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SphericalMiracle
Forgive me if this has been covered before - please merge if so - but I believe I have a unique angle on what's older and apparently influential regarding the Vedic (pre-Hindu) versus Sumerian question:

Shouldn't language itself be the natural precursor to higher intelligence? All languages between India and Europe (except the Turkic and Uralic groups) are INDO-European. If one language can spread its influence over such a vast area, shouldn't the same be true of ideas/concepts like writing and religion (which is all that passed for higher intelligence then)?

What if the Sumerians just concocted a religion as a means to create an empire... or something resembling it that allowed them to build the first cities? Is it possible monotheism is simply a ripoff of a ripoff? Boy howdy, what an ego blow that would be to the West (including Islam) if it could be proven true.
alien.gif ohmy.gif cool.gif
Themis
Are you talking about the Harappen/Indus Valley Civilisation which emerged during the 4th millenium BC? Certainly it was contemporary with Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilisation. It declined by about 2'000BC

The Vedas however were not written down until 200-100BC. Linguists claim that the Vedas can be split into four distinct books by the language used within them, the oldest being the Rig Veda, the newest being the Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda has been dated by linguists to about 1800BC (not sure I buy this but I'm not a linguist so its not for me to comment!)

Therefore the Vedas cannot be directly linked to the Indus Valley civilisations because the dates don't fit... (this is just my opinion original.gif )

Do you mean that the Sumerians invented a new religion/belief for those they conquered or that they exported their own?
apollyon
Sumerian isn't indo european
its an agglutinative isolate
QUOTE
what an ego blow that would be to the West (including Islam) if it could be proven true.

it has been proven true over and over again but people either don't care or they don't believe it


SphericalMiracle
Themis, I guess I'm trying to tie in the earliest reports of the Vimanas (spacecraft, therefore religion) with the diaspora of Indo-European languages. I'm apparently mistaken about the earliest written accounts, but perhaps there was something earlier than the Rig Veda that was lost. Perhaps not.

The Sumerians' (conceivably totally fabricated) religion may have been simply what attracted local commerce and the advent of cities.

Apollyon, I thought whatever language the Sumerians spoke that was the forerunner of Aramaic (I think) was Indo-European.
Moro
It can be difficult to speak of a 'Sumerian religion' as such, since practices and beliefs varied widely through time and distance, with each city having its own twist on mythology and theology. It might be said to be henotheistic. The Sumerian were the first recorded beliefs and the source for much of later Mesopotamian mythology, religion, and astrology. Sumerian civilization was characterized by polytheism, animism, anthropomorphism.
apollyon
QUOTE(Spherical Miracle @ Jun 8 2007, 12:46 PM) [snapback]1714589[/snapback]
Themis, I guess I'm trying to tie in the earliest reports of the Vimanas (spacecraft, therefore religion) with the diaspora of Indo-European languages. I'm apparently mistaken about the earliest written accounts, but perhaps there was something earlier than the Rig Veda that was lost. Perhaps not.

The Sumerians' (conceivably totally fabricated) religion may have been simply what attracted local commerce and the advent of cities.

Apollyon, I thought whatever language the Sumerians spoke that was the forerunner of Aramaic (I think) was Indo-European.

the indo european languages weren't in existence when Sumerian was first spoken
Aramaic didn't exist until 1200bce
Sumerian ceased to be spoken around 2500bce when the Akkadian civilisation began
the Sumerians didn't fabricate their religion
the idea that they did is one I have never heard before and I'd like to know your reasoning
the vedic texts that speak of Vimanas are modern fakes

there was nothing earlier than the rig veda that was lost, it is claimed that the rig veda has an oral history of 1500years before it was written down around 1500bce
but no evidence for that claim either
the symbols on harappan seals are a mixture of egyptian and sumerian glyphs
no one has deciphered the harappan fish signs yet
so youre speculating with a lot of gaps in areas that experts have been speculating for years with no answers
wink2.gif
Themis
QUOTE
Themis, I guess I'm trying to tie in the earliest reports of the Vimanas (spacecraft, therefore religion) with the diaspora of Indo-European languages. I'm apparently mistaken about the earliest written accounts, but perhaps there was something earlier than the Rig Veda that was lost. Perhaps not.

The Sumerians' (conceivably totally fabricated) religion may have been simply what attracted local commerce and the advent of cities.


