“The Sumerian Genesis describes the Abzu as a cosmic freshwater ocean that surrounds our mother Earth (created in its midst) above and below, so the sketch shows the same as Babylon’s map, now in side view. A bubble of breathable air clings to earth, with the Abzu’s boundary layer as a roof like on Athrahasis-Noah’s lifeboat. Further details, such as Noah’s island Dilmun and the tunnel (through it, the sun god Shamash traveled dry-footed from west to east during the night), are taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh. An important technical detail are also the sluices built into sky. Through them, the gods, well skilled in the construction of irrigation systems, supplied their Garden of Eden with rain, but also unleashed the Flood.” ref
“The Babylonian Map of the World (also Imago Mundi or Mappa mundi) is a Babylonian clay tablet with a schematic world map and two inscriptions written in the Akkadian language. Dated to no earlier than the 9th century BCE or 2,900 years ago (with a late 8th or 7th century BCE date being more likely), it includes a brief and partially lost textual description. The tablet describes the oldest known depiction of the then known world. 14 – 17. Ocean (salt water, Akkadian: idmar-ra-tum). The text above the map (11 lines) seems to describe part of the creation of the world by Marduk, the patron god of Babylon, who parted the primeval salt Ocean (the goddess Tiamat) and thus created Land and Sea. Of the Sea it says: the ruine[d] gods which he (Marduk) set[tled] inside the Sea […] are present; the viper, the great sea-serpent inside. Next, on Land, a series of two mythical creatures (“the Anzu-bird, and scorpi[on-man]“) and at least fifteen land animals are mentioned, “beasts which Marduk created on top of the res[tl]ess Sea” (i.e. on the land, visualized as a kind of giant raft floating in the Sea), among them mountain goat, gazelle, lion, wolf, monkey and female-monkey, ostrich, cat, and chameleon. With the exception of the cat, all these animals were typical of faraway lands. The last two lines of the text refer to three legendary heroes: [U]tnapištim (the hero of the Flood as described in Gilgamesh’s epic), Sargon (ruler of Akkad), and Nur-[D]agan the King of Buršaḫa[nda] (opponent of Sargon).” ref
“In the creation myth of the Heliopolitan form of ancient Egyptian religion, Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator deity Atum settled. The Benben stone (pyramidion) is the top stone of the pyramid.” ref
Mound of Creation
“Ancient Egyptian temples were not just homes for the gods, they were also replicas of the universe at the moment of creation.” ref
A Model of the Universe
“Ancient Egyptian temples were not just homes for the gods, they were also replicas of the universe at the moment of creation. In Egyptian mythology, the universe emerged from a vast cosmic ocean of nothingness. For countless eons, the creator-sun god Atum had drifted asleep in this primordial sea which the Egyptians called Nun. Eventually, the creator god awoke and willed a small island to emerge from out of the cosmic sea. From atop this hill, which the Egyptians called the mound of the “First Event,” Atum proceeded to call all things into existence starting with the male god Shu (the air) and the goddess Tefnut (moisture). Next came a third generation of deities in the form of the male earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. After further generations, every feature of nature was born, each with a god or goddess to govern it.” ref
“Egyptian temples were replicas of this early universe with inner sanctuaries representing the primeval hill. As visitors moved from the outer courts, through the hypostyle hall and into the holy of holies, the floor level gradually rose while the ceilings became lower. It also became darker as the open roofed courts and the hypostyle halls with their clerestory windows gave way to dark inner chambers with just one small light shaft in the inner chapel to illuminate the god’s cult statue. This confined and shadowy atmosphere transported the visitors privileged enough to see the god in his home back to the very beginning of time—but just a few priests and Pharaoh himself could enter this holy of holies. Within this sacred model of space and time, a hypostyle hall mimicked a thicket of papyrus reeds that grew in the swampy edges of the primeval mound.” ref
“Ancient Egypt’s still-buried ‘Mound of Creation’ an extremely well-preserved tomb at Saqqara near Cairo. It belonged to a high priest called Wahtye, and is more than 4,000 years old.” ref
“Although the djew hieroglyph did portray the mountain ranges the Egyptians also saw it symbolically, two peaks imagined to hold up the sky, or a circular mound of creation.” ref, ref
Mountain (djew)
“Appearance: The hieroglyphic sign for “mountain” depicted to peaks with a valley running between them. This image approximated the hills that rose up on either side of the Nile valley. Meaning: Although the djew hieroglyph did portray the mountain ranges the Egyptians saw in their everyday lives, it also was a visualization of their cosmic beliefs. Symbolically, the “mountain” was an image of the universal mountain whose two peaks were imagined to hold up the sky. The eastern peak was called Bakhu, to the west was Manu. The ends of this great mountain were guarded by two lions who were called Aker. Aker was a protector of the the sun as it rose and set each day.” ref
“The Egyptian necropolis was typically located in the mountainous desert and so the djew was also closely associated with the concepts of the tomb and of the afterlife. The god of mummification, Anubis bore the epithet, “He who is upon his mountain.” Hathor, the “Mistress of the Necropolis”, while in the form of a cow, was often shown emerging from the side of the western mountain. In painted scenes, the concept of a “hill” or “heap” of such things as grain are often expressed representationally with the djew sign. The use of the hieroglyphic shape is an effective tool to convey not only the shape but the of such large heaps of grain. A variation of the hieroglyph showing a range of three peaks was used to portray the concept of “foreign land.” ref
AI Overview: Ancient and traditional Indian cultures, including Dravidian folk traditions, have long revered termite mounds. These mounds were associated with the earth, fertility, water sources, and were a part of ancient rituals and folk religion. In some cosmogonies, the sacred anthill is seen as a representation of a “primordial mound” that was “founded upon the waters,” linking terrestrial features to cosmic ideas of origin.
“Human Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22 traces Neolithic expansion in West Asia and supports the Elamite and Dravidian connection.” ref
Sacred Anthill/Termite Mound and the Cult of the Primordial Mound (India) “Mound of Creation”
“In most areas, the sacred anthill is identified with a village goddess (in pastoral areas, a god) who is believed to have been “born of the anthill. Many folktales of gods and goddesses are told of them emerging from or returning to an anthill. The worship of anthills takes the form of ritual circumambulation (Sanskrit, pradaksina), involving clockwise or “sunwise” circulation, so that the mound is kept on the worshiper’s right. This is a solar rite in which the worshiper identifies with the course of the sun in its life-giving aspect. Since the ventilation shafts lead down into the netherworld, the realm of the Fathers (pitrs)-anthills are commonly used as altars for sacrifice to the ancestors. Accounts also tell of a stick or pole bearing a sun emblem painted with yellow turmeric and inserted into the center of the mound as an axis prior to the sacrifice.” ref
“The anthill as sacred image of the primordial mound, orientation appears to have been originally solar, in contrast with the world mountain of cosmology, which was polar and incorporated a different set of astrological ideas. In its cosmogonic form, the image is that of a mound or “low eminence” that pushed its head above the waters. In regions with major river systems subject to flooding (where the early civilizations developed), the primordial mound was visualized as a mud bank, left high and dry by the receding flood: one day a “hump” of brown mud, seemingly lifeless; the next day bursting into greenery and myriad forms of life beneath the fertilizing rays of the sun. Where there were no large rivers, an alternative image was a rock with springs issuing from its base.” ref
“Whatever the form in which the primordial mound was visualized (and there are countless variations), it is here that we meet with a semantic trap. This cosmogonic mound, commonly described as the “high place” was “high” only in relation to the waters out of which it emerged. The trap is made still more treacherous by the fact that the cosmogonic mound was conceived as “swelling” into a hill and eventually into a mountain. In other words, swelling and expansion were of its very essence, and it therefore becomes all too easy to read “mountain” where there was originally a “mound.” With these later stages, however, we are not concerned. Since the primordial mound preceded the creation, it did not possess any of the dualities or polarities that characterize our own organized universe, such as heaven and earth, fire and water, gods and demons, male and female, and so on. Thus, without gods and demons, there could be neither good nor evil; without life and water, no energy; without male and female, no procreation. The first and most important of the dualisms was heaven and earth, because it was from this that all other dualisms followed.” ref
“The archetypal image of the separation and unity of heaven and Earth was the world tree, its branches extending to the heavens and its roots into the subterranean waters. This tree was the primary image of the world’s axis. However, in versions of the cosmogony where a creator god was involved, the tree was commonly imaged as a pillar, ritually carved from its trunk. The tree/pillar that pushed up the sky also pegged down the mound to the bottom of the waters, giving it the stability it needed to expand into our universe. With this combined action of propping and pegging, a number of other things happened simultaneously: the vacuum created between heaven and earth was filled by space; with the horizontal expansion of space, the four quarters were born, creating the area within which we live and breathe; and, most important of all in our present context, the sun was released from the waters to bring light and life into the world, to create time and the seasons, and to set in motion the whole cosmic life cycle.” ref
“The Yajur-Veda, which reflects religious practices not later than the middle of the first millennium BCE (between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago), ants are addressed as “. . . the earliest of creation …” In the ritual text, Apastamba Srautasutra (15.2.1), which is only slightly later, the mounds made by ants are identified with the first lump of mud raised to the surface of the waters on the snout of the primordial boar (adi-varaha). In the same context, the insects themselves are addressed as “Ye divine ants, who originated at the Creation, ye who are combined with rta.” At this stage, the primeval boar is not given a personal name, but the terms in which it is described in the same text are especially illuminating: “The earth, which was rooted up by the wild boar is addressed with the formula: ‘So large wast thou [i.e., the earth] in the beginning!’” In the Satapatha Brahmana, ants are again described in terms now becoming familiar as “the first-born [prathamaja] of the world [bhatasya].” In the next verse, bhata is equated with earth (prthivi) and described as “very small” when raised from the bottom of the waters-that is, before it began to “swell.” This is another allusion to the mound of the cosmogony.” ref
“In the cosmogony, as we have seen, the primordial mound was “founded upon the waters.” The latter were originally conceived as constituting the cosmic ocean (Vedic apah), but in cosmology they were identified with the subterranean waters (samudra), which could be interpreted to include our modern concept of the “water table.” The Vedas tell us that termites penetrate to water wherever they dig, and that their special ability to do so was a gift from the gods. The water comes from “deep down” where the Asuras bury it.
(Asura, in the Vedas, denotes the gods of the undifferentiated, primordial world who, after the creation, became “demons” of our dualistic universe.) Some species of termite will penetrate more than forty meters (130 feet) of compacted subsoil to reach water and bring it to the surface, used to humidify the interior of their mounds. The Vedas convey this information in connection with a medicinal charm made with water extracted from a termite mound.” ref
“There are recurrent folktales about a treasure guarded by a serpent hidden within the anthill. The serpent is often described as spitting fire and having in its head a wondrous jewel which emits rays, causing the rainbow. It is said that if you run to the spot “where the rainbow ends” and dig into the nearest anthill, there you will find treasure-that is, if you survive the anger of the guardian serpent. anthills are believed to contain treasure guarded by a serpent. This is a feature that the anthill shares with the primordial mound of the cosmogony and also with sacred tumuli in many parts of the world. The rain “bow” was one with the “bow” used by the creator-god to slay or subdue the demon. In India, the rainbow is the “bow of Indra”-the bow with which Indra slays the serpent. Thus, we are left with the impression of an intrinsic link between anthill, treasure, rainbow, and demon-serpent.” ref
“The mythological link between the anthill and the serpent draws attention to another correspondence between myth and nature. Termite mounds are often inhabited by cobras, and with good reason on the cobra’s side, since this reptile is a water-loving creature and hates aridity. The humid, air-conditioned interior of the termite mound has a special attraction, and the cobra is grateful for the ventilation shafts, which allow easy entrance and exit. An African species of termite, Macrotermes bellicosus, equips its mound with a central pillar. An extraordinary feature of the pillar in the mound is that it is free-standing and supports the cells or combs that constitute the living quarters of the insects. We have already noted that the tree/pillar of the cosmogony is neither a tree in the arboreal sense nor a pillar in the structural. Yet, as a metaphor, the image is appropriate to either or both. The notion of such a parallelism existing between the cosmic axis on the one hand, and the spinal axis of the human body on the other, is well known to every student of Indian yoga texts.” ref
There were many back migrations to Africa, the first of which started 30,000 years ago from Siberia with mt-DNA U6 into North Africa. ref Around 15,000 years ago, Y-DNA E from Israel (Natufian related) likely came into North Africa. ref, ref Around 10,000 years ago, Y-DNA J (J-P58 referred to as J1e) (Initial entry in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, as later migrations accrued as well) from the Levant/Middle East, which brought agriculture and animal domestication, likely came into northern Egypt/North Africa. ref Around 9,000 years ago, Y-DNA T (Pastoralists) from the Middle East came into Egypt/North Africa. ref Around 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, Y-DNA R1bv88 from the Middle East came into Egypt/North Africa. ref Around 6,000 to 5,000 years ago, ideas from Mesopotamia came into Egypt/North Africa. ref ETC.
