and from there you can link to all kinds of neat stuff.
A little background to get started, from the outline for=20
prehistory:
* * *
II.Prehistory in Mesopotamia, introduction=20
1.Stone Age (Neolithic)=20
1.Isolated settlements from 9000 BCE onwards=20
Agriculture , Food storage , Ceramics ,=20
2.Village communities (6000-3000 BCE)=20
=09
Introduction
Around 3000 BCE -at the dawn of history- first civilizations originate=20
in the basins of great rivers in Mesopotamia, along the Nile in Egypt =20
and along the Ganges in India. This section gives a bird's eye view on=20
how civilizations came into being: Civilization in the literal sense <=20
Lat. civitas `city': the development of city-states, called the urban=20
revolution.=20
* * *
mwf
So right at the area around 3000 BCE, we have city states, which=20
imply established populations, both in the cities and in the surrounding=20
rural areas to provide food.
So the flood couldn't have occured too recently to that time=20
period. Eight humans could not provide sufficient progeny fast enough to=20
found civilizations all across Asia minor, Modern Iran/Iraq, India, and=20
Egypt.
Further, these cities didn't spring into existence all at once:
* * *
The Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) is a well defined cultural epoch, that=20
coincides with a geological period, the Pleistocene. It covers the era=20
of glacial periods lasting about 500000 year until 8500 BCE. It is=20
divided into several subperiods with less well defined boundaries,=20
called Early Paleolithic (until ~75000 BCE), Middle Paleolithic (until=20
~40000 BCE), Late Paleolithic (until ~15000 BCE), so far with human
habitat in camps and caves and with an economy based an forage, wild=20
species and tracking wild heards. The last part is called=20
Epi-Paleolithic (until ~8500 BCE) in which early settlements (round=20
huts) are found together with first signs of selection of species and=20
some control over wild heards is attested. The artifacts now include
pestles and mortars to grind grasses, acorns and red ocre.
* * * *=09
mwf
Prior to the formation of the city states, prior to anything we=20
would call "civilization" we have a continuous record of gradually=20
increasing human population numbers along with gradualy improving=20
technology, this period ending about 8500 BCE.
* * *
Neolithic (New Stone Age)
During the Neolithic a ``revolution'' takes place, called the Neolithic=20
revolution (the term was first used by V.G. Childe in 1936). Despite its=20
name it is a very slow and gradual change from food collection to food=20
production, that takes several millennia. Methods of collecting food by=20
hunting, fishing and gathering plants/fruits were gradually replaced by=20
animal husbandry and agriculture. It goes hand in hand with a change=20
from a nomadic way of life to a sedentary lifestyle, initially=20
half-sedentary: using regular campsites repeatedly every year, but only=20
during certain seasons.=20
The Neolithic is seen as a relatively peaceful era, inferred from the=20
absence of fortifications around villages.=20
Isolated settlements from 9000 BCE onwards=20
The Neolithic in Mesopotamia is characterized by the change in location,
distribution and size of human settlements: from scattered campsites in=20
areas where game is present (mountains slopes, in general very=20
differentiated terrain), via repeatedly occupied campsites near valleys=20
to larger but still isolated settlements, never located in the middle of=20
the alluvial plains.=20
The first proofs for domestication of plants and animals come from such=20
temporary campsites and are sporadically already seen from 9000 BCE.=20
E.g. the distribution in the bones over male and female animals could=20
not be explained by hunting alone.=20
Ceramics.=20
Origin. One doesn't know where ceramics originated, but it occurred=20
probably around 6000 BCE. By 5000 BCE the use was generally fashionable.=20
Until that time the Neolithic is called the Aceramic Neolithic, or also=20
the Pre-pottery Neolithic. Type of clay or mud, additions, shape,=20
finishing tough and decoration are fashion-dependent characteristics.=20
These features are used extensively in archeology for dating and=20
geographical distribution. The distribution indicates trade over large=20
distances, even in the earliest times.
