Ancient Sumer, Uruk, Sumerian, Akki

Ancient Sumer’s civic structure was comprised largely of freemen, who met in concert to govern themselves. The citizens initially held power, and decisions were made in an assembly.

Over time however, this position became permanent and hereditary, a kingship: father to son. Sumerian society and prosperity, was based on agriculture and commerce, fields irrigated by man-made canals produced an assortment of crops. Left: Standing Nude, Priest/King of Uruk, 3200 B.C.E.

The king, and the Temple of a cities patron god, - (thus the priests) - owned much of the land, but it was very common for the "average" man to own property. There was a large disparity between the rich and the poor, but even the poor, could own their own land and livestock. Coins were not used; commerce was accomplished through barter, or by payments of silver and gold. Purchases of even the smallest things were almost always confirmed in writing.

Sumerian religion had its roots in the worship of nature, such as the wind and water and animals. The ancient sages of Sumer found it necessary to bring order, to that which they did not understand. And to this end, they came to the natural conclusion that a greater force was at work. The forces of nature were originally worshipped, as entities onto themselves. However over time, the human form became associated with these forces. Gods in human form were then seen as having control over nature.

Sumerian theologians believed that every intricacy of the cosmos was controlled by a divine and immortal being, and that the cosmos adhered to established rules. The world below was known as the nether world. The image on the left: Close up of the Cylinder Seal impression, nude bearded hero and a water Buffalo 2334 B.C.E.

He must not make any noise. He must not carry any weapons. He must not wear clean clothes. He must not behave in a normal manner towards his family. He must not wear sandals. He must not douse himself with "good" oil.

Failure to adhere to these rules would cause the person to be held fast by the denizens of the nether world, until a god intervened on their behalf. Cylinder seals were another Sumerian invention; they were first used to roll one's signature into the wet clay of a tablet, thus recording a commercial transaction or a short inscription. Over time, Cylinder seals evolved so that they could reproduce pictorial scenes such as banquets.

Thousands of these tablets and seals have been found in excavated temple compounds. As said before, there is always an argument, as to whether it was the Sumerians, Egyptians or Indus valley people, who invented writing, mathematics, calendars etc. Bottom left: Sumerian God, man with bull head, 2500 B.C.E. Suffice to say, that Sumer had developed a complex commercial system, including contracts, grants of credit, loans with interest, and business partnerships.

In times of need, such as war, a lugal (big man) was elected only for the duration of that threat. As in Egypt, figures with human bodies and animal heads are common.

The Sumerians believed that the souls of the dead, descended into the nether world from their graves. But there were also special entrances to the nether world, in the cities. A person could enter the nether world from one of these special entrances, but once there, could not leave, unless a substitute was found to take their place in the world below. A person entering the nether world must adhere to certain rules:

Moreover, the planning of the vast public works under their control, led priests to develop useful mathematics, including both a decimal notation and a number system based upon 60, which has given us our sixty-second minute, our sixty-minute hour and our division of the circle into 360 degrees. They invented mathematical tables and used quadratic equations. They studied the heavens, both for religious and agricultural purposes, and they created a lunar calendar, with a day of 24 hours and a week of seven days. Sumerians are also credited with inventing the Wheel and the wagon, as well as the boat sail.

Thus, Sargon became king over all of southern Mesopotamia, the first great ruler for whom, rather than Sumerian, the Semitic tongue known as Akkadian was natural from birth. It may have been before these exploits, when he was gathering followers and an army, that Sargon named himself Sharru-kin (“Rightful King”) in support of an accession not achieved in this old established city through normal hereditary succession. Historical records are still so meagre however, that there is a complete gap in information relating to this period. After he is king, we get this bit of propaganda.

Sargon, the mighty king, king of Akkadê am I,
2. My mother was lowly; my father I did not know;
3. The brother of my father dwelt in the mountain.
4. My city is Azupiranu, which is situated on the bank of the Purattu [Euphrates],
5. My lowly mother conceived me, in secret she brought me forth.
6. She placed me in a basket of reeds, she closed my entrance with bitumen,
7. She cast me upon the rivers which did not overflow me.
8. The river carried me, it brought me to Akki, the irrigator.
9. Akki, the irrigator, in the goodness of his heart lifted me out,
10. Akki, the irrigator, as his own son brought me up;
11. Akki, the irrigator, as his gardener appointed me.
12. When I was a gardener the goddess Ishtar loved me,
13. And for four years I ruled the kingdom.
14. The black-headed peoples I ruled, I governed;
15. Mighty mountains with axes of bronze I destroyed (?). etc. etc. etc.