Du-Ku
“Du-Ku or dul-kug is a Sumerian word for a sacred place. According to Wasilewska et al., du-ku translates as “holy hill”, “holy mound” […E-dul-kug… (House which is the holy mound), or “great mountain. According to the University of Pennsylvania online dictionary of Sumerian and Akkadian languages, du-ku is actually du6-ku3, with du6 being defined as a mound or ruin mound, and ku3 as either ritually pure or shining: it is used in the texts on the Univ. of Oxford site as “shining”. There is no mention of nor association with the term “holy”, and instead it represents a cultic and cosmic place. The location is otherwise alluded to in sacred texts as a specifically identified place of godly judgement. The hill was the location for ritual offerings to Sumerian god(s) Nungal and the Anunna dwell upon the holy hill in a text written from Gilgamesh.” ref
Sumerian tablet of Ereshkigal
“… Enlil on the shore, where he kept watch over the “Du-Ku, the Holy Mound of Creation,” and Mother Ki, (sometimes Antu, sometimes Ninhursag) his eyes gleaming with fond laughter. But why did they leave the safety of the Duku, the mound of creation, why did they go beyond the Waters of Mother Nammu.” ref
“Ninhursag (also Ninhursaga) is the Sumerian Mother Goddess and one of the oldest and most important in the Mesopotamian Pantheon. She replaced the earlier Mother Goddess, Nammu (also known as Namma) whose worship is attested as early as Dynastic III (2600-2334 BCE) of the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334 BCE).” ref
“Nammu was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity, especially in the early Sumerian city, Eridu. Mother of An (Heaven/Sky god) and Ki (Earth/Mound of Creation?), as well as a primeval sea/Cosmic ocean, related to the goddess Tiamat.” ref
“Nammu (𒀭𒇉 dENGUR = dLAGAB×ḪAL; also read Namma) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as a creator deity in the local theology of Eridu. It is assumed that she was associated with water. She is also well-attested in connection with incantations and apotropaic magic. She was regarded as the mother of Enki, and in a single inscription she appears as the wife of Anu, but it is assumed that she usually was not believed to have a spouse. From the Old Babylonian period onwards, she was considered to be the mother of An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth), as well as a representation of the primeval sea/ocean, an association that may have come from influence from the goddess Tiamat.” ref
“While Nammu is already attested in sources from the Early Dynastic period, such as the zame hymns and an inscription of Lugal-kisalsi, she was not commonly worshiped. A temple dedicated to her existed in Ur in the Old Babylonian period, she is also attested in texts from Nippur and Babylon. Theophoric names invoking her were rare, with that of king Ur-Nammu until recently being believed to be the only example. In the Old Babylonian myth Enki and Ninmah, Nammu is one of the deities involved in the creation of mankind alongside the eponymous pair and a group of seven minor goddesses. Her presence differentiates this narrative from other texts dealing with the same motif, such as Atra-Hasis.” ref
“Nammu’s name was represented in cuneiform by the Sumerogram ENGUR (LAGAB×ḪAL). Lexical lists provide evidence for multiple readings, including Nammu, Namma, and longer, reduplicated variants such as Namnamu and Nannama. A bilingual text from Tell Harmal treats the short and long forms of the name as if they were respectively the Akkadian and Sumerian versions of the same word. The name is conventionally translated as “creatrix.” ref
‘This interpretation depends on the theory that it is etymologically related to the element imma (SIG7) in the name of the goddess Ninimma, which could be explained in Akkadian as nabnītu or bunnannû, two terms pertaining to creation. However, this proposal is not universally accepted. Another related possibility is to interpret it as a genitive compound, (e)n + amma(k), “lady of the cosmic river,” but it is similarly not free of criticism, and it has been argued no clear evidence for the etymology for Nammu’s name exists. Ancient authors secondarily etymologized it as nig2-nam-ma, “creativity,” “totality,” or “everything.” ref
“The sign ENGUR could also be read as engur, a synonym of apsu, but when used in this context, it was not identical with the name of the goddess, and Nammu could be referred to as the creator of engur, which according to Frans Wiggermann confirms she and the mythical body of water were not identical. Nammu could be referred to with epithets such as “lady who is great and high in the sea” (nin-ab-gal-an-na-u5-a),” mother who gave birth to heaven and earth” (dama-tu-an-ki) or “first mother who gave birth to all (or senior) gods” (ama-palil-u3-tu-diĝir-šar-šar-ra-ke4-ne). The motherhood of Nammu to heaven and earth is attested in texts like the god-list TCL XV 10 and is related to the status attained from the Old Babylonian period onwards as the mother of An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth).” ref
“Few sources providing information about Nammu’s character are known. Most of them come from the Old Babylonian period. Based on indirect evidence, it is assumed she was associated with water, though there is debate among researchers over whether sweet or saline. No explicit references to Nammu being identical with the sea are known, and Manuel Ceccarelli in a recent study suggests she might have represented groundwater. Jan Lisman, who views Nammu as having been a representation of the primordial ocean/sea from which the rest of the cosmos emerged, believes that Nammu’s association with this body of water may have come from the influence of the goddess Tiamat.” ref
“In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat (Akkadian: 𒀭𒋾𒊩𒆳 DTI.AMAT or 𒀭𒌓𒌈 DTAM.TUM, Ancient Greek: Θαλάττη, romanized: Thaláttē) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic Enûma Elish, which translates as “when on high.” She is referred to as a woman, and has—at various points in the epic—a number of anthropomorphic features (such as breasts) and theriomorphic features (such as a tail). In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, Tiamat bears the first generation of deities after mingling her waters with those of Apsu, her consort. The gods continue to reproduce, forming a noisy new mass of divine children. Apsu, driven to violence by the noise they make, seeks to destroy them and is killed.” ref
“Enraged, Tiamat also wars upon those of her own and Apsu’s children who killed her consort, bringing forth a series of monsters as weapons. She also takes a new consort, Qingu, and bestows on him the Tablet of Destinies, which represents legitimate divine rulership. She is ultimately defeated and slain by Enki‘s son, the storm-god Marduk, but not before she conjures forth monsters whose bodies she fills with “poison instead of blood.” Marduk dismembers her, and then constructs and structures elements of the cosmos from Tiamat’s body. Some sources have dubiously identified her with images of a sea serpent or dragon. Tiamat also has been claimed to be cognate with the Northwest Semitic word tehom (תְּהוֹם; ‘the deeps, abyss’), in the Book of Genesis 1:2.” ref
“The Babylonian epic Enuma Elish is named for its incipit: “When on high [or: When above],” the heavens did not yet exist, nor the earth below, Abzu the subterranean ocean was there, “the first, the begetter,” and Tiamat, the overground sea, “she who bore them all”; they were “mixing their waters.” It is thought that female deities are older than male ones in Mesopotamia, and Tiamat may have begun as part of the cult of Nammu, a female principle of a watery creative force, with equally strong connections to the underworld, which predates the appearance of Ea-Enki. Harriet Crawford finds this “mixing of the waters” to be a natural feature of the middle Persian Gulf, where fresh waters from the Arabian aquifer mix and mingle with the salt waters of the sea.” ref
“This characteristic is especially true of the region of Bahrain, whose name in Arabic means “two seas”, and which is thought to be the site of Dilmun, the original site of the Sumerian creation beliefs. The difference in density of salt and fresh water drives a perceptible separation. In the Enuma Elish, Tiamat’s physical description includes a tail, a thigh, “lower parts” (which shake together), a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has insides (possibly “entrails”), a heart, arteries, and blood. Tiamat was once regarded as a sea serpent or dragon, although Assyriologist Alexander Heidel has previously recognized that a “dragon form can not be imputed to Tiamat with certainty.” She is still often referred to as a monster, though this identification has been credibly challenged. In Enuma Elish, Tiamat is clearly portrayed as a mother of monsters but, before this, she is just as clearly portrayed as a mother to all the gods.” ref
“With Tiamat, Abzu (or Apsû) fathered the elder deities Lahmu and Lahamu (masc. the ‘hairy’), a title given to the gatekeepers at Enki’s Abzu/E’engurra-temple in Eridu. Lahmu and Lahamu, in turn, were the parents of the ‘ends’ of the heavens (Anshar, from an-šar, ‘heaven-totality/end’) and the earth (Kishar); Anshar and Kishar were considered to meet at the horizon, becoming, thereby, the parents of Anu (Heaven) and Ki (Earth). Tiamat was the “shining” personification of the sea who roared and smote in the chaos of original creation. She and Abzu filled the cosmic abyss with the primeval waters. She is “Ummu-Hubur who formed all things.” ref
“In the myth recorded on cuneiform tablets, the deity Enki (later Ea) believed correctly that Abzu was planning to murder the younger deities as a consequence of his aggravation with the noisy tumult they created. This premonition led Enki to capture Abzu and hold him prisoner beneath Abzu’s own temple, the E-Abzu (‘temple of Abzu’). This angered Kingu, their son, who reported the event to Tiamat, whereupon she fashioned eleven monsters to battle the deities in order to avenge Abzu’s death. These were her own offspring: Bašmu (‘Venomous Snake’), Ušumgallu (‘Great Dragon’), Mušmaḫḫū (‘Exalted Serpent’), Mušḫuššu (‘Furious Snake’), Laḫmu (the ‘Hairy One’), Ugallu (the ‘Big Weather-Beast’), Uridimmu (‘Mad Lion’), Girtablullû (‘Scorpion-Man’), Umū dabrūtu (‘Violent Storms’), Kulullû (‘Fish-Man’), and Kusarikku (‘Bull-Man’).” ref
“Tiamat was in possession of the Tablet of Destinies, and in the primordial battle, she gave the relic to Kingu, the deity she had chosen as her lover and the leader of her host, and who was also one of her children. The terrified deities were rescued by Anu, who secured their promise to revere him as “king of the gods.” He fought Tiamat with the arrows of the winds, a net, a club, and an invincible spear. Anu was later replaced first by Enlil, and (in the late version that has survived after the First Dynasty of Babylon) then subsequently by Marduk, the son of Ea.” ref
“Slicing Tiamat in half, Marduk made from her ribs the vault of heaven and earth. Her weeping eyes became the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates, her tail became the Milky Way. With the approval of the elder deities, he took the Tablet of Destinies from Kingu, and installed himself as the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Kingu was captured and later was slain: his red blood mixed with the red clay of the Earth would make the body of humankind, created to act as the servant of the younger Igigi deities.” ref
“The principal theme of the epic is the rightful elevation of Marduk to command over all the deities. “It has long been realized that the Marduk epic, for all its local coloring and probable elaboration by the Babylonian theologians, reflects in substance older Sumerian material,” American Assyriologist E. A. Speiser remarked in 1942, adding, “The exact Sumerian prototype, however, has not turned up so far.” However, this surmise that the Babylonian version of the story is based upon a modified version of an older epic, in which Enlil, not Marduk, was the god who slew Tiamat, has been more recently dismissed as “distinctly improbable.” ref
“One example of an icon that was more so a motif of Tiamat was within the Temple of Bêl, located in Palmyra. The motif depicts Nabu and Marduk defeating Tiamat. In this picture, Tiamat is shown as a woman’s body with legs which are made of snakes. It was once thought that the myth of Tiamat was one of the earliest recorded versions of a Chaoskampf, a mythological motif that generally involves the battle between a culture hero and a chthonic or aquatic monster, serpent, or dragon. Chaoskampf motifs in other mythologies perhaps linked to the Tiamat myth include: the Hittite Illuyanka myth; the Greek lore of Apollo‘s killing of the Python as a necessary action to take over the Delphic Oracle; and to Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.” ref
“A number of writers have put forth ideas about Tiamat: Robert Graves, for example, considered Tiamat’s death by Marduk as evidence for his hypothesis of an ancient shift in power from a matriarchal society to a patriarchy. The theory suggested that Tiamat and other ancient monster figures were depictions of former supreme deities of peaceful, woman-centered religions. Their defeat at the hands of a male hero corresponded to the overthrow of these matristic religions and societies by male-dominated ones. Nu (mythology) – an ancient Egyptian deity with a similar role. Chaos (cosmogony) – Ancient Greek deity with a similar role. Ymir (Norse) is similar, as well as Pangu (Chinese), and Sea of Suf – a primordial sea in the World of Darkness in Mandaean cosmology.” ref
Here is a question I messaged to a few Academics:
- Joseph A P Wilson (@JosephAPWilson1), Lecturer in Archaeology, Department of Classics, UMASS Amherst: “Interesting. It is hard for me to evaluate without the sources cited, dates etc. But interesting nonetheless.”
- Jens Notroff (@jens2go), an Archaeologist, got a hat (no whip, though). Once known as “Yunus” among Bedouins: “Nice, that’s a great approach to compare these phenomena – looking forward to reading more about your ideas here.”
“Ziggurats were built by ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites, Eblaites and Babylonians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex with other buildings. Before the ziggurats there were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the sixth millennium BCE. The ziggurats began as platforms (usually oval, rectangular or square). The ziggurat was a mastaba-like structure with a flat top. According to some historians the design of Egyptian pyramids, especially the stepped designs of the oldest pyramids (Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara, 2600 BCE or 4,600 years ago), may have been an evolution from the ziggurats built in Mesopotamia. Others say the Pyramid of Zoser and the earliest Egyptian pyramids may have been derived locally from the bench-shaped mastaba tomb.” ref
“Egyptian architecture also was influenced, as it adopted various elements of earlier Mesopotamian temple and civic architecture. Recessed niches in particular, which are characteristic of Mesopotamian temple architecture, were adopted for the design of false doors in the tombs of the First Dynasty and Second Dynasty, from the time of the Naqada III period (circa 3000 BCE). It is unknown if the transfer of this design was the result of Mesopotamian builders and architects in Egypt, or if temple designs on imported Mesopotamian seals may have been a sufficient source of inspiration for Egyptian architects to manage themselves. The design of the ziggurat, which appeared in Mesopotamia in the late 5th millennium BCE, was clearly a precursor to and an influence on the Egyptian pyramids, especially the stepped designs of the oldest pyramids (step pyramid), the earliest of which (Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara) dates to circa 2600 BCE, well over two thousand years younger than Mesopotamian ziggurats/step pyramids. This again strongly suggests early cultural and technological influence on Egypt by Mesopotamia.” ref
David Miano response: “Yes, I realize there was some influence, but keep in mind that the purposes of the structures are not the same.”
My response, I appreciate your time and response. I don’t believe they are exactly the same just influenced with similar themes. Creation myths of the first land emerged out of an all-water world and then related to the flat-earth theme of thinking. The first land was a mound/mountain in several different myths that spread around and changed with different cultures, but the core elements can still be understood, to me. I don’t actually care about the structures but the myth themes they share. I value you and your comments. I enjoy the work you do.