The actual archaeological evidence does not bear this out. (After reading lots of archaeological reports, any belief that aliens may have been present in history is gone!! original.gif wink2.gif )

The texts as Apollyon said are from a different period ... I think you are onto a dead end here original.gif

However the Sumerian religious texts are well worth reading. You may indeed recognise some familiar stories laugh.gif
SphericalMiracle
Sorry I've been away for awhile. Themis, absence of archaeological evidence obviously doesn't mean the Sumerians didn't believe in aliens. Apollyon, sorry I'm no expert and am too busy to do the research, but what about the ancient Indian art that depicts the Vimana and (very apparent) "mushroom" clouds? How old is that? One of the Vedas is believed to describe an ancient nuclear holocaust. Not saying it's true, but who knows for certain?
alien.gif blink.gif
apollyon
QUOTE(Spherical Miracle @ Jun 9 2007, 03:43 AM) [snapback]1715715[/snapback]
Sorry I've been away for awhile. Themis, absence of archaeological evidence obviously doesn't mean the Sumerians didn't believe in aliens. Apollyon, sorry I'm no expert and am too busy to do the research, but what about the ancient Indian art that depicts the Vimana and (very apparent) "mushroom" clouds? How old is that? One of the Vedas is believed to describe an ancient nuclear holocaust. Not saying it's true, but who knows for certain?
alien.gif blink.gif

have you actually researched the origins of the stuff you are posting or are you passing on something you "read somewhere" or "remember from something"
if not please provide links
wink2.gif
Themis
QUOTE
Themis, absence of archaeological evidence obviously doesn't mean the Sumerians didn't believe in aliens.


Oh dear... *shakes head*

They might have believed that the world was flat as well wink2.gif doesn't mean its true does it original.gif

Isn't absence of archaeological and textual evidence enough for you?

QUOTE
One of the Vedas is believed to describe an ancient nuclear holocaust. Not saying it's true, but who knows for certain?


How on earth can you state that from heresay?

QUOTE
have you actually researched the origins of the stuff you are posting or are you passing on something you "read somewhere" or "remember from something"
if not please provide links
wink2.gif


Absolutely.

I'll be interested to hear what evidence you have to put forward too SM laugh.gif

Leonardo
QUOTE(Spherical Miracle @ Jun 7 2007, 10:10 PM) [snapback]1713810[/snapback]
Forgive me if this has been covered before - please merge if so - but I believe I have a unique angle on what's older and apparently influential regarding the Vedic (pre-Hindu) versus Sumerian question:

Shouldn't language itself be the natural precursor to higher intelligence? All languages between India and Europe (except the Turkic and Uralic groups) are INDO-European. If one language can spread its influence over such a vast area, shouldn't the same be true of ideas/concepts like writing and religion (which is all that passed for higher intelligence then)?

What if the Sumerians just concocted a religion as a means to create an empire... or something resembling it that allowed them to build the first cities? Is it possible monotheism is simply a ripoff of a ripoff? Boy howdy, what an ego blow that would be to the West (including Islam) if it could be proven true.
alien.gif ohmy.gif cool.gif


S.M.,

I'd like to address this opening post rather then the speculative 'ancient aliens/super-civilisation' motif of later posts in this thread.

Why should language be a precursor to higher intelligence? Define higher intelligence? You see I'm not certain if you are trying to imply that early hominids reason for evolving higher intelligence is down to them devising and speaking a language, which seems to me to be volte-face to how language/intelligence should arise, or that you are implying that the early Indic language was derived by some super-intelligence by reason of it having a large influence?

Not all languages between India and Europe are Indo-European in origin. You have rightfully pointed to the Turkic/Uralic languages as having a non-Indic origin, but also the Basque and Aquitanian (possible Basque derivative) languages are non-Indic. The premise that language was assimilated peacefully by influence is probably incorrect. The Palaeolithic languages of early Europe (and Basque and Aquitanian are proposed to be remnants of these) were displaced by the Indo-European languages and this was probably due to conflict or some catastrophic event causing a retreat of the Palaeolithic language speakers from the regions of Europe then colonised by the Indo-Europeans.

I'm not certain I understand fully what you are implying with your supposition that the Sumerians 'concocted a religion for means of empire creation'? Are you suggesting such a sophistication in their early society that they would manipulate other societies with a false religion? It is much more probable that Sumerian religion was 'concocted' as a means of understanding the world they lived in, the natural phenomena that so influenced their lives and as a basis for their social structure, rather than as a Machiavellian attempt at regional domination.

Also, current linguistic theory does not place the origin of the Indo-European language family actually in India. It is a common misconception that this is the case.