Halaf ceramics (called after the first site where it is found Tell Halaf=20
(or Tell Halif) in the north of Syria) is one of the first recognizable=20
fashions. It passes its name to the Halaf period around 4000 BCE. It is=20
a delicate ceramic and indicates for the first time an important feature=20
in the development of human kind: specialization, craftsmen that do not=20
have to work in the fields. The low number of Halaf ceramics indicates=20
they are still considered luxury goods.
The Ubaid-period (4000-3500 BCE) is a ceramic period called after the=20
site Tell el-Ubaid in the south of Irak with a characteristic concentric=20
and wave-like decoration pattern. The quick spread over a larger area=20
(the Ubaid-horizon) indicates a similar economy and a high degree of=20
professionalism in that area. The real potter's wheel (introduced in the=20
transition to the so called Uruk-period is technically complicated and=20
the spread is limited to highly developed areas. It requires a workable,=20
kneadable clay which is obtained by special additions (e.g. Iron oxyde,=20
giving the characteristic red-brown color).=20
Village communities (6000-3000 BCE)=20
Using the previously described raw dating by potsherds on a large number=20
of Tells in the Near East it is possible to get a global distribution of=20
village communities. It appears that the character changes=20
significantly, first gradually starting 6000 BCE, but specially to the=20
end of the 4th millennium. Early isolated settlements are mainly found=20
in the valleys of smaller rivers in the Zagros mountains and in the=20
smaller plains of valleys. New settlements are more like village=20
communities, closer to each other and on locations where rivers stream=20
into large valleys and where water streams may be easier to control. The=20
dryer climate (starting from 3500 BCE) makes it plausible that=20
irrigation starts playing a role in the agricultural methods.=20
Because of larger control over the harvest and animal husbandry, smaller=20
and more intensively used agricultural fields cause an increased food=20
production. These can supply the larger communities. The proximity of=20
villages makes communication and interaction easier. It stimulates the=20
cultural and economic exchange on the one hand, but enlarges the=20
possibility of conflicts on the other hand. Making rules and agreements=20
to avoid and solve conflicts is seen as an important factor in the
process of civilization and considered as more important than the=20
administrative necessity for cooperation in the irrigation works. The=20
latter process is well known from later times.=20
Habitation of the great plains in the extreme south of Mesopotamia=20
occurs in later times. The irrigation of these plains as we know it from=20
later Babylonian texts --with its long supply channels and its eternal=20
lack of sufficient water-- indeed requires an extensive administration=20
system, but they belong to a later development.=20
* * *
mwf
Pottery styles and other idicators show a stable, widespread=20
human population across the region and across the time period from 9000=20
BCE to 3000 BCE.=20
No sudden catasprophic population decreseas, rather a steadily=20
increasing population base with increasing trade contacts appears in the=20
archaeological record.
Which brings us to the origins of the city states in 3000 BCE:
* * *
Protohistory in Mesopotamia=20
1.Protohistory as described in later texts=20
1.Sumerian King Lists=20
2.The Flood story=20
2.The first cities(Jemdet Nasr period)=20
3.Old Sumerian Age=20
1.The city Kish, Early Dynastic-I, the Golden Age (2900-2700=20
BCE)=20
2.The city Uruk, Early Dynastic-II, the Heroic Age =09
(2700-2500 BCE)=20
3.The cities Ur and Lagash, Early Dynastic-III (2500-2350 =09
BCE)=20
Protohistory, introduction
History starts per definition with the invention of writing (around 3200=20
BCE). However, the first written documents are scarce, difficult to=20
read, mostly economic in nature and thus revealing little about the=20
political situation. Most of the oldest records are still undeciphered.=20
The earliest historic period is often called protohistory, the period of=20
scarcely written documents. In Europe for example the period of the=20
Carolines and Merovines in the early middle ages are called=20
the protohistory.=20
Some scholars emphasize the literary component in those societies and=20
speak about the protoliterate which is divided in several parts, called=20
A, B, C and D.=20
The small amount of available documents is supplemented by texts written=20
many centuries later but referring to these early stages. In combination=20
with archeological records, these should be taken seriously. A legendary=20
king becomes real when e.g. votive inscriptions carrying his name are=20
found.=20
The most important aspects of the society in the protohistory are the=20
beginning of monumental buildings (temples, palaces, fortifications),=20
the accumulation of capital and the economic use of metal and writing,=20
leading to the first city states. As in the neolithic one speaks about=20
the agricultural revolution, this age witnesses the urban revolution.=20
Sumerian protohistory is divided into the Jemdet Nasr period (the=20
foundation of the first city states) for which no contemporary records=20
are available and the Old Sumerian period. The Old Sumerian period lasts=20
until the seizure of power by the Semitic king Sargon of Akkad (around=20
2350 BCE). The period is divided into dynastics determined by the=20
hegemony of a certain city.