Proto-Dynastic, Egypt, Horus, Scorpion

The ancestors of the Christians of Sudan and Ethiopia were the ones who established an ancient culture that eventually exported civilization to the north (i.e. Tameri/ KMT) since 3500 B.C.E.

This was done under the leadership of a regent known only by the name ‘SCORPION’.

In the year 270 B.C.E. Ptolemy Philadelpheus commanded African-European High-Priest of Sebenmytus, Manetho, to "Write a Complete History of Egypt." "Manetho's History" was the first to divide Egyptian experiences into Dynasties, all of which he placed securely in the Great Library of Alexandria, Egypt.

Nevertheless, some of Manetho's writings were saved through the writings of ancient historians, who had copied from him and by many others who copied from them. The most important ancient offshoot from Manetho's works is called the "Palermo Stone", mentioned dramatically in the works of Breasted and others.

Pre-Pharaoh King

It is an engraved "Stone", showing records of pharaohs’ kings, of the first Five (5) Dynasties. 1st to 3rd Proto-Dynastic 4777 to 3998 B. C. E., and IVth to Vth Old Kingdom 3998 - ? B. C. E.

1st to 3rd Proto-Dynastic 4777 to 3998 B. C. E., Dynasty kings?
Horus "Crocodile"
Horus Hat-Hor
Horus Iry-Hor
Horus Ka
Horus "Scorpion"
Horus Narmer "Baleful Catfish"
King Scorpion

In the next period, known as Naqada III, Egypt has by now, been split-up into many administrative/territorial divisions, known as Nomes. Each nome has its own sacred animal or plant that became the totem, or emblem of that nome. This emblem was usually depicted on the pottery of each nome.

It is also at this time that we see Egypt referred to as - Upper and Lower Egypt - with twenty nomes in Lower Egypt and twenty-two in Upper Egypt. Each nome had its own ruler, but perhaps with an over-all ruler.

Pre-Pharaoh Pottery

It is not known what the original political make-up was, or how many times if any, there was unity and then a break-up. There were thirteen or so rulers in (Upper Egypt), of which only the last few have been identified, though these are by no means certain:

The rulers who named themselves after animals, were probably attempting to identify themselves with the divinity that their religion associated with these animals. The rulers became the personification of the named animal-god. As later on, the pharaohs were known as, the "Son of Ra" or son of some other God. In Upper Egypt these rulers wore the "white crown" of Upper Egypt and were depicted as superhuman figures, giants who towered above mortal men.

They were also depicted as being war-like, Scorpion's mace-head hints at the nature of these Upper Egyptian rulers. Although a four-chambered tomb in Abydos designated as B50, has been speculated as being Scorpion’s burial place. No conclusive evidence of Scorpions existence has yet been found at Abydos, where the tombs of several first Dynasty kings and even some preceding Dynasty “0” kings have been found. Some scholars are not even sure Scorpion actually existed, (perhaps Scorpion was a title; perhaps the Scorpion sign did not signify the person’s name at all). However, according to the Sumerian myth the "Scorpion Men of the Mountains of Machu, existed and are alleged to have been the guardian of the ladder between heaven and earth." 

Menes, Aha, or Aka 3,032 B.C. Menes was a Thinite (A native of Thinis or Abydos), which was located in Upper Egypt between the first cataract and the Delta.

Menes

Menes and his successors ruled from this city. During his reign he put into effect a body of laws introduced luxurious and extravagant manners of living. He also built a new capital at Ined Hedj, meaning the "White Wall."

He united agricultural towns and villages, along the Nile into a single realm. He was the founder of the Egyptian dynasties. Like other rulers of the Archaic Period, had his tomb in Abydos marked by two stelae bearing his name.