Here is a link to the Wiki article on the subject and, down the page a little, is the explanation, with some nice diagrams, of the Kurgan Hypothesis - the mainstream theory which proposes a Caucasian origin for the language family.
Harte
QUOTE(Leonardo @ Jun 9 2007, 03:03 AM) [snapback]1715988[/snapback]
I'm not certain I understand fully what you are implying with your supposition that the Sumerians 'concocted a religion for means of empire creation'? Are you suggesting such a sophistication in their early society that they would manipulate other societies with a false religion? It is much more probable that Sumerian religion was 'concocted' as a means of understanding the world they lived in, the natural phenomena that so influenced their lives and as a basis for their social structure, rather than as a Machiavellian attempt at regional domination.


I certainly have to agree with Leonardo on this. As far as I understand it, there was no real Sumerian "Empire" at all. They existed in rival city-states from what I've read. So their religion had no hand at all in creating or maintaining some "Empire."

Of course, I could be wrong. I'm not all that knowledgeable on Sumer. Perhaps Apollyon will confirm or refute what I've said here.

Harte
apollyon
you want me to make statements on wether or not a religion based on a flood god is relevant or not
whistling2.gif
keep dreaming
laugh.gif
Harte
QUOTE(apollyon @ Jun 9 2007, 12:44 PM) [snapback]1716372[/snapback]
you want me to make statements on wether or not a religion based on a flood god is relevant or not
whistling2.gif
keep dreaming
laugh.gif


Apollyon,

Relevancy was not my point. I was wonering if I was right that there was no "Sumerian Empire." Hence, no reason to invent a religion in order to create this "empire" or to control it.

Harte
Pax Unum
QUOTE(Harte @ Jun 9 2007, 03:25 PM) [snapback]1716506[/snapback]
I was wonering if I was right that there was no "Sumerian Empire." Hence, no reason to invent a religion in order to create this "empire" or to control it.

Harte

from what I've read Sumeria was not an Empire, it was city-states, that were often at war with each other...
SphericalMiracle
I regret my original use of "empire." It was the wrong word, but I meant it in the figurative sense; as in the difference between living in tribes and tents to living in cities being relatively "imperial" in its own right. Sorry.
Harte
QUOTE(Spherical Miracle @ Jun 9 2007, 07:06 PM) [snapback]1716657[/snapback]
I regret my original use of "empire." It was the wrong word, but I meant it in the figurative sense; as in the difference between living in tribes and tents to living in cities being relatively "imperial" in its own right. Sorry.

I see.

Then you should be made aware that the transition from nomads to settlement living occurred thousands of years before anyone called themselves Sumerians. It was a direct result of the development of agriculture and certainly began before 10,000 BC. After all, Jericho is about that old, as is the site excavated at Gobeklitepe. These were cities in every sense of the word, for the ancient world anyway - I mean they didn't have subways or taxicabs, but...

At any rate, cities don't just happen. They are built by people that are used to living in towns, and not in tents.

Harte
apollyon
QUOTE(Harte @ Jun 10 2007, 05:23 AM) [snapback]1716845[/snapback]
At any rate, cities don't just happen. They are built by people that are used to living in towns, and not in tents.

Harte

unless youre a Gutian
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chimeraddraig
There was a religious system which Vedic Brahmins had in common with Sumer. The Gutium invaders of Sumer used the title "king of the 4 quarters". Habil-ken or his successor La'arab (would you believe?) of 2148-7 BCE used it, and Sumerians later copied, such as Utu-begal 2133-13, until Babylonian history began from 2000 BCE.
Brahmins viewed mythic Mount Meru in the Pamirs, north of Afghanistan, as central world-mountain with 4 rivers to the cardinal compass directions. It is built as Angkor Wat in Cambodia /"Kambujiya" named from the "kambuzi" robe and title of the king of Babylon. Angkor has 4 corner towers to represent "Jayavarman" universal rule by the king as embodiment of Shiva-Vishnu.
The massive towers of Babylon and Angkor were most influential in assuring the prestige and real authority of city and king. Both had a snake-dragon ritual where the king climbed the tower to meet a goddess.
Perhaps they were looney. They were rich.
_00_deathscar
QUOTE(Harte @ Jun 10 2007, 12:23 PM) [snapback]1716845[/snapback]
I see.