1. Protohistory as described in later texts
Sumerians are very conscious about their civilization and held a high=20
opinion of it. The urban revolution starting around 3100 BCE has=20
impressed the Sumerians themselves. It was a heroic age. The=20
circumstances in those times are a source for many myths and legends. An=20
epic tradition started with heroic poems going back to real social=20
phenomena. In origin historical events (at least in part) are chanted=20
and told from generation to generation, adding and deleting with=20
literary freedom. Many centuries later stories from oral tradition were=20
written down, usually schematically and as loose fragments. Still later=20
(a millennium, in the Old Babylonian period, 19th century BCE) the=20
fragments were arranged and composed into complete epics. They got=20
standardized into canonical literature, when they were written and=20
copied by generations of scribes (often in schools). There is a general=20
analogy with other `heroic ages' in later times, (Homer, the Indian=20
Maghabharata, the Germanic Heroic age). The similarity probably shows a=20
common political and social structure.=20
The Flood story=20
The motive of the Flood, a ``word wide'' catastrophe, circulates in all=20
of antiquity. All kinds of versions of the catastrophe are passed down=20
from generation to generation and from country to country. There are=20
Sumerian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hittite versions and probably=20
independently in much of the world's folklore elsewhere. When the first=20
texts about the Flood (Akkadian ab=FCbum, a devastating storm surge)
were discovered in 1872 by George Smith, it made headline news in all=20
papers, because of the similarities with the story in the bible (dated=20
almost two millennia later). Fantasy was further stirred by the English=20
archeologist Sir L. Woolley. He found (1929) in excavations a deposit of=20
silt of a few meters thickness, under which artifacts were found dated=20
to the 5th millennium. These deposits, however, are always localized to=20
a small area, as Woolley himself has later discovered. Time, place and=20
extend of this flood are inconsistent with the literary tradition. A =20
local breakthrough of the river is a sufficient explanation.=20
All alluvial plains and river deltas in the world have suffered from=20
major floods. A series of floods in the 15th century CE, called the The=20
St. Elisabeth Floods, has shaped part of the Netherlands in the Rhine=20
delta. Millions of people even now are in constant danger because of=20
flood threat, so it is not surprising that the story still addresses the=20
imagination. There is no doubt that floods did have a great impact on
the Mesopotamian civilization and that some of them occurred around 2900=20
BCE.=20
The various versions and fragments of the epic point to different=20
traditions in Flood stories. The Sumerian Flood hero (the early Noah) is=20
called Ubar-Tutu (`Friend of the god Tutu'), in other versions Ziusudra=20
(`Life of long days') In the Akkadian version he is called Utnapitim=20
(`he has found (everlasting) life') elsewhere also trahas=EFs=20
(`exceedingly wise'). The epic named after the latter is very famous and=20
is in Old Babylonian form dated to 1635 BCE. It exists also in later=20
traditions.=20
2. The first cities (Jemdet Nasr period)
The urban revolution, the building of the first cities, took place in=20
3100-2900 BCE in
the transition from prehistory to history. The change in human=20
settlement pattern
from isolated settlements to larger village communities, described=20
before,
continued. The dry climate at the end of the 4th millennium now allowed=20
habitation
of the great plains in the extreme south of Mesopotamia, the area later=20
called
Sumer. Inadequate rainfall stimulated the continuing development of=20
irrigation
works. The production of bronze, an alloy of copper and other metals,=20
mainly tin,
allows the manufacturing of new weapons, for which protection was sought=20
by the
construction of fortifications around the villages and walls around=20
cities.=20
3. Old Sumerian Age