Seeming Evolution of the Mountain/Mound of Creation in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt
“Ki (Sumerian: 𒀭𒆠) was the earth goddess in Sumerian religion but Kishar (“Earth Pivot”) was an earlier personification of the earth. In the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, Kishar can be seen as an earth mother goddess and her name also means “Whole Earth”. Samuel Noah Kramer identifies Ki with the Sumerian mother goddess Ninhursag and claims that they were originally the same figure.” ref, ref
Ki’s role in creation. In the Sumerian tradition, Ki had the prominent role of being one of the first deities born of Nammu. Sumerian religion refers to spiritual beliefs practiced from ca. 4500-1900 BCE or around 6,500 to 3,900 years ago in Mesopotamia, or modern-day southern Iraq. Many deities were diffused into other Mesopotamian cultures. She was designated as the Earth deity while An was represented by the sky, or heavens. Together, An and Ki produced natural vegetation on the Earth.” ref
Ki (Sumerian: 𒀭𒆠: ‘sky’-‘earth’)
“Ki (Sumerian: 𒀭𒆠): ⟨𒀭⟩ is the sign for “‘sky’” and (𒆠) is the sign for “earth.” It is also read as GI5, GUNNI (=KI.NE) “hearth,” KARAŠ (=KI.KAL.BAD) “encampment, army,” KISLAḪ (=KI.UD) “the threshing floor,” and SUR7 (=KI.GAG).” ref, ref
“Dingir ⟨𒀭⟩ is a Sumerian word for ‘god’ or ‘goddess’ but originally an ideogram for the Sumerian word an (‘sky’ or ‘heaven’). The concept of divinity in Sumerian is closely associated with the heavens, as is evident from the fact that the cuneiform sign doubles as the ideogram for ‘sky’, and that its original shape is the picture of a star. The eight-pointed star was a chief symbol for the goddess Inanna. The original association of ‘divinity’ is thus with ‘bright’ or ‘shining’ hierophanies in the sky.” ref
“The Star of Ishtar or Star of Inanna is a Mesopotamian symbol of the ancient Sumerian goddess Inanna and her East Semitic counterpart Ishtar. The owl was also one of Ishtar’s primary symbols. Ishtar is mostly associated with the planet Venus, which is also known as the morning star. The eight-pointed star was Inanna’s most common symbol, and in later times became the most common symbol of the goddess Ishtar, Inanna’s East Semitic counterpart. It seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens, but by the Old Babylonian Period, it had come to be specifically associated with the planet Venus, with which Ishtar was identified. Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc.” ref
“The centrality of the eight-pointed star found in the cave at Ghassul, surrounded by masked figures and animals, suggests that “the sun was revered and adored as a major god,” Bitassi said, which only emerges in other cultures far later. It predates the formation of the first Egyptian dynasty by a thousand years, the emergence of the first possible monotheism — the Aten cult — by nearly 3,000 years, and upends the notion that abstract deities didn’t exist that far back in antiquity. Some scholars, including Andrea Polcaro from the University of Perugia in Italy, contend that the painting reflects “homogeneous religious thinking related to an important solar cult” and served as a rudimentary solar calendar.” ref
“Samuel Noah Kramer identifies Ki with the Sumerian mother goddess Ninhursag, stating that they were originally the same figure. The Sumerians believed that, until Enlil was born, heaven and earth were inseparable. Then, Enlil split heaven and earth in two and carried away the earth while his father An carried away the sky. A deity’s temple was believed to be that deity’s literal place of residence. The gods had boats, full-sized barges which were normally stored inside their temples and were used to transport their cult statues along waterways during various religious festivals. The gods also had chariots, which were used for transporting their cult statues by land. Sometimes a deity’s cult statue would be transported to the location of a battle so that the deity could watch the battle unfold.” ref
“In the earliest texts, the term is applied to the most powerful and important deities in the Sumerian pantheon: the descendants of the sky-god An. This group of deities probably included the “seven gods who decree”: An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Inanna. Virtually every major deity in the Sumerian pantheon was regarded as the patron of a specific city and was expected to protect that city’s interests. The deity was believed to permanently reside within that city’s temple.” ref
“Major deities in Sumerian mythology were associated with specific celestial bodies. Inanna was believed to be the planet Venus. Utu was believed to be the sun. Nanna was the moon. “An” was identified with all the stars of the equatorial sky, Enlil with those of the northern sky, and Enki with those of the southern sky. The path of Enlil’s celestial orbit was a continuous, symmetrical circle around the north celestial pole, but those of An and Enki were believed to intersect at various points.” ref
“Not infrequently, the God of Heaven (Sky Father) and the Goddess of Earth (Earth Mother) are fused into a hermaphroditic higher deity. According to legends, the heavens and earth were once inseparable until Enlil was born; Enlil cleaved them in two. Customs and myths highlight dualistic dichotomies—for example, of heaven and earth, day and night, or man and woman—that need to be surmounted by a kind of bisexual spiritual force.” ref, ref, ref, ref
Mount Mashu
“Mount Mashu, to the Sumerians, Mashu was a sacred mountain. Its name means “twin” in Akkadian, and thus was it portrayed on Babylonian cylinder seals—a twin-peaked mountain, described by poets as both the seat of the gods, and the underworld. References or allusions to Mt. Mashu are found in three episodes of the Gilgamesh cycle which date between the third and second millennia BCE. Gilgamesh and Enkidu gaze in awe at the mountain called “the mountain of Cedar (or Pine) Forest, the dwelling-place of the gods and the throne of Ishtar, ruled over by a demonic monster named Humbaba. Gilgamesh climbs onto the mountain, sacrifices cereals to it, and, in response, the mountain sends him puzzling dreams about his future.” ref
“Mashu was located in a forest in the “land of the Living,” where the names of the famous are written. It is alluded to in the episode “Gilgamesh and Humbaba.” In this story, Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, travel to the Cedar (or Pine) Forest, which is ruled over by a demonic monster named Humbaba. While their motives for going to the Forest included gaining renown, it is also clear that they wanted the timber it contained. Humbaba, who had been appointed by the god Enlil to guard the Forest, is depicted as a one-eyed giant with the powers of a storm and breath of fire, perhaps the personification of a volcano.” ref
Proto-cuneiform: 3500–2900 BCE
Cuneiform: 3100 BCE – 200 CE
Egyptian hieroglyphs: 3250 BCE – 400 CE
Cretan hieroglyphs: 2100–1700 BCE
Linear A: 1800–1450 BCE
Linear B: 1400–1200 BCE
ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
“At the center of the scene is the sun god, Shamash (Sumerian Utu), with rays rising from his shoulders. He is cutting his way through the mountains in order to rise at dawn.” ref
“The sun rises from the Eiyptian Mound of Creation at the beginning of time. The central circle represents the mound, and the orange circles represent the sun in different stages of its rising. At the top is the “horizon” hieroglyph with the sun appearing atop it.” ref
“Mountain (djew): Appearance: The hieroglyphic sign for “mountain” depicted two peaks with a valley running between them. This image approximated the hills that rose up on either side of the Nile valley. Meaning: Although the djew hieroglyph did portray the mountain ranges the Egyptians saw in their everyday lives, it also was a visualization of their cosmic beliefs. Symbolically, the “mountain” was an image of the universal mountain whose two peaks were imagined to hold up the sky. The eastern peak was called Bakhu, to the west was Manu. The ends of this great mountain were guarded by two lions who were called Aker. Aker was a protector of the sun as it rose and set each day.” ref
“The Egyptian necropolis was typically located in the mountainous desert, and so the view was also closely associated with the concepts of the tomb and of the afterlife. The god of mummification, Anubis bore the epithet, “He who is upon his mountain.” Hathor, the “Mistress of the Necropolis,” while in the form of a cow, was often shown emerging from the side of the western mountain. In painted scenes, the concept of a “hill” or “heap” of such things as grain are often expressed representationally with the djew sign. The use of the hieroglyphic shape is an effective tool to convey not only the shape but the of such large heaps of grain. A variation of the hieroglyph showing a range of three peaks was used to portray the concept of “foreign land.” ref
“Akhet (Ancient Egyptian: Ꜣḫt; Gardiner: N27) is an Egyptian hieroglyph that represents the sun rising over a mountain. It is translated as “horizon” or “the place in the sky where the sun rises.” Betrò describes it as “Mountain with the Rising Sun” (The hieroglyph for “mountain” is 𓈋) and an ideogram for “horizon.” Akhet appears in the Egyptian name for the Great Pyramid of Giza (Akhet Khufu), and in the assumed name of Akhetaten, the city founded by pharaoh Akhenaten. It also appears in the name of the syncretized form of Ra and Horus, Ra-Horakhty (Rꜥ Ḥr Ꜣḫty, “Ra–Horus of the Horizons”). In ancient Egyptian architecture, the pylon mirrored the hieroglyph. The symbol is sometimes connected with the astrological sign of Libra and the Egyptian deity Aker, who guards the eastern and western horizons. Hieroglyphic for the horizon guarded by Aker.” ref
“Aker: Twin lions (yesterday and tomorrow) believed to guard the eastern and western horizons as the points where the sun touches the twin-peaked mountain top of the earth where it leaves and re-enters the underworld. Aker was an ancient Egyptian personification of the horizon, and an earth and underworld god, believed to guard the eastern (Bakhu) and western (Manu) horizons. Aker was first depicted as the torso of a recumbent lion with a widely opened mouth. Later, he was depicted as two recumbent lion torsos merged with each other and still looking away from each other. From Middle Kingdom onwards Aker appears as a pair of twin lions, one named Duaj (meaning “tomorrow”) and the other Sefe (meaning “yesterday”). Aker was thus often titled “He who’s looking forward and behind.” When depicted as a lion pair, a hieroglyphic sign for “horizon” (two merged mountains) and a sun disc was put between the lions; the lions were sitting back-on-back. In later times, Aker can also appear as two merged torsos of recumbent sphinxes with human heads.” ref
“Aker was first described as one of the earth gods guarding the “gate to the yonder site”. He protected the deceased king against the three demonic snakes Hemtet, Iqeru and Jagw. By “encircling” (i.e. interring) the deceased king, Aker sealed the deceased away from the poisonous breath of the snake demons. Another earth deity, who joined and promoted Aker’s work, was Geb. Thus, Aker was connected with Geb. In other spells and prayers, Aker is connected with Seth and even determined with the Set animal. This is interesting, because Seth is described as a wind deity, not as an earth deity.” ref
“In the famous Coffin Texts of Middle Kingdom period, Aker replaces the god Kherty, becoming now the “ferryman of Ra in his nocturnal barque.” Aker protects the sun god during his nocturnal traveling through the underworld caverns. In the famous Book of the Dead, Aker also “gives birth” to the god Khepri, the young, rising sun in the shape of a scarab beetle, after Aker has carried Khepri’s sarcophagus safely through the underworld caverns. In other underworld scenes, Aker carries the nocturnal barque of Ra. During his journey, in which Aker is asked to hide the body of the dead Osiris beneath his womb, Aker is protected by the god Geb.” ref
“In several inscriptions, wall paintings, and reliefs, Aker was connected to the horizon of the North and the West, forming a mythological bridge between the two horizons with his body. Certain sarcophagus texts from the tombs of Ramesses IV, Djedkhonsuiusankh and Pediamenopet describe how the sun god Ra travels through the underworld “like Apophis going through the belly of Aker after Apophis was cut by Seth”. In this case, Aker seems to be some kind of representation of the underworld itself. Aker appears for the first time during the 1st Dynasty with the kings (pharaohs) Hor Aha and Djer. An unfinished decorative palette from the tomb of Djer at Abydos shows Aker devouring three hearts. The location of Aker’s main cult center is unknown, though. His mythological role was fully described for the first time in the famous Pyramid Texts of king Teti.” ref
“Mesopotamian buildings of the Ubaid and Uruk periods (fifth–fourth millennia BCE). a: The reconstruction of a large tripartite house from Tell Oueili, Ubaid phase 0; b: Eridu, plan of the level VII ‘temple’; c: Part of the Tell Abada village.” ref
“Eridu 5500 – 5300 BCE or 7,500/7,300 years ago was the southernmost of the Sumerian cities that grew around temples. The city gods of Eridu were Enki and his consort Damkina. 5000–4500 BCE or around 7,000 to 6,500 years ago, in Early Ubaid, No structures were found. 4500–4000 BCE or 6,500 to 6,000 years ago, Ubaid period, size 4.5×12.6, the First platform.” ref
Lugaldukuga “primeval deity” and “prime mover” (Mound of Creation?)