This was 'Serpent' (Djet) written within a serekh. A representation of his palace in both plan and elevation, surmounted by the falcon Horus of whom he was an incarnation. Bottom left: Label from the time of King Den First Dynasty 2,900 B.C. Courtesy of the British Museum London.

Pharaoh Menes was also called Aha or Aka, a title which in Igbo tradition implies that he was a

dwarf (Aka Ushi) and a goddess worshiper (for it is the Igbo astronomical symbol of the dot enclosed in the circle). The 2nd king after Menes used the title Attah.

The 3rd Pharaoh from his dynasty used the title Gani Eri; the 4th used the title, Bag Eri, and the 5th used the title Dan in Egyptian seals, translated as Dun Du in Indian king-lists of the same kings from a common heritage of humanity. Dun Du can be said to be an abbreviation of Dunu Idu.

Gani Eri was called Shar Eri, meaning King Eri. This title was first borne by the father of Menes, whom L A Waddell identifies as Sargon the Great (Shar Gani) the first king of Akkad in Sumer.

Sources:  L A Waddell, British Museum London, Ptolemy Philadelpheus, Sebenmytus Manetho

Kerma, Ancient Sudan, 7000 B.C.E.

Sudan is emerging as one of the most significant archaeological regions in the world. Due to the country’s superbly preserved archaeology, it has yielded evidence of early cattle domestication that pre-dates any in Egypt’s Nile Valley.

Kerma Ruins

What’s more, the earliest Sudanese civilisation – known as Ta-Sety (“the Land of the Archers’ Bow”) to the ancient Egyptians and Kerma to modern archaeologists – is the most ancient African urban culture outside the Land of the Pharaohs.

It flourished as a totally independent political entity for at least 15 centuries – until finally, around 1500 B.C., it was conquered by the Pharaohs of Egypt. This ancient Sudanese civilisation appears to have been ruled by a series of extraordinarily powerful kings – perhaps even emperors. Several of the royal tombs were spectacular man-made hills, 30 metres wide and up to 15 metres high.

To underline their power in this life (and the next), the rulers of Kerma seem to have had the unsettling habit of taking all their retainers and many of their relatives with them to the afterlife! One tomb held 400 skeletons.

Even before these kings began taking human escorts with them to eternity, their funerals had still been massive ritual events in which their imperial power over vast areas of territory was symbolically demonstrated.

Indeed, excavations and subsequent scientific investigations over the last few years have revealed that some of the kings had themselves buried alongside the remains of literally thousands of cattle. In front of one royal grave, the king’s retainers had sacrificed 4,500 of the animals – arranging their skulls in a huge, horn-shaped crescent in front of the tomb. But of greatest significance was the chemical analysis of the horns, which revealed that the cattle had been reared in different environments and been, brought to the funeral from the length and breadth of the kingdom.

What’s clear is that Kerma’s civilisation emerged out of an ancient pastoral culture that had flourished in that part of Sudan since at least 7000 B.C.

Kerma Pottery

when the first settlements were established. Nearby Kerma archaeologists have discovered one of the two oldest cemeteries ever found in Africa – dating back to 7500 B.C. – and the oldest evidence of cattle domestication ever found in Sudan or, indeed, in the Egyptian Nile Valley. Around 3000 BC a town grew up not far from the Neolithic dwellings place.

The economic basis of both of the pre-urban and urban cultures of ancient Kerma was cattle. The people themselves seem to have come from two distinct areas and may originally have belonged to two tribal groups. Excavations last winter revealed how, for the first 100 years of Kerma’s existence, these two peoples continued to preserve their distinct cultural traditions while living in the same city. Although the distinctions may have been tribal in origin, they also reflected differences in wealth and possibly social status.

Kerma was an extraordinarily prosperous empire. It was an advanced Black African state which established itself very successfully as a middle-man between sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt. It therefore supplied ancient Egypt with everything from tropical animals and slaves to gold and precious hardwoods.

Archaeologists have been unearthing truly wonderful works of art in Kerma – everything from model hippopotami, lions, giraffes, falcons, vultures, scorpions and crocodiles made of faience, mica, ivory and quartz to bracelets, ear decorations and necklaces made of gold, shell and faience.  Kerma ceramics are among the most elegant from the ancient world – strikingly modern-looking with simple shapes and bold geometric designs.