The bloom and further development of the city states is called the Early=20
Dynastic period (2900-2400 BCE) or Old Sumerian period. It is divided=20
into three periods in which different cities dominate. The Old Sumerian=20
period is characterized by strong rivalry between city states and an=20
increasing division between state and religion. Monumental buildings=20
that should be called palaces as opposed to temples are attested for the=20
first time. Despite the rivalry there are strong similarities=20
in architecture, building materials, motives of ornaments etc., The=20
people shared a common religion and spoke the same language. So in=20
general one could speak of a Sumerian art and culture.=20
Old Sumerian is the language used in the Old Sumerian age. A large=20
fraction of texts in Old Sumerian and most of our knowledge on this=20
language is derived from texts already found before 1900 CE in Nippur, a=20
holy city, the religious capital of Sumer, seat of Enlil, the supreme=20
god of the Sumerian pantheon. These tablets (more than 30000) can now be=20
found in Istanbul, Jena and Philadelphia. These tablets include the=20
oldest versions of literary works, such as the Gilgamesh Epic and the=20
Creation Story, as well as administrative, legal, medical and business=20
records, and school texts.=20
3.1 The city Kish, Early Dynastic-I, the Golden Age (2900-2700 BCE)=20
Kish, a city in the north of Babylonia near modern Tel el-eh=EAmir, is th=
e=20
first postdiluvial city mentioned in the Sumerian King Lists. After the=20
great Flood, `kingdom lowered again from heaven'. The first kings had=20
Semitic names. It is an age in which `the four quarters of the world'=20
lived in harmony.=20
>From excavations it appears indeed that Kish has been an important city.=
=20
It is the center of the first Sumerian dynasty, called Early Dynastic-I.=20
The findings point to a specialization in labor and a high quality of=20
craftsmanship, which must have been the result of a long tradition.=20
Beautiful golden daggers and other artifacts are found in tombs. In Kish=20
archeologist found the first monumental building which must have been a=20
palace, rather than a temple. The king is in power, and not the en the=20
high priest.=20
The title King of Kish. The importance attached to Kish is also shown in=20
the title `King of Kish', in Akkadian ar ki ati. This title was used by=20
kings even many centuries later to show prestige, as if it meant `king=20
of the whole world'. The title was even used when another king was=20
actually the king of Kish and also long after Kish had ceased to be the=20
seat of kingship. It is possible that the title was more than just=20
prestige. Kish is situated in the north of the plains of southern
Mesopotamia on a critical spot at the Euphrates river. A breakthrough of=20
the river to the lowlands in the direction south west (to modern An=20
Najat, where the Euphrates flows nowadays) would mean that a whole=20
system of irrigation channels would be without water supply. The control=20
of the Euphrates in the neighborhood of Kish thus was of vital=20
importance to the rulers in the south of Mesopotamia. The title `king of
Kish' could have indicated the ruler that exercised this control.=20
* * *
mwf
So we have a smooth transition from prehistory to protohistory.=20
As humans moved into the alluvial plains as the rains decreased, they=20
become vulnerable to flooding, and numerous legends grew up about "the=20
flood."
But the archaeological record reveals that there were no sudden=20
catastrophic drops in region wide population, the various local floods,=20
as bad as they might have been locally, cannot be correlated with other=20
floods at other locals.
Further, moving off the internet for a moment, we must not=20
forget that in the era 3300-3000 BCE the old Egyptian dynasty was being=20
founded, first in "This" and finally moving to Memphis. And the nile=20
shows a record of continuous human habitation through the period.
Moving just a bit farther afield to India, the city remains of=20
Mohenjo-daro also dates from circa 2900 BCE, and India likewise shows a=20
record of continuous human habitation through the period.