“His name means “lord of the holy mound (the Duku)” in Sumerian. The Duku was regarded as the place where Enlil determined destinies for other deities. It was also believed to be the dwelling of his ancestors. The word has two possible meanings, as the sign du could refer to both a hill and to a brick platform. According to Wilfred G. Lambert, it is possible that they could be interpreted as the cosmic location and its physical representation in Enlil’s Ekur temple complex in Nippur.” ref
“Mountain House of the Deities”
“E-kur, also known as Duranki, is a Sumerian term meaning “Mountain House,” this was Enlil‘s & Ninlil‘s ziggurat residence in Nippur. It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus, and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer. There is a clear association of Ziggurats with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursag.” ref, ref
“There is a clear association of Ziggurats with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursag. In the Hymn to Enlil, the Ekur is closely linked to Enlil, whilst in Enlil and Ninlil, it is the abode of the Annunaki, from where Enlil is banished. The fall of Ekur is described in the Lament for Ur. In mythology, the Ekur was the center of the earth and location where heaven and earth were united. It is also known as Duranki and one of its structures is known as the Kiur (“great place”). Enamtila has also been suggested by Piotr Michalowski to be a part of the Ekur. A hymn to Nanna illustrates the close relationship between temples, houses, and mountains. “In your house on high, in your beloved house, I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in your cedar perfumed mountain.” ref
“The Tummal Inscription records the first king to build a temple to Enlil as Enmebaragesi, the predecessor of Gilgamesh, around 2500 BCE. Ekur is generally associated with the temple at Nippur restored by Naram-Sin of Akkad and Shar-Kali-Sharri during the Akkadian Empire. It is also the later name of the temple of Assur rebuilt by Shalmaneser I. The word can also refer to the chapel of Enlil in the temple of Ninimma at Nippur. It is also mentioned in the Inscription of Gaddas as a temple of Enlil built “outside Babylon”, possibly referring to the Enamtila in west Babylon. It is used as part of such Sumerian phrases as e-kur-igi-gal; “House, Mountain Endowed with Sight”, e-kur-igi-bar-ra; “House, Mountain which Sees”, e-kur-mah; “House, Exalted Mountain”, e-kur-mah; a temple of Ninazu, e-kur-me-sikil; “House, Mountain of Pure Mes (laws or judgement)” – a sanctuary of Ishtar, e-kur-nam-ti-la; “House, Mountain of Life”, e-kur-ni-zu; “House, Fearsome Mountain” – the sanctuary of Ninlil at hursag-kala-ma (likely a later name of e-hursag-kalam-ma), etc.” ref
Ninhursag as the Mound of Creation?
“’Ninhursag’ means ‘Lady of the Mountain’ and comes from the poem Lugale in which Ninurta, god of war and hunting, builds a mountain/Mound of “stone-men” corpses. Ninurta gives the glory of his victory to his mother Ninmah (‘Magnificent Queen’) and renames her Ninhursag after the Mound of corpses.” ref
Tell al-‘Ubaid
“Most of the remains are from the Chalcolithic Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BCE) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. for which Tell al-‘Ubaid is the type site, with an Early Dynastic temple and cemetery at the highest point. It was a cult center for the goddess Ninhursag.” ref
Mountains in Sumerian Creation Myths
“Near Nippur’s most important temple, Ekur (lit. “mountain house”), they unearthed a cache of clay tablets, which date as far back as the 3rd millennium BCE. They are humanity’s earliest extant written records. One of the tablets contains a creation myth, the so-called Debate between Sheep and Grain. It begins with a mountain: “On the mountain of heaven and earth, Anu spawned the Annunaki gods.” In fact, “mountain” (ḫur-saĝ) is the very first word on the tablet and could be the oldest written word.” ref
“Early in the story, heaven and earth are fused together in a site described as the mountain (ḫur-saĝ) of the supreme sky god Anu. On the slopes of the primordial mountain, primitive man existed, naked and feeding on grasses like cattle. Little else existed, so Anu created the other, lesser gods and goddesses — the Annunaki —, who in turn created sheep and grain for food. Unsatisfied, the gods “sent down” sheep and grain “from the Holy Mound” to “mankind as sustenance.” ref
“There is more to the story than this. But the opening lines of the clay tablet are important because they are the earliest extant textual references linking mountains with gods and fertility. And there are more from the same period. In another Sumerian creation story, Enki and Ninhursag, a certain Mount Dilmun (kur dilmun) is described as a paradise. Indeed, the fertility goddess Ninhursag’s name literally means “lady of the sacred mountain.” ref
“It should be noted here that the god Enki, with whom Ninhursag bears children, is the god of water. In yet another Sumerian story, Debate Between Winter and Summer, the god Enlil copulates with a mountain (hur-saj) and impregnates it “with Summer and Winter, the plenitude and life of the Land.” Mountains also figure prominently in The Epic of Gilgamesh, especially when the eponymous hero seeks Utnapishtim — the Noah-like figure who has learned the secret of eternal life. To get to Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh passes through the terrible Mount Mashu, where he encounters a series of tests, before coming upon a lush, bejeweled garden paradise.” ref
“The mountains are, thus, also safe harbor. Whether the Sumerian creation myths directly influenced Abrahamic traditions or share a common source with them is moot. But in the world’s oldest textual sources, ones that predate all other extant writing, mountains are the abodes of the gods and associated with abundance, life, sustenance, fertility, and paradise.” ref
“An inscribed door socket was found at an unexcavated mound on the Adaim river near where it meets the Tigris river, Khara’ib Ghdairife. It read “Manistusu, king of Kis, builder of the temple of the goddess Ninhursaga in HA.A KI. In another myth involving her son, Ninurta’s Exploits, the titular god goes out to conquer the mountain land to the north of Babylonia, and piles the bodies of its stony kings into a great burial mound. He then dedicates this mountain to his mother, once Ninmah, now renamed Ninhursag after the mound.” ref
“Kur is a word for the Sumerian underworld, which means “Earth,” “sand,” “ground,” and sometimes “mountain.” The cuneiform sign for Kur was 𒆳, a pictograph of a mountain. In the Sumerian underworld, it was initially believed that there was no final judgment of the deceased, and that the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life.” ref
“The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian as Kur, Irkalla, Kukku, Arali, or Kigal, and in Akkadian as Erṣetu), was the lowermost part of the ancient near eastern cosmos, roughly parallel to the region known as Tartarus from early Greek cosmology. It was described as a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue “a transpositional version of life on earth.” The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of the deceased would pour sacred mineral libations from the earth for them to drink. In the Sumerian underworld, it was initially believed that there was no final judgment of the deceased, and the dead were neither punished nor rewarded for their deeds in life.” ref
“Before the ziggurats there were raised platforms (Mastaba-like Structure) that date from the Ubaid period during the sixth millennium BCE. The ziggurats began as platforms (oval, rectangular, or square). The ziggurat was a Mastaba-like structure. The first tomb structure the Egyptians developed was the Mastaba, which is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure. Historians speculate that the Egyptians may have borrowed architectural ideas from Mesopotamia since, at the time, they were both building similar structures.” ref, ref
Mythology of Four Squared: Pyramid mound/ “square” mountain at the center of the world, Square Earth, “four corners of the earth,” four pillars/mountains holding up the sky, four quadrants representing cardinal directions, elements (earth, fire, water, air), and seasons.
Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths
- Nun (Primordial Chaos): A dark, inert, and formless ocean containing the potential for existence.
- Benben (Primeval Mound): The first land, a mound emerging from the waters, symbolizing the first solid ground and stability.
- The Creator’s Emergence: The sun god, Ra or Atum, emerged from the waters or a lotus on the mound, creating light and order.
- The Ogdoad (Hermopolitan View): Before creation, eight deities (four pairs of frogs/snakes) represented aspects of chaos: Nun/Nunet (water), Heh/Hauhet (infinity), Kek/Kauket (darkness), and Amun/Amaunet (hiddenness).
- The Cosmic Egg: A version suggests the Ogdoad produced a cosmic egg, from which the creator deity hatched.
- Cyclical Time: Creation was not just a one-time event, but a, process that could return to the chaotic state. Often linked to the annual, predictable flooding of the Nile, which created “new” land.
AI Overview: Egyptian creation myths from 3100 to 2700 BCE (Early Dynastic Period) primarily centered on the emergence of order (Ma’at) from, or upon, a, primordial, chaotic, watery void known as Nun.
- Heliopolitan Myth: The predominant belief, where Atum emerged from the waters of Nu and produced the first divine pair, Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), who then generated the earth and sky.
- The Primeval Mound: A central concept where a mound, often identified with the city of Heliopolis or the Benben stone, rose from the water to provide a solid place for creation to begin.
- Memphite Theology: Developed during this period, focusing on Ptah as the creator, who, unlike the physical, self-creation of Atum, brought the world into existence through his heart (thought) and tongue (speech).
- Hermopolitan/Ogdoad: Included the concept of the eight primordial deities representing the chaotic elements, which created a cosmic egg or a mound from which the sun god was born.
- Key Themes: Myths emphasized the daily, cycle, of, life, and death, the, importance, of the Nile flood, and the establishment of divine order (Ma’at).
“Ancient Egyptian creation myths are the ancient Egyptian accounts of the creation of the world. The Pyramid Texts, tomb wall decorations, and writings, dating back to the Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 BCE) have provided the majority of information regarding ancient Egyptian creation myths. These myths also form the earliest recorded religious compilations in the world. The ancient Egyptians had many creator gods and associated legends. Thus, the world or more specifically Egypt was created in diverse ways according to different parts of ancient Egypt. Some versions of the myth indicate spitting, others masturbation, as the act of creation. The earliest god, Ra and/or Atum (both being creator/sun gods), emerged from a chaotic state of the world and gave rise to Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), from whose union came Geb (earth) and Nut (sky), who in turn created Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. An extension to this basic framework was the Osiris myth involving Osiris, his consort Isis, and their son Horus. The murder of Osiris by Set, and the resulting struggle for power, won by Horus, provided a powerful narrative linking the ancient Egyptian ideology of kingship with the creation of the cosmos. The term zp tpj (“the first time”) is used to denote a moment of transition from primordial chaos to the world in existence.” ref
Common elements in Ancient Egyptian creation myths
“The different myths have some elements in common. They all held that the world had arisen out of the lifeless waters of chaos, called Nu. They also included a pyramid-shaped mound, called the benben, which was the first thing to emerge from the waters. These elements were likely inspired by the flooding of the Nile River each year; the receding floodwaters left fertile soil in their wake, and the Egyptians may have equated this with the emergence of life from the primeval chaos. The imagery of the pyramidal mound derived from the highest mounds of earth emerging as the river receded. The sun was also closely associated with creation, and it was said to have first risen from the mound, as the general sun-god Ra or as the god Khepri, who represented the newly-risen sun. There were many versions of the sun’s emergence, and it was said to have emerged directly from the mound or from a lotus flower that grew from the mound, in the form of a heron, falcon, scarab beetle, or human child. Another common element of Egyptian cosmogonies is the familiar figure of the cosmic egg, a substitute for the primeval waters or the primeval mound. One variant of the cosmic egg version teaches that the sun god, as primeval power, emerged from the primeval mound, which stood in the chaos of the primeval sea.” ref
“The different creation accounts were each associated with the cult of a particular god in one of the major cities of Egypt: Hermopolis, Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes. To some degree, these myths represent competing theologies, but they also represent different aspects of the process of creation.” ref
Hermopolis
“The creation myth promulgated in the city of Hermopolis focused on the nature of the universe before the creation of the world. The inherent qualities of the primeval waters were represented by a set of eight gods, called the Ogdoad. The goddess Naunet and her male counterpart Nu represented the stagnant primeval water itself; Huh and his counterpart Hauhet represented the water’s infinite extent; Kek and Kauket personified the darkness present within it; and Amun and Amaunet represented its hidden and unknowable nature, in contrast to the tangible world of the living. The primeval waters were themselves part of the creation process, therefore, the deities representing them could be seen as creator gods. According to the myth, the eight gods were originally divided into male and female groups. They were symbolically depicted as aquatic creatures because they dwelt within the water: the males were represented as frogs, and the females were represented as snakes. These two groups eventually converged, resulting in a great upheaval, which produced the pyramidal mound. From it emerged the sun, which rose into the sky to light the world.” ref
Heliopolis
“In Heliopolis, the creation was attributed to Atum, a deity closely associated with Ra, who was said to have existed in the waters of Nu as an inert potential being. Atum was a self-engendered god, the source of all the elements and forces in the world, and the Heliopolitan Cosmogony described the process by which he “evolved” from a single being into this multiplicity of elements. The process began when Atum appeared on the mound and gave rise to the air god Shu and his sister Tefnut, whose existence represented the emergence of space amid the waters. To explain how Atum did this, the myth uses the metaphor of masturbation, with the hand he used in this act representing the female principle inherent within him. He is also said to have “sneezed” and “spat” to produce Shu and Tefnut, a metaphor that arose from puns on their names. Next, Shu and Tefnut coupled to produce the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, who defined the limits of the world. Geb and Nut in turn gave rise to four children, who represented the forces of life: Osiris, god of fertility and regeneration; Isis, goddess of motherhood; Set, the god of chaos; and Nephthys, the goddess of protection. The myth thus represented the process by which life was made possible. These nine gods were grouped theologically as the Ennead, but the eight lesser gods, and all other things in the world, were ultimately seen as extensions of Atum.” ref
Memphis
“The Memphite version of creation centered on Ptah, who was the patron god of craftsmen. As such, he represented the craftsman’s ability to envision a finished product, and shape raw materials to create that product. The Memphite theology said that Ptah similarly created the world. This, unlike the other Egyptian creations, was not a physical but an intellectual creation by the Word and the Mind of God. The ideas developed within Ptah’s heart (regarded by the Egyptians as the seat of human thought) were given form when he named them with his tongue. By speaking these names, Ptah produced the gods and all other things. The Memphite creation myth coexisted with that of Heliopolis, as Ptah’s creative thought and speech were believed to have caused the formation of Atum and the Ennead. Ptah was also associated with Tatjenen, the god who personified the pyramidal mound.” ref
Thebes
“Theban theology claimed that Amun was not merely a member of the Ogdoad, but the hidden force behind all things. There is a conflation of all notions of creation into the personality of Amun, a synthesis which emphasizes how Amun transcends all other deities in his being “beyond the sky and deeper than the underworld”. One Theban myth likened Amun’s act of creation to the call of a goose, which broke the stillness of the primeval waters and caused the Ogdoad and Ennead to form. Amun was separate from the world, his true nature was concealed even from the other gods. At the same time, however, because he was the ultimate source of creation, all the gods, including the other creators, were merely aspects of Amun. Amun eventually became the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon because of this belief. Amun is synonymous with the growth of Thebes as a major religious capital. But it is the columned halls, obelisks, colossal statues, wall reliefs, and hieroglyphic inscriptions of the Theban temples that we look to gain the true impression of Amun’s superiority. Thebes was thought of as the location of the emergence of the primeval mound at the beginning of time.” ref
AI Overview: Pyramids, particularly in Egyptian and Mesoamerican mythology, are often viewed as the axis mundi or “center of the world,” symbolizing the primordial mound of creation (\(benben\)) that emerged from chaotic waters. They serve as cosmic connectors linking the earth, heavens, and, in some traditions, an underworld.
