Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and I actually thought this would be an interesting ancient history topic!
Many civilizations claim to have been started by "the Gods" or some other myth that explains their origin. I took a class once that partly tried to explore the origins of the ancient Egyptians. What about the inhabitants of ancient Crete? Maybe some other time we can have a learning discussion.
There have been studies about the rise of agriculture in the fertile crescent region and how it led to the Sumerian Civilization. On of my favorite personal theories is that the domestication of cereal grains was caused by the need for grain to brew beer. Maybe not overly likely but I like it and it is a more realistic theory than the Sumerians originated as extra terrestrial visitors. Bah!
Maybe not overly likely but I like it and it is a more realistic theory than the Sumerians originated as extra terrestrial visitors. Bah!
Spot on posting ... and yes it's the Ancient Aliens crap to sell books etc ... . as there's all kinds of archaeological evidence to show when the cultivation of cereal grains first arose some 17,000 to 20,000 years ago in that region e.g. the Sea of Galilee Ohalo II settlement 17,400 b.c. has so far unearthed some 90,000 seeds for '''possible''' cultivation of proto crops.
Back to the OP question ... as for the proto Sumerians there were the Uruk culture period peoples 4,000 b.c. - 3,000 b.c. and before that was the Ubaid culture period peoples 6,500 b.c. - 3,800 b.c. in that same region showing that they were advanced peoples although with no known written language until around 3,200 b.c.
I've never seen anyone assert that the Sumerians were Indo-European before. AFAIK, the genetic/cultural/linguistic origins of the Sumerians are unknown.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Sumer (ancient region, Iraq) -- Encyclopedia Britannica, the Sumerians migrated to Mesopotamia from Anatolia in present-day Turkey. However, they were preceded there by an ancient people called the Ubaidians. The best information on the Sumerians and Mesopotamia is likely found in books by Samuel Noah Kramer, who researched and studied them for many decades.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