* * *
3.2 The city Uruk, Early Dynastic-II, the Heroic Age (2700-2500 BCE)=20
Uruk (Sumerian unug, in the bible Erech) is situated near modern Warka=20
(still showing the same root consonants *'rk but with a different=20
vocalization). This period under the hegemony of Uruk is also called the=20
Heroic Age. Dynasties are known from epics written some time later. Uruk=20
is the city of the goddess Inanna and the supreme god An. Kings of Uruk=20
are called en `lord'. A reconstruction from later mythology shows this=20
period to be a primitive democracy. Major decisions are taken by the=20
king after consultance of a counsel of elderly men=20
Enmerkar, king of Uruk and Kullub, has as epithet `he who build Uruk'=20
and is known from two epics. There is no known inscription or plaque=20
that bears his name, so there is no archeological proof of his=20
existence. The texts refer to commercial and military contacts with a=20
city called Aratta (not yet localized, probably in Iran), where the=20
Sumerian goddess Inanna (later Akkadian Itar) and Dumuzi were also
worshiped. These epics are seen as a proof of trade contacts, e.g. the=20
trade in precious stones, like lapis lazuli. Enmerkar was the first,=20
according to legend, to write on clay tablets.=20
Lugalbanda (lugal `king', banda `small', so `junior king') was the third=20
king in the first dynasty of Uruk, and also featuring in heroic-epic=20
Sumerian poems, the so called Lugal banda-epic (two parts, together 900=20
lines).=20
Gilgamesh was responsible for the construction of the city walls of=20
Uruk. Indeed, it appears from archeological records that these walls=20
were expanded around 2700 BCE with its typical plano-convex type of=20
bricks. Archeologists take the use of this material as a characteristic=20
for the start of Early Dynamic-II. There is no archeological evidence=20
for the existence of Gilgamesh. An other royal name in this dynasty,=20
Mesannepada, has been found written on a golden plate (dated to 2600
BCE) with a votive inscription.=20
3.3 The cities Ur and Lagash, Early Dynastic-III (2500-2350 BCE)=20
The Early Dynastic-III period is outside protohistory and usually=20
considered to be part of history. Many source and archives are known.=20
One of them, contemporaneously with the archeological stratus of=20
Uruk-IVa with archaic pictographical texts, is found in uruppak (modern=20
Fara). Another site is only known by its modern name, the village Abu=20
salabih, with Old Sumerian texts. The majority of these texts have an=20
economical/administrative nature. =20
Ur. Officially, according to the Sumerian King Lists, Ur has the=20
hegemony in this era, the Early Dynastic-III. In practice `hegemony'=20
probably was fairly marginal. Ur is a port with connection to the=20
Persian Gulf.=20
Laga and the religious metropolis Girsu are both cities in the extreme=20
south of Mesopotamia. Many Old Sumerian texts have been found here,=20
mostly on hard materials like albast, copper and gold, e.g. the royal=20
inscriptions of Lagash and texts about the eternal border conflicts=20
between Lagash and the nearby city Umma. The conflicts often concern=20
water rights and were sometimes settled by mediation of the king of=20
Kish.=20
* * *
mwf
And so we segue right into written history, with an unbroken=20
record of civilization just in the primary region, Egyptian civilization=20
continuous without interruption (at least in the sense of inhabitation)=20
into the "old kingdom" from the early dynastys.=20
The inhabitation of India is continuous, as is that of China,=20
even further to the east.
At no time does the population of humanity go through a=20
sudden worldwide collapse as would be required (and was the point of, in=20
the Bible) for the flood to have been true. Eight humans might have been=20
technically, by the numbers, capable of producing sufficient population=20
for current world populations, and perhaps for "classical" civilization.=20
But they would not have been able to replenish, right after the flood=20
was over, all the civilizations that the archaelological record reveals=20
continued unabated right through the period Aubrey wishes to place the=20
flood.
To put the final nail in the coffin, we turn out attention to=20
the southeastern United States.
From :
http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline.htm
But that's part two.
Ciao.=09
--=20
Michael Fisher, ET1/SS USN ret., lawstudent=09
* * * =20
=09
He that would make his own liberty secure,=20
must guard even his enemy from oppression;=20
for if he violates this duty,=20
he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
=09
Thomas Paine
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
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