Egyptian Mythology
The Primeval Mound Benben Stone: The shape represents the benben, the first mound of land to emerge from the chaos of Nun (watery chaos) at the dawn of creation.
Cosmic Center: Pyramids were seen as the epicenter of creation, where the god Ra shaped the world.Stairway to Heaven: The structure functioned as a ramp or staircase for the pharaoh’s soul (\(ka\)) to ascend to the sky.
The Primeval Mound: The Benben stone (or Ben-ben) is the sacred, pyramid-shaped primeval mound in Ancient Egyptian mythology that first rose from the chaotic, watery abyss (Nu) to become the place of creation.
Location of Creation: This mound represents the first, solid land to emerge from the endless, dark, and chaotic water, Nun. Associated with the creator god Atum, it is the mythical basis for the pyramid shape, symbolizing the first land and the sun’s first rays. It is the sacred, high ground where the creator god Atum appeared in the Heliopolitan tradition, initiating the creation of the world.
Association with the Sun: The mound is directly linked to the sun god Ra, as the mound was believed to be the spot where the sun first rose.
Symbolism of the Shape: The Benben is represented as a small pyramid or conical stone. It is thought to be the prototype for the top capstone of pyramids (pyramidion) and the apex of obelisks.
Mesoamerican Mythology
Sacred Geography Axis Mundi: Pyramids like those at Teotihuacan (Pyramid of the Sun) and Tikal were built as central, sacred points, often covering holy caves or marking astronomical positions.
Mountain Symbolism: They represent sacred mountains (\(cerro\)) and act as a connection between the underworld and the heavens.
Center of the World: The Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan was built over a sacred cave, acting as a ceremonial focal point for the cosmos.
South American Mythology
In South American (specifically Andean/Inca) and Mesoamerican (Aztec/Maya) mythology, central squares and plazas function as the axis mundi or cosmic center, linking the earthly realm with heaven and the underworld. These sacred, often rectangular or square, spaces represent the orderly, known world surrounded by chaos.
Key Mythological and Physical Centers
Andean Chacana (Inca): The Chacana, a stepped cross symbol, represents the Southern Cross and serves as a bridge between the three worlds (Hanan Pacha, Kay Pacha, Uku Pacha). Its central hole represents the axis mundi or the center of the world.
Tiwanaku (Bolivia): The Pumapunku and Kalasasaya complexes, with their precise, monumental structures, functioned as the spiritual and ritual center of the Andean world.
Mesoamerican Zócalo (Aztec): The Zócalo in Mexico City sits directly beside the ancient Templo Mayor, which the Aztecs considered the absolute center of the world, a place of ritual and cosmological significance.
Maya Plaza (Tikal): The Great Plaza at Tikal served as the ceremonial heart of the city, framed by ancient temples and the North Acropolis, acting as a focal point of existence.
These spaces were not merely urban centers but symbolic locations where rituals—including those involving the “tinkuy” or meeting of opposing forces—were performed to maintain cosmic balance.
AI Overview: (Old Babylonian period c. 1894–1595 BCE) The Babylonian “pyramid mound” at the center of the world was the Etemenanki ziggurat in Babylon, often identified as the historical inspiration for the Tower of Babel. Dedicated to Marduk, it was a seven-tiered, 300-foot-square, and 300-foot-high tower representing the cosmic center, or bond between heaven and earth.
Key Aspects of the Babylonian Ziggurat
Purpose: Unlike Egyptian pyramids, these were not tombs but massive temples designed to bring gods closer to humans, serving as the city’s spiritual and administrative center.
Structure: They were stepped towers (ziqqurratu, meaning “to rise high”) made of mud-brick, with a temple or shrine at the summit.
Significance: The Etemenanki in Babylon was viewed as the “House of the Platform of Heaven and Earth,” acting as the navel or axis of the world.
Related Structures: Similar structures were found throughout Mesopotamia, such as the Great Ziggurat of Ur (dedicated to the moon god Nanna), which featured terraced platforms.
The ruins of these structures, including the Etemenanki, were largely lost over time, though their legacy as a “rising building” persists in historical accounts.
AI Overview: Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is the primary “square” mountain at the center of the world in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology. Regarded as the axis mundi or pillar connecting heaven, earth, and the underworld, it is often depicted with a square summit or base representing the cardinal directions, with the Sun and Moon revolving around it.
Key Aspects of Mount Meru
Cosmic Geography: It is considered the center of all physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes.
Structure: Often described as a golden, four-sided mountain or a five-peaked structure, it forms the center of a larger flat-earth model, surrounded by oceans and continents.
Abode of Gods: It is the dwelling place of major deities (such as Shiva and Parvati in Hinduism) and serves as a central pillar of order.
Symbolism: It functions as the axis mundi, with its foothills often identified with the Himalayas. The structure of many Asian temples, such as Hindu shrines and Buddhist stupas, is designed to represent this sacred mountain.
Other Cultural Equivalents
Siberian/Central Asian: The East Kalmuck people believe in a central mountain named Sumer, with a truncated, square top, representing the world axis.
Chinese Mythology: Mount Kunlun is often regarded as the axis mundi and the home of the gods.
The “Square” Symbolism
The square shape of these central mountains represents stability, order, and the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). It acts as a “peg” securing the earth, distinguishing the ordered world from the surrounding chaos.
AI Overview: Mount Meru, in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology, is the sacred five-peaked mountain, viewed as the axial center of the universe—the axis mundi—and symbolized architecturally as a world pyramid or temple-mountain. It represents a divine cosmic center where heaven, earth, and the underworld connect, often depicted as a square, multi-tiered structure, or an inverted, hourglass-shaped mountain. Essentially, the pyramid-like structures in many Asian temples serve as terrestrial replicas of this cosmic mountain, creating a central point of spiritual authority and divine connection.
Key aspects of Mount Meru as a world pyramid include:
- Cosmological Significance: It is viewed as a pillar of the world, located at the center of a mandala-like complex of surrounding seas and mountains.
- Symbolism in Architecture: Ancient Khmer temples, such as Phnom Bakheng in Angkor, were built as square, multi-level pyramids, directly representing this mythical, sacred mountain on a human scale.
- Structure: It is described as having four faces made of precious materials—crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli—and as being roughly 80,000 yojanas high.
- Buddhist Interpretation: In Buddhist art, particularly from the Yuan dynasty, Mount Meru is frequently portrayed as an inverted pyramid, topped with a lotus flower.
- Cultural Center: The mountain is believed to be the home of many deities, with its base anchored deep in the earth.
AI Overview: Mount Sumeru (or Meru) is a sacred, mythical five-peaked mountain in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology, revered as the axis mundi or center of all physical and spiritual universes. It is considered the abode of gods, with paradise at its peak and surrounding oceans. It represents the “core of being” and holds immense spiritual significance, often symbolizing a “golden mountain” or the center of the world.
- Significance: It serves as a central pillar of the universe, with its summit acting as the dwelling place of gods (like Indra’s heaven) and its base reaching into lower realms. It is viewed as a metaphor for spiritual attainment and a, “true self”.
- Location: While often considered a mythical, cosmic mountain located at the “center of the world” or North Pole, it is sometimes identified with physical locations like the Himalayas (e.g., Sumeru Parbat, 6,350m)
- Related Locations: It is often conflated or identified with Mount Kailash (also called Sumeru Parvat) in Tibet. The name is also the source for Mount Semeru in Indonesia.
- Symbolism: It is depicted in artwork, such as a Ming Dynasty bronze statue at the Yonghegong (Lama Temple) in Beijing, as a representation of the Buddhist afterlife and cosmos.
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My Speculations are in Comparative Mythologies?
For instance, the mytheme of an ancient belief that is seemingly shared though changed and adapted, a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure seems to be shared a common relation with mountains/ancestors/gods or sacred animals with Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids.
Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids may hold deep Mythology connections?
Damien thinks the “Mound of Creation” mythology (Axis Mundi) is a “myth” reason for mounds/pyramids.
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Damien thinks Egypt and Sumerian mounds are connected and evolved somewhat related but different. A similar situation happened, to me, in the Americas. North started in mounds that later evolved into something Pryamid like. This is matched by Mesoamerica. Mounds later evolved into Pryamids. In Peru, Pryamids and mounds may have been transferred together or mounds quickly evolved into Pryamids.
I am rather sure about the Mound order but not sure about the order of the mythology as mounds can be set in time by archaeology. To me, mounds relate mainly to the “Mound of Creation,” primeval mound/hill/mountain (that emerges out of water) or the “Axis Mundi” thinking: cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, the center of the world, World tree, Sacred Mountain/World Mountain, etc. “(such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology) or are related to famous events (like Mount Sinai in Judaism and descendant religions or Mount Kailash, Mount Meru in Hinduism). In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred; Mount Etna is believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.” ref
I explain how all mounds shared similar myths and world views; thus, this is why so many seem similar. I explain how Ancient Egypt, Sumerians, and Hinduism all have something similar to a Mound of Creation, and what the Shell mounds/Kurgans/Dolmens/Earth Mounds/Pyramids relate. In Siberia/Americas, it is more related to Earth Diver myths, but they also have animals build a Mound of Creation. Also, many Connect to the Axis mundi, which can and often does relate to a world mountain/mound of creation.
Axis Mundi
“In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos. In 20th-century comparative mythology, the term axis mundi – also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, the center of the world, or world tree – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing “the connection between Heaven and Earth” or the “higher and lower realms.” ref
“Mircea Eliade introduced the concept in the 1950s. Axis mundi closely relates to the mythological concept of the omphalos (navel) of the world or cosmos. Items adduced as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or stalk), a mountain, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (pagoda, temple mount, minaret, church) or secular (obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). The image appears in religious and secular contexts. The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanic practices or animist belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced “urban centers”. In Mircea Eliade‘s opinion: “Every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all.” ref
“There are multiple interpretations about the origin of the concept of the axis mundi. One psychological and sociological interpretation suggests that the symbol originates in a natural and universal psychological perception – i.e., that the particular spot that one occupies stands at “the center of the world”. This space serves as a microcosm of order because it is known and settled. Outside the boundaries of the microcosm lie foreign realms that – because they are unfamiliar or not ordered – represent chaos, death, or night. From the center, one may still venture in any of the four cardinal directions, make discoveries, and establish new centers as new realms become known and settled. The name of China — meaning “Middle Nation” (中国 pinyin: Zhōngguó) – is often interpreted as an expression of an ancient perception that the Chinese polity (or group of polities) occupied the center of the world, with other lands lying in various directions relative to it.” ref
“A second interpretation suggests that ancient symbols such as the axis mundi lie in a particular philosophical or metaphysical representation of a common and culturally shared philosophical concept, which is that of a natural reflection of the macrocosm (or existence at grand scale) in the microcosm (which consists of either an individual, community, or local environment that shares the same principles and structures as the macrocosm). In this metaphysical representation of the universe, mankind is placed into an existence that serves as a microcosm of the universe or the entire cosmic existence, and who – in order to achieve higher states of existence or liberation into the macrocosm – must gain necessary insights into universal principles that can be represented by his life or environment in the microcosm. In many religious and philosophical traditions around the world, mankind is seen as a sort of bridge between either: two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly (as in Hindu, and Taoist philosophical and theological systems); or three worlds, namely the earthly, heavenly, and the “sub-earthly” or “infra-earthly” (e.g., the underworld, as in the Ancient Greek, Incan, Mayan, and Ancient Egyptian religious systems). Spanning these philosophical systems is the belief that man traverses a sort of axis, or path, which can lead from man’s current central position in the intermediate realms into heavenly or sub-earthly realms. Thus, in this view, symbolic representations of a vertical axis represent a path of “ascent” or “descent” into other spiritual or material realms, and often capture a philosophy that considers human life to be a quest in which one develops insights or perfections in order to move beyond this current microcosmic realm and to engage with the grand macrocosmic order.” ref
“In other interpretations, an axis mundi is more broadly defined as a place of connection between heavenly and the earthly realms – often a mountain or other elevated site. Tall mountains are often regarded as sacred and some have shrines erected at the summit or base. Mount Kunlun fills a similar role in China. Mount Kailash is holy to Hinduism and several religions in Tibet. The Pitjantjatjara people in central Australia consider Uluru to be central to both their world and culture. The Teide volcano was for the Canarian aborigines (Guanches) a kind of axis mundi. In ancient Mesopotamia, the cultures of ancient Sumer and Babylon built tall platforms, or ziggurats, to elevate temples on the flat river plain. Hindu temples in India are often situated on high mountains – e.g., Amarnath, Tirupati, Vaishno Devi, etc. The pre-Columbian residents of Teotihuacán in Mexico erected huge pyramids, featuring staircases leading to heaven. These Amerindian temples were often placed on top of caves or subterranean springs, which were thought to be openings to the underworld. Jacob’s Ladder is an axis mundi image, as is the Temple Mount. For Christians, the Cross on Mount Calvary expresses this symbol. The Middle Kingdom, China, had a central mountain, Kunlun, known in Taoist literature as “the mountain at the middle of the world”. To “go into the mountains” meant to dedicate oneself to a spiritual life.” ref