The kingdom’s capital was defended by substantial city walls. At least two miles of ramparts and dozens of bastions protected it from attack. Yet by around 1500 B.C., the defences failed and Kerma was conquered and occupied by the Egyptians, led by Pharaoh Tuthmosis I, one of the most militarily aggressive rulers the world had ever seen.

Japan, Ainu, Haplogroup D chromosomes

The Ainu people of Japan is notable for possessing almost exclusively Haplogroup D chromosomes In human genetics, Haplogroup D (M174) is a Y-chromosome haplogroup D are believed to have originated in Africa some 50,000 years before present. Along with haplogroup E, D contains the distinctive YAP polymorphism, which indicates their common ancestry. Both D and E also contain the M168 change, which is present in all Y-chromosome haplogroups except A and B. Like haplogroup C, D is believed to represent a great coastal migration along southern Asia, from Arabia to Southeast Asia and thence northward to populate East Asia.

It is found today at high frequency among populations in Tibet, the Japanese archipelago, and the Andaman Islands, though curiously not in India.

Jomon

The Ainu of Japan and the Jarawa and Onge of the Andaman Islands are notable for possessing almost exclusively Haplogroup D chromosomes, although Haplogroup C chromosomes also occur among the Ainu at a frequency of approximately 10%, similar to the Japanese.

Haplogroup D chromosomes are also found at low to moderate frequencies among all the populations of Central and Northeast Asia as well as the Han and Miao-Yao peoples of China and among several minority populations of Yunnan that speak Tibeto-Burman languages and reside in close proximity to the Tibetans.

Unlike haplogroup C, it did not travel from Asia to the New World. Geographic differentiation Haplogroup D is also remarkable for its rather extreme geographic differentiation, with a distinct subset of Haplogroup D chromosomes being found exclusively in each of the populations that contains a large percentage of individuals whose Y-chromosomes belong to Haplogroup D:

Haplogroup D1 among the Tibetans (as well as among the mainland East Asian populations that display very low frequencies of Haplogroup D Y-chromosomes), Haplogroup D2 among the various populations of the Japanese Archipelago, Haplogroup D3 among the inhabitants of Tajikistan and other parts of mountainous southern Central Asia, and Haplogroup D* (probably another monophyletic branch of Haplogroup D) among the Andaman Islanders. Another type (or types) of Haplogroup D* is found at a very low frequency among the Turkic and Mongolic populations of Central Asia. This apparently ancient diversification of Haplogroup D suggests that it may perhaps be better characterized as a "super-haplogroup" or "macro-haplogroup."

China

The Haplogroup D Y-chromosomes that are found among populations of the Japanese Archipelago are particularly distinctive, bearing a complex of at least five individual mutations along an internal branch of the Haplogroup D phylogeny, thus distinguishing them clearly from the Haplogroup D chromosomes that are found among the Tibetans and Andaman Islanders and providing evidence that Y-chromosome Haplogroup D2 was the modal haplogroup in the ancestral population that developed the prehistoric Jomon culture in the Japanese islands.

Let us pause to look across the Korea Strait, which connects China via the Korean peninsula to the south-western Japanese islands of Kyūshū and Honshū. The Korea Strait is about 120 miles wide and averages about 300 ft. deep. It is dotted with many Islands, thus making Island hopping, relatively easy. At about 35,000 B.C. a group of these African Chinese; later known to us as the Jomon, took this route and entered Japan, they became the first Humans to inhabit the Japanese Islands.

Later, another group; Known to us as the Ainu, followed. Although we do not have "Ancient life-like" depictions of the Jomon and Ainu, we do have pictures of members of their former migratory group. Their genetic cousins, the Andaman Islanders of the Indian Ocean, (Just off the coast of Burma and Thailand). Oddly Indians were not part of this group. Today, their genes can still be found in 40% of modern Japanese, as well as Mongolians and Tibetans.

Cheikh Anti Diop, 'Origin of Civilisation' (Myth of Reality), Batchelor, Ainu Lite and Core