Sumer in the distance

 

Sumer in the distance

 

Lacuo, Agudengba, John, and the archaeological expert Aza talked about the sudden disappearance of the ancient Dian Kingdom, and also talked about the mysterious Fuxian Lake.

Old man Aza said: According to the legend of Chengjiang people, there was a mysterious passage at the bottom of Fuxian Lake. The entrance of this passage is hundreds of meters deep under Fuxian Lake, and the other exit is in India. The mainstream media even said that ancient corpses were found floating at the bottom of the lake... As an archaeologist, in my opinion, this is all a lie and there is no real archaeological discovery.

Mr. John, a foreigner, said: I agree with your views. What you said about the ancient Dian Kingdom and Fuxian Lake reminds me of the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. They also disappeared suddenly, and there are also many mysterious legends.

Latso asked: Who are the Sumerians?

Mr John said:

The Sumerians were an early settler people in the middle and lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Simply put, they were the early inhabitants of Mesopotamia. The Sumerians were an ancient people who migrated to the southern Mesopotamia region of West Asia around 5000 BC.

The name Sumer is not the name of the Sumerians themselves, but the name given to them by others. The first people to use this name were the Akkadians. The Sumerians called themselves "black-headed people" and the place where they lived as "the place of civilized monarchs." The word "Shumer" used by the Akkadians may be a local dialect variation of this name.

The Sumerians differed in language, culture, and possibly appearance from their Semitic neighbors and successors. In the past, some people thought that they were invaders, but archaeological excavations have proved that the residential culture in southern Mesopotamia was continuous starting from the early Obeid culture in 53rd to 46th century BC.

 

The Sumerians took the lead in entering the civilized period in the 3000s BC, created the earliest ancient civilization in human history, and made indelible contributions to the development of world culture. The Sumerian civilization was mainly located in southern Mesopotamia. Radiocarbon dating tests show that the Sumerian civilization began in the 40th century BC and ended around the end of the 20th century BC. The ancient Babylonian dynasty was established by the Amorites. replaced.

Mr John said:

Cuneiform writing was created by the Sumerians and evolved from hieroglyphics. Arabic means "nail-head writing". English: cuneiform originates from Latin and is a compound word composed of the two words cuneus (wedge) and forma (shape), so it is called cuneiform by modern archaeologists.

When the prototype of writing came into being, it was mostly pictorial symbols. Between 3200 BC and 3000 BC, it was the early stage of cuneiform writing and was only used sparingly. The use of writing increased around 2600 B.C., and around 500 B.C., cuneiform became the common medium of commercial communication in much of Western Asia. Cuneiform was used until around the 1st century BC. It was used like Latin today and then lost. It was only gradually deciphered in the 19th century, thus forming Assyriology, a discipline that studies the ancient history of the Middle East.

The cuneiform writing that has been discovered is mostly written on clay tablets, and a few are written on stone, metal or wax tablets. The scribes used sharpened reed poles or wooden sticks to write on the soft clay tablets. The soft clay tablets became hard after being sun-dried or baked and were not easily deformed. Since they are mostly carved on clay tablets, the lines are straight and wedge-shaped. Cuneiform was used by many ancient civilizations to write their languages, but these languages were not necessarily related to each other.

Cuneiform law refers to the general name for the laws inscribed in cuneiform by the slave countries in the Mesopotamia region of ancient West Asia. These countries include the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Ilamites, Hittites, etc. It was a country established around 3000 BC and died with the destruction of New Babylon in the 6th century BC. However, scholars still disagree on the time of its demise.

Mr. John added:

I love China. China is a country with a long history. It should be said that the earliest writing in China is oracle bone inscriptions, which were mainly popular in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. They are also called "Qiwen", "oracle bone inscriptions", "Yin Ruins writing" or "tortoise shell and animal bone writing". It is the earliest mature writing discovered in China so far. The writing system is the source of Chinese characters and the root of China’s excellent traditional culture.

The Chinese discovered early oracle bone writing, but the Sumerians invented the earliest human hieroglyphics, cuneiform writing, known as clay tablet writing. Cuneiform is recognized as the world's earliest written record.

Cuneiform writing is one of the oldest writings in the world, dating back about 5,500 years ago, while Oracle appeared about 3,600 years ago, about 1,900 years later than cuneiform writing. Therefore, cuneiform writing is older than Oracle and is the oldest recognized writing in the world.

Between 3000 BC and 2500 BC, the Sumerians and Akkadians in the two river basins successively established some city-states. These early states

In addition to having a common language, their laws have some similarities due to their similar economic, political, and cultural conditions. They already have their own heads, councils of elders and litigation institutions, and have acquired the basic characteristics of a country. Traditional tribal customary laws have gradually transitioned to laws. According to historical records, around 3000 BC, there were already sporadic legal regulations recorded in cuneiform writing, such as prohibiting cheating and theft.

Old man Aza said:

Chinese people always claim that they are descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties. In what era did the Yan and Huang Dynasties live?

Emperor Yan was just the legendary ancient emperor Shennong or a descendant of Shennong. Emperor Yan was born in Jiangshui (now Baoji, Shaanxi). In his later years, he was active in the two lakes (Hunan and Hubei) and was buried at the "end of Changsha Tea Village", which is now Hunan. Luyuanpi, Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Province. But this is just a legend, there is no exact time and research.

The Yellow Emperor is said to have lived from 2717 BC to 2599 BC. He was the leader of the ancient Chinese tribal alliance and the co-leader of the Chinese nation in ancient China. The first of the Five Emperors, he is revered as the "first ancestor of humanities" in China. According to some historical records and cultural relics, Huangdi Xuanyuan was born in Xuanyuan Hill and made his capital in Youxiong. In the Han Dynasty, the Xuanyuan Hometown Temple was built in front of Xuanyuan Hill in Beiguan, Xinzheng. Even if these evidences are true, they only prove that China was still in the tribal era at that time.

At that time, the Sumerians and Akkadians in the two river basins had successively established some city-states, and traditional tribal customary laws had gradually transitioned to laws. Around 3000 BC, sporadic legal regulations such as the prohibition of cheating and theft were recorded in cuneiform script.

Lacuo and Agudengba listened to the conversation between the foreigner John and the archaeological expert Aza. They had nothing to say and fell into silence.

Old Man Aza sang a song "The Sumerian Civilization That Should Not Be Forgotten":

 

I don’t know when it started,

There is a strange phenomenon in this world,

People are singing for civilization,

Civilized slogans became fashionable.

 

What is true civilization?

Where did civilization originate from?

I don’t know how many people can explain it clearly.

Who can explain it clearly.

 

If you know Mesopotamia,

You know where cuneiform comes from,

You will know the Akkadians,

You can understand the Sumerian civilization.

 

Sumer created the earliest writing,

Established the earliest city-state,

Transition from traditional tribes to law,

This is the origin of world civilization.

 

When we integrate into civilized society,

How can we abandon the Sumerians?

The historical truth should not be forgotten,

The Sumerian civilization was great and glorious.