“As the abstract concept of axis mundi is present in many cultural traditions and religious beliefs, it can be thought to exist in any number of locales at once. Mount Hermon was regarded as the axis mundi in Canaanite tradition, from where the sons of God are introduced descending in 1 Enoch 6:6. The ancient Armenians had a number of holy sites, the most important of which was Mount Ararat, which was thought to be the home of the gods as well as the center of the universe. Likewise, the ancient Greeks regarded several sites as places of Earth’s omphalos (navel) stone, notably the oracle at Delphi, while still maintaining a belief in a cosmic world tree and in Mount Olympus as the abode of the gods. Judaism has the Temple Mount; Christianity has the Mount of Olives and Calvary; and Islam has the Ka’aba (said to be the first building on Earth), as well as the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock). In Hinduism, Mount Kailash is identified with the mythical Mount Meru and regarded as the home of Shiva; in Vajrayana Buddhism, Mount Kailash is recognized as the most sacred place where all the dragon currents converge and is regarded as the gateway to Shambhala. In Shinto, the Ise Shrine is the omphalos.” ref
“Sacred places can constitute world centers (omphaloi), with an altar or place of prayer as the axis. Altars, incense sticks, candles, and torches form the axis by sending a column of smoke, and prayer, toward heaven. It has been suggested by Romanian religious historian Mircea Eliade that architecture of sacred places often reflects this role: “Every temple or palace – and by extension, every sacred city or royal residence – is a Sacred Mountain, thus becoming a Centre.” Pagoda structures in Asian temples take the form of a stairway linking earth and heaven. A steeple in a church or a minaret in a mosque also serve as connections of earth and heaven. Structures such as the maypole, derived from the Saxons‘ Irminsul, and the totem pole among indigenous peoples of the Americas also represent world axes. The calumet, or sacred pipe, represents a column of smoke (the soul) rising from a world center. A mandala creates a world center within the boundaries of its two-dimensional space analogous to that created in three-dimensional space by a shrine. In the classical elements and the Vedic Pancha Bhoota, the axis mundi corresponds to Aether, the quintessence.” ref
“A common shamanic concept, and a universally told story, is that of the healer traversing the axis mundi to bring back knowledge from the other world. It may be seen in the stories from Odin and the World Ash Tree to the Garden of Eden and Jacob’s Ladder to Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. It is the essence of the journey described in The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The epic poem relates its hero’s descent and ascent through a series of spiral structures that take him through the core of the earth, from the depths of hell to celestial paradise. It is also a central tenet in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Anyone or anything suspended on the axis between heaven and earth becomes a repository of potential knowledge. A special status accrues to the thing suspended: a serpent, a rod, a fruit, mistletoe. Derivations of this idea find form in the Rod of Asclepius, an emblem of the medical profession, and in the caduceus, an emblem of correspondence and commercial professions. The staff in these emblems represents the axis mundi, while the serpents act as guardians of, or guides to, knowledge.” ref
“Secular structures can also function as axes mundi. In Navajo culture, the hogan acts as a symbolic cosmic center. In some Asian cultures, houses were traditionally laid out in the form of a square oriented toward the four compass directions. A traditional home was oriented toward the sky through feng shui, a system of geomancy, just as a palace would be. Traditional Arab houses are also laid out as a square surrounding a central fountain that evokes a primordial garden paradise. Mircea Eliade noted that “the symbolism of the pillar in [European] peasant houses likewise derives from the ‘symbolic field’ of the axis mundi. In many archaic dwellings, the central pillar does in fact serve as a means of communication with the heavens, with the sky.” The nomadic peoples of Mongolia and the Americas more often lived in circular structures. The central pole of the tent still operated as an axis, but a fixed reference to the four compass points was avoided.” ref
“Plants often serve as images of the axis mundi. The image of the Cosmic Tree provides an axis symbol that unites three planes: sky (branches), earth (trunk), and underworld (roots). In some Pacific Island cultures, the banyan tree – of which the Bodhi tree is of the Sacred Fig variety – is the abode of ancestor spirits. In the Hindu religion, the banyan tree is considered sacred and is called ashwath vriksha (“Of all trees I am the banyan tree” – Bhagavad Gita). It represents eternal life because of its seemingly ever-expanding branches. The Bodhi tree is also the name given to the tree under which Gautama Siddhartha, the historical Buddha, sat on the night he attained enlightenment.” ref
“The Mesoamerican world tree connects the planes of the underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial realm. The Yggdrasil, or World Ash, functions in much the same way in Norse mythology; it is the site where Odin found enlightenment. Other examples include Jievaras in Lithuanian mythology and Thor’s Oak in the myths of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis present two aspects of the same image. Each is said to stand at the center of the paradise garden from which four rivers flow to nourish the whole world. Each tree confers a boon. Bamboo, the plant from which Asian calligraphy pens are made, represents knowledge and is regularly found on Asian college campuses. The Christmas tree, which can be traced in its origins back to pre-Christian European beliefs, represents an axis mundi. In Yoruba religion, oil palm is the axis mundi (though not necessarily a “world tree”) that Ọrunmila climbs to alternate between heaven and earth.” ref
“The human body can express the symbol of the world axis. Some of the more abstract Tree of Life representations, such as the sefirot in Kabbalism and the chakra system recognized by Hinduism and Buddhism, merge with the concept of the human body as a pillar between heaven and earth. Disciplines such as yoga and tai chi begin from the premise of the human body as axis mundi. The Buddha represents a world center in human form. Large statues of a meditating figure unite the human form with the symbolism of the temple and tower. Astrology in all its forms assumes a connection between human health and affairs and celestial-body orientation. World religions regard the body itself as a temple and prayer as a column uniting earth and heaven. The ancient Colossus of Rhodes combined the role of the human figure with those of portal and skyscraper. The Renaissance image known as the Vitruvian Man represented a symbolic and mathematical exploration of the human form as world axis.” ref
The Center of the World “Axis Mundi” and/or “Sacred Mountains” Mythology Could Relate to the Altai Mountains, Heart of the Steppe
AI Overview: The Altai Mountains in southern Siberia are often referred to as the “Golden Mountains” (derived from the Mongolian altan, meaning gold) and are considered a sacred, cosmic center by local, Buddhist, and Burkhanist traditions. Known as a UNESCO World Heritage site, this region sits at the crossroads of Central Asia and is revered as the center of the world, anchored by the sacred Mount Belukha, which is believed to connect the earth with the cosmos.
Key Aspects of the “Golden Mountains” of Altai:
- Geographical Center: Located in southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains are equidistant from four oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian), making them a literal center of the Eurasian continent.
- Cultural and Spiritual Significance: The region is deeply sacred to indigenous Altaians, who consider sites like Mount Belukha (or Üç-Sümer, meaning “Three Peaks”) to be holy. Local beliefs often describe it as the “axis mundi” or a cosmic mountain, connecting heaven and earth.
AI Overview: The Altai Mountains in Central Asia are considered a sacred center of the world in Turkic-Mongolian shamanistic mythology, serving as a pillar connecting the heavens, earth, and underworld. Often viewed as a “navel of the world” (e.g., Mount Belukha), they feature in creation stories where the high peaks represent the axis mundi. The Altai Mountains, located at the junction of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, are considered a sacred, high-energy center in Turkic and Mongolic mythology. The Altai region is often seen as a cosmic intersection, similar to the concept of a center of the world, where the “four corners of heaven” (the four cardinal directions) are balanced by the central “Iron Mountain” or sacred peaks. The Altaian belief system is heavily rooted in shamanism and Tengrism, focusing on the worship of the sky (Tengri), earth, and spirits. Mountains are viewed as sacred places where shamans communicate with the divine.
- The World Tree (Bai-Terek):Mythical epics describe a golden tree connecting three layers of reality, with its roots in the underworld, trunk on earth, and branches in heaven. A double-headed eagle sits atop it, surveying the “four corners of the world”.
- Sacred Geography: The Altai mountains act as a “backbone” of the world and a home to spirits (eezi) that protect the clans.
- Creation & Structure: Myths tell of the creator deity Ulgen and his antagonist Erlik, who created the earth from water. The landscape is seen as a living entity where specific mountains (like Babyrgan) are transformed mythical beings.
- Four Corners Symbolism: While the Altai acts as a central axis, it is intrinsically connected to the broader Eurasian shamanistic cosmology, which recognizes four cardinal points often guarded by spirits or sacred animals, in line with the “four corners of the world” concept.
Venus and the Four Corners
“A prominent concept in Sumerian cosmic geography was that of the four quarters of heaven. Indeed, the phrase came to denote the Sumerian cosmos itself and thus parallels the phrase an-ki. The planet Venus is mentioned in connection with the four corners of heaven on more than one occasion. Witness the following Sumerian hymn: “Queen whose grandeur dominates the kur, who bears herself like An, is decked with splendor like Enlil, who, like her father, adorns the day and the night. Like Utu she leads in front with her glorious nature, who is unique because of her majesty in the four corners of the universe.” The phrase translated as four corners is ub-an-na.” ref
“The reference is clearly to some specific region of heaven, one intimately associated with the planet Venus. Thus, in the hymn in-nin ßà-gur4-ra Inanna’s torch is said to shine from the ub-an-na: “Your divinity shines in the pure heavens like Nanna and Utu. Your torch lights up the corners of heaven, turning darkness into light…” The planet Venus is also associated with the “corner” of heaven in “The Duties and Powers of the Gods.” There, the planet is described as follows: “to make her (Venus) burn from ‘Heaven’s Corner’ through the entire atmosphere (?).” How, then, are we to understand the phrase “four corners” of the universe from an astronomical standpoint? What does it mean that Inanna’s “torch” illuminates the four quarters” ref
“In the modern skies, the phrase has no obvious reference, and thus, it must be explained away as yet another example of the Mesopotamians’ preference for figurative language. From the vantage point of the polar configuration, however, the phrase receives an obvious and perfectly logical explanation. Consider the image in figure eighteen: Here, the disc of Utu/Shamash is seemingly divided into four sections by radiating streamers emanating from a central orb. The central orb, according to the reconstruction offered here, is to be identified with the planet Venus. It is our opinion that this cylinder seal accurately depicts a particular phase in the polar configuration’s history” ref
‘Terrestrial skywatchers interpreted the four radiating forms emanating from Venus as the “four corners” of heaven, four directions, or four winds, among other things. Statements to the effect that Venus’s torch “flamed heaven’s four quarters” thus testify to that planet’s intimate association with the “midst” of heaven, for it was from there that the four streamers radiated outward, illuminating and quartering the Sumerian cosmos (to be understood literally as the region spanning from An to Ki).” ref
“In the present monograph, we have documented the fact that Sumerian literary descriptions of the most prominent celestial bodies often fail to accord with modern astronomical knowledge. It has also been established that leading scholars readily confess their inability to explain the astronomical imagery involved. There is a simple reason for the confusion that currently distinguishes the study of Sumerian cosmic geography: The sky was radically different in order and appearance in relatively recent times, and therefore it follows that all attempts to interpret the ancient literary imagery by reference to the familiar celestial landscape are bound to fail. The theory developed here offers a perfectly logical and straightforward interpretation of the Sumerian literary descriptions of Utu, Sin, and Inanna/Venus.” ref
“This “literalist” position stands in dramatic contrast to that of mainstream scholarship, which must resort to “metaphor” and other literary devices in an attempt to explain Sumerian hymns. In reality, most modern “translations” of the Sumerian hymns describing the astral gods represent a strained attempt to explain away the unequivocal testimony of the ancient skywatchers. In their attempt to force-fit the ancient language to the familiar sky, modern scholars have made a mishmash of the Sumerian texts with the result that the true order of the solar system at the dawn of history has been distorted and thus largely obscured. Our hypothetical reconstruction of the Sumerian cosmos has the additional advantage that it is supplemented and complemented at virtually every step by the testimony of ancient art. Thus, we have seen that literary references to Venus standing within Sin or standing together with Sin and Utu find exact parallels in scenes depicted on ancient cylinder seals—this despite the fact that Venus can never attain such positions in the current skies. This striking correspondence between Mesopotamian literature and art cannot be a mere coincidence. Properly understood, the evidence of Mesopotamian literature and art testifies to a radical reordering of the solar system in relatively recent times.” ref
AI Overview: Square Earth mythology often stems from ancient cosmologies, most notably in early Chinese belief, which posited a flat, square Earth beneath a round, dome-like sky. This “Heaven is Round, Earth is Square” (\(gai\ tian\)) concept represented the world as a stationary chariot, with the square Earth defined by cardinal directions.
Key Aspects of Square Earth Mythology
Chinese Cosmography (\(gai\ tian\)): Ancient Chinese texts like the Huainanzi formalized this view, aligning nature with the shape—the human head was round (resembling heaven) and feet were square (resembling earth). The turtle was also seen as a model, with a round shell (sky) and a square underside (earth).
The Four Corners: The concept of the “four corners of the earth” often appears in mythological and religious traditions, sometimes implying a square or rectangular boundary surrounded by chaotic water or void.
Symbolism of Order: A square Earth symbolized stability, the cardinal directions (North, South, East, West), and the centered, orderly dominion of a ruler.
While many ancient cultures held flat-earth views, the explicit “square earth” is primarily a hallmark of ancient Chinese and some Mesopotamian cosmological models, rather than a universal belief.
AI Overview: The concept of four pillars or mountains holding up the sky appears in several mythological traditions, most notably in Sumerian, Egyptian, ancient Greek, and Chinese cosmologies/mythologies. These pillars served as the axis mundi (center of the world) to prevent the sky from collapsing onto the earth.
Sumerian mythology
In Sumerian mythology/cosmology, the sky (An) and earth (Ki) were originally a united mountain mass before being separated, with the sky often described as a dome supported above the earth. While specific, named “four mountains” acting as pillars are more prominent in Chinese (Eight Pillars) or Egyptian traditions, the Sumerian model involved the concept of the “four corners of the world” or cardinal points.
Key aspects of the sky-supporting structure in Sumerian and Near Eastern tradition include
The Cosmic Mountain (Hur-sag): Initially, heaven and earth were joined as a mountain massif, where the sky-god Anu spawned the Anunnaki gods.