Then you should be made aware that the transition from nomads to settlement living occurred thousands of years before anyone called themselves Sumerians. It was a direct result of the development of agriculture and certainly began before 10,000 BC. After all, Jericho is about that old, as is the site excavated at Gobeklitepe. These were cities in every sense of the word, for the ancient world anyway - I mean they didn't have subways or taxicabs, but...

At any rate, cities don't just happen. They are built by people that are used to living in towns, and not in tents.

Harte


Nevermind subways and taxis, the true test of a city is whether or not it has a McDonalds. Well, did it?
SphericalMiracle
Regardless of the semantics obsession with cities, my point is there's no way to determine where or when the original influence of (apparent) nonhumans (religion) happened. I've been Googling, but no luck. (I recommend UFOCRAWLER.com as the best search engine for unconventional topics). It was a TV documentary I saw several years ago about the Vimana and mushroom cloud sculptures or carvings and the (apparent or possible) description of a nuclear holocaust in one of the Vedas. That's probably all I have to say on the matter. It's a dead end, but it's been an intersting one (for me, at least). Happy trails.
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Harte
QUOTE(Spherical Miracle @ Jun 10 2007, 07:35 AM) [snapback]1717246[/snapback]
It was a TV documentary I saw several years ago about the Vimana and mushroom cloud sculptures or carvings and the (apparent or possible) description of a nuclear holocaust in one of the Vedas. That's probably all I have to say on the matter. It's a dead end, but it's been an intersting one (for me, at least). Happy trails.
hmm.gif

Spherical,

Rather than let you hang, let me give you something here:
QUOTE
The Mahabharata clearly describes a catastrophic blast that rocked the continent. "A single projectile charged with all the power in the Universe...An incandescent column of smoke and flame as bright as 10,000 suns, rose in all its splendor...it was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashes an entire race.

"The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable. Their hair and nails fell out, pottery broke without any apparent cause, and the birds turned white.

"After a few hours, all foodstuffs were infected. To escape from this fire, the soldiers threw themselves into the river."

A HISTORIAN COMMENTS

Historian Kisari Mohan Ganguli says that Indian sacred writings are full of such descriptions, which sound like an atomic blast as experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He says references mention fighting sky chariots and final weapons. An ancient battle is described in the Drona Parva, a section of the Mahabharata. "The passage tells of combat where explosions of final weapons decimate entire armies, causing crowds of warriors with steeds and elephants and weapons to be carried away as if they were dry leaves of trees," says Ganguli.

"Instead of mushroom clouds, the writer describes a perpendicular explosion with its billowing smoke clouds as consecutive openings of giant parasols. There are comments about the contamination of food and people's hair falling out."
Source (one of a billion online):http://www.geocities.com/lavlesh/More_Abou..._city_found.htm
Look familiar?

Note what is "quoted" from the Mahabharata:
QUOTE
"A single projectile charged with all the power in the Universe...An incandescent column of smoke and flame as bright as 10,000 suns, rose in all its splendor...it was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashes an entire race.

"The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable. Their hair and nails fell out, pottery broke without any apparent cause, and the birds turned white.

"After a few hours, all foodstuffs were infected. To escape from this fire, the soldiers threw themselves into the river."


This text appears exactly nowhere in the mahabharata. Go check for yourself:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm

Here's what the Mahabharata says:
QUOTE
Vaishampayana said: "While the Vrishnis and the Andhakas were thus endeavouring (to avoid the impending calamity), the embodied form of Time (death) every day wandered about their houses. He looked like a man of terrible and fierce aspect. Of bald head, he was black and of tawny complexion. Sometimes he was seen by the Vrishnis as he peered into their houses. The mighty bowmen among the Vrishnis shot hundreds and thousands of shafts at him, but none of these succeeded in piercing him, for he was none else than the Destroyer of all creatures. Day by day strong winds blew, and many were the evil omens that arose, awful and foreboding the destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. The streets swarmed with rats and mice. Earthen pots showed cracks or broke from no apparent cause. At night, the rats and mice ate away the hair and nails of slumbering men. Sarikas chirped, sitting within the houses of the Vrishnis. The noise made by those birds ceased not for even a short while by day or by night. The Sarashas were heard to imitate the hooting of the owl, and goats imitated the cries, O Bharata, of jackals. Many birds appeared, impelled by Death, that were pale of complexion but that had legs red of hue. Pigeons were seen to always disport in the houses of the Vrishnis. Asses were born of kine, and elephants of mules. Cats were born of b****es, and mouse of the mongoose. The Vrishnis, committing sinful acts, were not seen to feel any shame. They showed disregard for Brahmanas and the Pitris and the deities, They insulted and humiliated their preceptors and seniors. Only Rama and Janardana acted differently. Wives deceived their husbands, and husbands deceived their wives. Fires, when ignited, cast their flames towards the left. Sometimes they threw out flames whose splendour was blue and red. The Sun, whether when rising or setting over the city, seemed to be surrounded by headless trunks of human form. In cook rooms, upon food that was clean and well-boiled, were seen, when it was served out for eating, innumerable worms of diverse kinds. When Brahmanas, receiving gifts, blessed the day or the hour (fixed for this or that undertaking) or when high-souled men were engaged in silent recitations, the heavy tread was heard of innumerable men running about, but no one could be seen to whom the sound of such tread could be ascribed. The constellations were repeatedly seen to be struck by the planets. None amongst the Yadavas could, however, obtain a sight of the constellation of his birth. When the Panchajanya was blown in their houses, asses of dissonant and awful voice brayed aloud from every direction. "Beholding these signs that indicated the perverse course of Time, and seeing that the day of the new moon coincided with the thirteenth (and the fourteenth) lunation, Hrishikesa, summoning the Yadavas, said unto them these words: ‘The fourteenth lunation has been made the fifteenth by Rahu once more. Such a day had happened at the time of the great battle of the Bharatas. It has once more appeared, it seems, for our destruction.’ "The slayer of Keshi, Janardana, thinking upon the omens that Time showed, understood that the thirty-sixth year had come, and that what Gandhari, burning with grief on account of the death of her sons, and deprived of all her kinsmen, had said was about to transpire. ‘The present is exactly similar to that time when Yudhishthira noted at such awful omens when the two armies had been arrayed in order of battle.’ Vasudeva, having said so, endeavoured to bring about those occurrences which would make Gandhari’s words true. That chastiser of foes commanded the Vrishnis to make a pilgrimage to some sacred water. The messengers forthwith proclaimed at the command of Keshava that the Vrishnis should make a journey to the sea-coast for bathing in the sacred waters of the ocean."

Source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16002.htm
Somewhat different from what you were told, wouldn't you say?

Next, let's look at the "historian"
QUOTE
Historian Kisari Mohan Ganguli says that Indian sacred writings are full of such descriptions, which sound like an atomic blast as experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He says references mention fighting sky chariots and final weapons. An ancient battle is described in the Drona Parva, a section of the Mahabharata. "The passage tells of combat where explosions of final weapons decimate entire armies, causing crowds of warriors with steeds and elephants and weapons to be carried away as if they were dry leaves of trees," says Ganguli.

"Instead of mushroom clouds, the writer describes a perpendicular explosion with its billowing smoke clouds as consecutive openings of giant parasols. There are comments about the contamination of food and people's hair falling out."

If you went to the above linked Mahabharata page I gave you, then you must have seen this right there on the opening page:
QUOTE
The Mahabharata
of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
[published between 1883 and 1896]
(my emphasis)

Here's Ganguli translating the Mahabharata in the 19th century. How did he know what a "mushroom cloud" was?

So, we have the very "historian" they claim is telling us about this ancient nuclear device providing the very translation that indicates no such device.

What does that tell you?

Don't be too embarrassed. As long as you didn't spend a lot of money to get lied to, you're still okay.

Harte
apollyon
QUOTE(Harte @ Jun 10 2007, 06:12 PM) [snapback]1717526[/snapback]
Spherical,

Rather than let you hang, let me give you something here:
Source (one of a billion online):http://www.geocities.com/lavlesh/More_Abou..._city_found.htm
Look familiar?

Note what is "quoted" from the Mahabharata:
This text appears exactly nowhere in the mahabharata. Go check for yourself:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm

Here's what the Mahabharata says:

Source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16002.htm
Somewhat different from what you were told, wouldn't you say?

Next, let's look at the "historian"

If you went to the above linked Mahabharata page I gave you, then you must have seen this right there on the opening page:
(my emphasis)

Here's Ganguli translating the Mahabharata in the 19th century. How did he know what a "mushroom cloud" was?

So, we have the very "historian" they claim is telling us about this ancient nuclear device providing the very translation that indicates no such device.

What does that tell you?

Don't be too embarrassed. As long as you didn't spend a lot of money to get lied to, you're still okay.

Harte

that one always cracks me up
here spherical
download it print it out and hang it on the wall behind your computer
linked-image
wink2.gif
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