Separation by Enlil: The god Enlil is credited with separating the sky from the earth, creating the atmosphere (lil) and breaking the union of An and Ki.
Pillars/Supports: To keep the sky (a solid, vaulted dome) from falling back onto the earth, the cosmos was supported by pillars, staves, or mountains at the extreme ends of the earth.
Mountain of Sunrise/Sunset: The sun god, Utu (Shamash), was depicted as passing through the mountains of the east to rise and cutting through the mountains of the west.
The World Tree/Pillar: In some depictions, Enki (Ea) is symbolized by a pillar or tree rooted on a mountain and ascending toward the sky, supporting the cosmic order.
The concept of four specific mountains holding up the sky is generally considered a broader ancient Near Eastern motif of “four corners,” rather than a specific story with four named mountains in surviving Sumerian literature.
Egyptian mythology
In Egyptian mythology/cosmology, the sky (personified by the goddess Nut) was held up by four pillars representing the cardinal points, often referred to as the “Pillars of Shu“. These pillars, which separated the sky from the earth (Geb), were maintained by the god Shu, the deity of air and light. The sky (Nut) is supported above the earth (Geb) primarily by the air god Shu, often assisted by four pillars or “legs” at the cardinal points, sometimes referred to as the “Pillars of Shu”. These pillars represent the four corners of the sky, acting as cosmic support to keep the atmosphere (Shu) between the earth and the heavens.
Key Details Regarding the Four Pillars
The Pillars of Shu: Shu, often depicted kneeling and holding up the sky, represents the atmosphere supporting the sky goddess. The sky was believed to be held up at its four corners (cardinal points) by pillars, often called the “Pillars of Shu,” which represent the four corners of the world.
Cardinal Directions/Mountains: The four pillars were believed to be at the corners of the world, often associated with mountains (e.g., the twin mountains known as Manu in the east and Bakhu in the west). While sometimes described as four mountains, they are more frequently referred to as the pillars holding up the cardinal points of the sky to maintain the separation of earth and heaven. Shu is often depicted holding up the arched body of Nut, sometimes supported by four feathered pillars, representing the cardinal points of the compass.
Divine Support: The pillars were sometimes associated with the four sons of Horus, who were believed to support the four corners of the sky.
Symbolism: These pillars are sometimes depicted as papyrus stems or the Was scepter (staff). And these pillars are sometimes interpreted as mountains or, in artistic representations, the legs of the sky goddess Nut or the arms of Shu.
Purpose: The main function of these pillars was to prevent the sky from falling and to keep chaos from returning to the universe by maintaining the separation between the earth and the heavens.
Bible Mythology
The Bible mythology/cosmology contains references to pillars holding up the sky or earth, often reflecting ancient Near Eastern cosmology where mountains or celestial pillars supported the firmament. Key mentions include “pillars of heaven” trembling (Job 26:11), the “pillars of the earth” (1 Sam 2:8), and “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth” (Rev 7:1).
Biblical References to Pillars/Foundations:
- Job 26:11: “The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at His rebuke”.
- 1 Samuel 2:8: “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them He has set the world”.
- Revelation 7:1: Mentions “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth”.
- Context: These are often interpreted as poetic or metaphorical, representing God’s firm establishment of the world, rather than a literal, physical structure.
Ancient Contextual Interpretations:
- Mountains: Some interpretations connect these pillars to high mountains that reach toward the sky, viewed as supports for the firmament.
- Egyptian Influence: Ancient Egyptian belief held that four pillars (or two sets of twin mountains) supported the sky at the edges of the world.
- Four Corners: The “four corners” (Revelation 7:1) frequently refers to the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, West), representing the entirety of the earth.
These concepts illustrate the biblical, poetical, and ancient near-eastern understanding of a structured universe under divine control.
Greek Mythology: The Four Pillars
In Greek mythology/cosmology, specifically, the four pillars holding the heavens apart from the earth are associated with four Titan brothers who held the sky in place to allow Cronus to castrate their father, Uranus.
Coeus (North): Represented the north pillar, sometimes associated with the celestial axis (Polos) around which the heavens revolve.
Hyperion (East): Represented the east pillar, where the sun rises.
Crius (South): Represented the south pillar, sometimes associated with the constellation Aries.
Iapetus (West): Represented the west pillar. While Atlas is the most famous figure associated with this, in some versions, Atlas holds the pillars, while in others, he holds the entire celestial sphere (sky, not the earth) on his shoulders as punishment for leading the Titans against Zeus.
Symbolism: These pillars represent the boundary of the known world, often associated with the four corners or directions in various ancient, Near-Eastern, and biblical cosmologies.
Chinese Mythology: The Eight/Four Pillars
Chinese mythology/cosmology features a similar concept, often with eight pillars (eight cardinal directions), but sometimes simplified to four. These pillars are described as mountains or cosmic pillars that hold up the sky and separate it from the earth. They also serve as ladders for travel between heaven and earth. A key myth involves the water god Gong Gong damaging the mountain/pillar of Mount Buzhou, which caused the sky to tilt.
Related Concepts
Atlas Mountains (North Africa): In later Greek myths, the Titan Atlas was turned into stone by Perseus using Medusa’s head, becoming the mountain range that holds up the sky in the west.
Pillars of Hercules: According to some legends, Heracles built two great pillars at the Strait of Gibraltar to hold the sky away from the earth, relieving Atlas of his duty.
Egyptian Mythology (Shu): While not four pillars, the Egyptian god Shu represents the air that holds up the sky goddess Nut, separating her from her husband Geb (the earth).
In many of these myths, the sky was considered a solid dome that required support, or a “mountainous” structure that needed to be held aloft, frequently at the far corners or edges of the earth. These myths reflect ancient attempts to explain the structure of the cosmos and the forces holding the world in place.
Alternative Mythologies
Native American (Meherrin): Refers to four sky dwellers or winds (North/East/South/West) that control seasons and maintain the earth.
AI Overview: The “four corners of the earth” in mythology and ancient cosmology refer to the cardinal points—North, South, East, and West—symbolizing the entirety of the world, its boundaries, or the four winds. Often depicted in religious and cultural traditions, this concept represents the Earth’s expanse, usually associated with protective deities, elemental forces, or cosmic order, rather than always having to mean a literal square planet.
Key Aspects of Four Corners Mythology
Ancient Near East & Mesopotamia: Rulers, such as those in the Akkadian and Assyrian empires, titled themselves “King of the Four Corners of the World,” signifying dominion over the known world.
Biblical Interpretation: In Revelation 7:1, four angels stand at the corners of the earth holding back the “four winds,” symbolizing God’s authority over the entire world. It represents the furthest, all-inclusive, or, in some contexts, chaotic extremes.
Native American Tradition (Lakota): The four directions represent distinct virtues and powers: South (generosity/summer), West (bravery/autumn), North (patience/winter), and East (wisdom/spring).
Cosmological Structure: Often, a sacred center (such as a mountain or world tree) is placed at the center of these four, which divide the world into quadrants.
1. Cosmic Hunt and Earth Diver mythology, no Turtle; Shamanism, no paganism, and no gods
2. Cosmic Hunt and Earth Diver mythology, with a Turtle; Shamanistic paganism with High gods
3. Cosmic Hunt and Earth Diver mythology, no Turtle; Shamanistic paganism with High gods
4. Cosmic Hunt and Earth Diver mythology, no Turtle; Paganism with High gods
These are just a rough outline, simplified, to help in understanding my main thinking involved.
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“The earth-diver is a common character in various traditional creation myths. In these stories, a supreme being usually sends an animal (most often a type of bird, but also crustaceans, insects, and fish in some narratives) into the primal waters to find bits of sand or mud with which to build habitable land.” ref
Axis Mundi Mythology– cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, mound/mountain of creation, or “World/Cosmic tree,” or “Eagle and Serpent tree.” ref, ref
“The World Turtle, also called the Cosmic Turtle or the World-bearing Turtle, is a mytheme of a giant turtle (or tortoise) supporting or containing the world. It occurs in Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, and the mythologies of some of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.” ref
“Chucalissa, Mississippian culture Mounds in Memphis, art shows all the elements involved in the Path of Souls death journey, a widely held belief system among the mound builders of America.” ref
“Interpretation of southeastern Native cosmology, showing the tripartite division of the world. The axis mundi is depicted as a tree or post connecting the fire symbol of this world, the sun symbol of the upper world, and the ‘swastika’ symbol of the lower world.” ref
“It should be remembered that the Mississippian culture that built Cahokia may have considered a cedar tree or a striped cedar pole to be a symbol of the Axis Mundi (also called the cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, the center of the world, or world tree – has been greatly extended to refer to any mythological concept representing “the connection between Heaven and Earth” or the “higher and lower realms), the pillar connecting the above, middle, & below worlds, & around which the cosmos turns An American Yggdrasil (Norse tree of life). Some work has gone into reconstructing the woodhenge, and it is one of the sites around Cahokia that you can visit today. (The Solar Calendar of Woodhenge in Cahokia | Native America: Cities of the Sky).” – Vulpine Outlaw @Rad_Sherwoodism
“Items adduced as examples of the axis mundi by comparative mythologists include plants (notably a tree but also other types of plants such as a vine or stalk), a mountain, a column of smoke or fire, or a product of human manufacture (such as a staff, a tower, a ladder, a staircase, a maypole, a cross, a steeple, a rope, a totem pole, a pillar, a spire). Its proximity to heaven may carry implications that are chiefly religious (pagoda, temple mount, minaret, church) or secular (obelisk, lighthouse, rocket, skyscraper). The image appears in religious and secular contexts. The axis mundi symbol may be found in cultures utilizing shamanic practices or animist belief systems, in major world religions, and in technologically advanced “urban centers.” ref
Do we know what the symbols represent?
“Yes. It’s a bit more than I’d want to post on TwiX right now. It’s showing the 3-part universe, an upper, lower, and middle world, & the Milky Way is shown as well as Orion the Hand Constellation, Scorpius the ruler of the underworld, and Cygnus, the Judge. Also the main powers of the upper & lower worlds.” – Gregory L Little, Ed.D. @DrGregLittle2
Gregory L Little, Ed.D. BA/MS Psychology, Ed.D. Counseling/Ed. Psych Author since ’84 (70+ books/workbooks). Mound Builder Society: Be Kind; Respect Everything; Honor the Ancient Ones.
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Masseboth similar but much smaller than a European Menhir, dates to around 13,000-11,000 years ago in the Near East. Kurgan a burial mound over a timber burial chamber, dates to around 7,000/6,000 years ago. Dolmen a single-chamber ritual megalith, dates to around 7,000/6,000 years ago. Ziggurat a multi-platform temple around 4,900 years ago. Pyramid a multi-platform tomb, dates to around 4,700 years ago. #3 is a Step Pyramid (or proto pyramid) for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser it went through several revisions and redevelopments. First are three layers of Mastaba “house of eternity” a flat-roofed rectangular structure, then two step pyramid one on top the other, showing the evolution of ideas.
Is there a connection between Dolmans/Kurgans and Ziggurats/Pyramids?
AI Overview: A square kurgan is a distinct, often early-phase, type of ancient burial mound, or tumulus, primarily found in the Eurasian steppe, such as in Kazakhstan and the Caspian region. Unlike typical conical mounds, these are defined by a rectangular or square, flat-topped structure often featuring stone reinforcements or enclosures.
Structure and Characteristics: These mounds often consist of square earth pits covered by logs and layers of stones, dating back to early Bronze Age cultures.
Location: Examples include sites found in Southeastern Kazakhstan (e.g., in the Chilik area) and the Yeleke Sazy burial ground.
Contents: While some are “royal” and contain extensive grave goods, others, particularly in Eastern Kazakhstan, have been found to contain simpler materials like pottery and axes.
Symbolism: They served as markers for elite graves, with their unique shape likely distinguishing them from later, purely conical kurgans.
These structures differ from the classic circular kurgans (like the famous Royal Kurgan in Kerch) that dominate the Ukrainian steppe.
Magnetogram of a square-shaped kurgan and its surroundings , c. 600 m… | Download Scientific Diagram https://share.google/6QYGgHOACSx4gIQdZ
AI Overview: A 5,000-year-old kurgan (burial mound) discovered near Istanbul, Turkey, unlooted, and structurally unique tomb from the Early Bronze Age. Dated to approximately 3000 BCE, the mound yielded a Thracian warrior’s tomb with distinct, often square or rectangular stone-lined, pit-grave architecture, reflecting the “Kurganization” of Europe.
Key Details of the 5,000-Year-Old Find
Location: Excavated in the Başakşehir district of Istanbul, Turkey, during construction.
Structure: The mound featured a square-shaped stone burial chamber, a significant find because while many kurgans are circular, this one used a square, stone-lined pit technique typical of the early Bronze Age.
Contents: Inside, researchers found the skeleton of a male warrior, along with burial gifts, including bronze spearheads, pottery, and other artifacts, indicating high status.
Significance: This discovery is considered one of the earliest, most intact kurgans in the region, offering insights into the burial customs of the nomadic or semi-nomadic warriors who moved from the steppes to the Balkans and Anatolia around 3000 BCE.
AI Overview: Square box graves, or srub chambers, inside kurgans represent a ritualized, artificial afterlife home for elite like the Scythian, Sarmatian, and Pazyryk cultures. These wooden, often log-cabin style structures symbolize the cosmos, with square, log-walled chambers representing the “house” of the deceased, often placed beneath a circular mound to create a vertical axis mundi.
Key mythological and ritualistic aspects of these graves include
Cosmic “House” of the Deceased: The square chamber, often built from wood (like larch), served as a permanent, fortified, and secure house for the dead, designed to resemble a dwelling from life, complete with furniture.
The Axis Mundi & Sacred Geometry: The kurgan mound (circular) combined with the square burial chamber represents the union of heaven/cosmos (circle) and earth/humanity (square).
Symbolic Rebirth and Transition: Within the Pazyryk kurgans, the burial is described as a place where the “miracle of rebirth” was intended to happen.
Protection for the Journey: The burial chamber often contained immense quantities of grave goods—including horses, chariots, and weapons—designed to accompany, protect, and signify the high status of the ruler in the afterlife.
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Earth diver mythology or something similar??? Could be. In a way, snails are a kind of mound shape, thus similar to turtle shells, both may represent a mound of creation in the earth-diver myth. In Peru, there were snail shells, and snail shells are also used in the earth diver.
My thoughts on Dolmen origins and migrations, as well as Snail Shell Middens or Snail Burials/Turtle Shell Burials, and links from “Y-DNA R (R1a, R1b, and R2a)” migrations, maybe R2a leading to Proto-Indo-European, transferring it to R1b, taking it to the steppe 7,500 years ago.
Religion is a cultural product. So, it has been part of the human experience, similar to languages, from before we left Africa, spreading humanity across the world.
AI Overview: Square dolmens in the Caucasus are roughly 3,000–2000 BCE. Early Bronze Age megalithic tombs, located primarily in the Western Caucasus of Russia and Abkhazia, featuring massive, precisely fitted stone slabs. These square, trapezoidal, or rectangular chambers often include a central, sometimes square, portal for ritual access, frequently decorated with relief carvings. Megalithic tombs, mainly found in Russia’s Western Caucasus. Constructed from massive sandstone or limestone blocks with a distinct circular, often plugged, entrance, they served as burial sites or, potentially, ritual spaces.
Key Details of Caucasus Dolmens
Structure: They are typically “square” or rectangular single-chamber tombs made of large, precisely fitted stone slabs, often featuring a small circular portal (or “porthole”) on the front.
Function: While primarily considered funerary, they may have acted as family crypts or ritualistic spaces.
Location: Primarily located in the forested hillsides and mountainous regions near the Black Sea, such as the Zhane River Valley.
Construction Technique: They often feature “cyclopean” style stonework without mortar.
AI Overview: 5,000-year-old, large-scale square earth platforms and mounds, associated with the late Neolithic, have been discovered in northern/northeastern China (e.g., Zhengjiagou site, Hebei) and central China (Shuanghuaishu site). These, often featuring, jade-rich burial, sites suggest, advanced, early, social, structure, and, ritual, practices.
Zhengjiagou Site (Hebei Province): Around 5,000-year-old, this site revealed a 5,000–5,100-year-old burial mound complex, including a circular tomb located north of a square altar. These graves, containing high-quality jade objects, reflect, elite, status, and, early, social, stratification.
Shuanghuaishu Site (Central China/Henan): Identified as a 5,000-year-old “capital” of the Heluo Kingdom, this site includes three earthen, platforms, for, rituals, and, a, large, residential, area.
Cultural Significance: These structures often appear alongside, other, Neolithic, findings, such, as, the, Yangshao culture, indicating advanced, early, urban, planning, and, astronomical, knowledge, (e.g., Big Dipper arrangements).
Structure: The platforms were often constructed using rammed earth, sometimes with stone-paved, surfaces.
AI Overview: A 5,000-year-old, three-tiered, stone-stepped pyramid from the Neolithic Hongshan Culture was discovered in Inner Mongolia’s Aohan Banner. Measuring 30 meters long and 15 meters wide, this structure features an altar and seven tombs containing stone goddess statues and pottery on its summit.
Key Discoveries and Features
Location: The site is located on a mountain ridge north of Sijiazi Township, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Age and Significance: It is one of the earliest known pyramid structures in China, belonging to the Hongshan Culture.
Structure: The pyramid is a three-storied, stone-paved building with a large platform for rituals.
Artifacts: Excavations uncovered stone statues of goddesses (including a human-sized one), a bone flute, a stone ring, and pottery fragments marked with the character “mi” (rice).
Other Sites: A similar large, 5,000-year-old ceremonial site with a rammed-earth platform was discovered at the Shuanghuaishu site in Henan Province.
Around 5,000-year-old (circa 3000–3500 BCE) square or rectangular, earthen, and stone-based mounds served as critical, early, and monumental centers for ritual, burial, and astronomical alignment across various global Neolithic cultures, including early North American, Scottish Neolithic (Orkney), and Eurasian Steppe sites.
The Hongshan Culture
“As an important part of the Neolithic Age in Northern China, the Hongshan Culture covers an area from the Wuerjimulun River valley of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia in the north to Chaoyang, Lingyuan and the northern part of Hebei Province in the south, and extends eastward to cover Tongliao and Jinzhou. Hongshan Culture is characterized primarily by the ancient painted potteries, the “Z”-stripped potteries, and the unique digging tools-stone spades and laurel leave-shaped two-holed stone knives. The potteries of Hongshan Culture fall into two types-clay potteries and sand-mixed potteries, both manually made. The clay potteries are mostly red, usually in the forms of bowl, basin, jar, and pots, etc., most of which are containers with small flat bottoms. Most of the clay potteries are decorated with black or purple stripes arranged mainly in parallel lines, triangles, scale-shaped patterns, and occasionally in “Z”-shaped pressed stripes. The stoneware of Hongshan Culture is made by grinding with the blades of stone knives finely ground and the edges and backs in curved symmetry, indicating a fairly developed agricultural economy of the culture. Within the area of Hongshan Culture, bones of oxen, lambs, pigs, deer, and river deer have been unearthed, though in small numbers. The oxen, lambs, and pigs, which are presumably domestic animals, vaguely indicate that the early inhabitants of Hongshan Culture lived a settled life supplemented by animal husbandry, fishery, and hunting.” ref
“More than 20 cirrus-shaped jade articles have been unearthed at the site of Hongshan Culture, and each of them represents two fundamental themes-cirrus-shaped angles and minor convexities. A combination of cirrus-shaped angles and minor convexities in different ways constitute the various patterns and designs of the cirrus-shaped jade articles of Hongshan Culture, which is best demonstrated by the enormous blackish-green jade dragon unearthed at Sanxingtala Township of Wengniute Banner. The dragon is 26 cm in height with the head of a swine and the body of a serpent, coiling like cirrus. Similar dragons were found later in Balin Right Banner and the Antiques Store of Liaoning Province. These cirrus-shaped jade articles can be classified into four types by analyzing their patterns and designs: decorative articles, tools, animals, and special ones, of which the hoop-shaped articles are among the typical pieces of the jade ware of Hongshan Culture. The association of the shapes of these jade articles with their cultural context indicates that the special articles and the tools were made to meet the needs of religious ceremonies. The discovery of cirrus-shaped jade dragon at Hongshan Culture strongly suggests Inner Mongolia as one of the essential sites to trace the worship for dragons by the Chinese people.” ref
“From religious relics of Hongshan Culture like the “Goddess Temple” and stone-pile tombs have been found at Dongshanzui of Kazuo County and Niuheliang at the juncture of Lingyuan County and Jianping County of Liaoning Province. The central part of Dongshanzui relics is the foundation of a large-scaled square structure built of stone. The overall layout of the bilateral symmetry of the foundation to a south-north axis, which is characteristic of the traditional Chinese architectural style, is the first of its kind ever discovered at the site of Neolithic Age. The pottery figures unearthed at the relics indicate that the sites used to be places for sacrificial ceremonies or similar activities. In the first place, archeological studies show that Hongshan Culture was developed on the basis of Xinglongwa Culture and Zhaobaogou Culture, and the inheritance and development in religious traditions between the three cultures are evident. No sites devoted exclusively to sacrificial rites have been found so far in Xinglongwa Culture and Zhaobaogou Culture. The discovery of Niulianghe Relics indicates that large-scaled centers for sacrificial rites had shown up by the end of Hongshan Culture. This is not only a breakthrough in the study of Hongshan Culture but a discovery of great significance to the exploration of the origin of the Chinese civilization.” ref
“Secondly, Hongshan Culture is credited with remarkable achievements in architecture, pottery-making, jade-carving, and pottery sculptures which are at higher levels than those of Xinglongwa Culture and Zhaobaogou Culture. The duet of square pottery molds unearthed at the relics of a house of Hongshan Culture at Xitai, Aohan Banner, which is the earliest mold for metal casting, shows that the early people of Hongshan Culture had mastered the technology of bronze casting. Next, hunting was in the dominant position in Xinglongwa Culture and Zhaobaogou Culture, while by contrast, agriculture played an essential role in the economy of Hongshan Culture. Judging from the position of Hongshan Culture in the archeological culture of ancient Northern China and China in the Neolithic Age, we can well assume that Hongshan Culture is one of the most advanced cultures among the ranks of its peers in both southern and northern China at that time when the smelting of bronze had made appearance, the earliest cities surrounded by ditches had shown up, and the division between urban and rural areas had taken shape. Religious activities characterized by worshiping dragon and jade and respecting the ancestors were in vogue. The conflicts among social groups and the subsequent fights for the unification of religious beliefs had become the fundamental social issue. This is another proof to the assumption that the people of Hongshan Culture had marched from the clan society into the historical phase of ancient kingdoms. Therefore, we can say that by laying a foundation for the development of the Chinese civilization of five thousand years and formulating and influencing the layout of the origin and the progress of the protocol-dominating culture of China, Hongshan Culture plays an extremely essential role in the evolution of the Chinese civilization.” ref
“The archaeological site at Niuheliang is a unique ritual complex associated with the Hongshan culture. Excavators have discovered an underground temple complex—which included an altar—and also cairns in Niuheliang. The temple was constructed of stone platforms, with painted walls. Archaeologists have given it the name Goddess Temple due to the discovery of a clay female head with jade inlaid eyes. It was an underground structure, 1m deep. Included on its walls are mural paintings. Housed inside the Goddess Temple are clay figurines as large as three times the size of real-life humans. The exceedingly large figurines are possibly deities, but for a religion not reflective in any other Chinese culture. The existence of complex trading networks and monumental architecture (such as pyramids and the Goddess Temple) point to the existence of a “chiefdom“ in these prehistoric communities.” ref
“Painted pottery was also discovered within the temple. Over 60 nearby tombs have been unearthed, all constructed of stone and covered by stone mounds, frequently including jade artifacts. Cairns were discovered atop two nearby two hills, with either round or square stepped tombs, made of piled limestone. Entombed inside were sculptures of dragons and tortoises. It has been suggested that religious sacrifice might have been performed within the Hongshan culture.” ref
“Niuheliang is a Neolithic archaeological site in Liaoning Province, Northeast China, along the middle and upper reaches of the Laoha River and the Yingjin River (presently on the border of Chaoyang and Jianping County). The Niuheliang site belongs to the Hongshan culture (4,700 – 2,900 BC 6,720 to 4,9320 years ago). It includes evidence of religion, such as a temple, an altar, and a cairn. Niuheliang is a large burial site scattered over hilltops over a 50 square kilometer area. The altitude of Niuheliang ranges between 550 meters and 680 meters above sea level. Niuheliang dates to 3,500-3,000 BCE. It was a burial and sacrificial center in the late Hongshan period. No residential settlements have been discovered here so far. The site features a unique temple on a loam platform, with an altar and cairn complex, covering an area of around 5 km². The altar at Niuheliang was made of stone platforms, supported by painted, clay cylinders. A north-south axis connects this temple complex with a central peak of the Zhushan mountains, otherwise known as “Pig Mountain”. The subterranean ritual complex was built on a ridge and decorated with painted walls, referred to by Chinese archaeologists as the Goddess Temple, due to the discovery of a clay female head with jade inlaid eyes. Pig dragons and large, nude, clay figurines were also found at Niuheliang. Some of the figurines are up to three times the size of real-life humans; the interior of the figurines was structured from wood and straw. Six groups of cairns were discovered nearby, south, and west of the temple site. The primary burial goods accompanying the graves were jade artifacts, although most of the excavated graves had already been looted.” ref
Interpretations?
“According to the excavator of this site, Guo Dashun, there are in fact two varieties of animals represented in the jades. One is a boar with narrow eyes and flat snout; the other is a bear, represented by round eyes and short perky ears. He also found similar boar and bear symbolism in the vessels found at Xiaoheyan site. The bear has been widely worshipped in Northeast Asia, such as by the Ainu in northern Japan, and in Siberia. Thus, Guo Dashun sees this site in the wider Northeast Asian context. Some similarities with Xinglongwa culture (6200-5400 BC) of northeastern China have also been pointed out.” ref
Pyramidal structure?
“One year after the temple-cairns complex was discovered nearby a pyramidal structure “disguised” as a hill known as Zhuanshanzi, which was included during the Han dynasty (-206~220) in a section of the Great Wall. Built with earth and imported stone, its structure is more elaborate than the cairns. This site contains some of the essential elements, temples, cairns, and platforms, present in later ancestor worship of the Chinese such as the Ming tombs 5000 years later.” ref
“63% of the combined samples from various Hongshan archeological sites belonged to the subclade N1 (xN1a, N1c) of the paternal haplogroup N-M231 and calculated N to have been the predominant haplogroup in the region in the Neolithic period at 89%, its share gradually declining over time. Today this haplogroup is most common in Finland, the Baltic states, and among northern Siberian ethnicities, such as the Yakuts.” ref
“Chinese archaeologists discovered a pyramid-shaped building, dating back more than 5,000 years ago, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in north China. The “pyramid”, located on a mountain ridge one kilometer north of Sijiazi Township in the Aohan Banner (county), is a three-storied stone building, with the bottom layer being more than 30 meters long and 15 meters wide. The “pyramid” belongs to the Hongshan Culture period of 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, according to Guo Dashun, a famous Chinese archaeologist who works in Liaoning Archaeological Research Institute. Seven tombs and ruins of an altar were found on the top of the “pyramid.” ref
“At the site of the altar, there are many fragments of broken pottery carved with the Chinese character “mi” (rice). Archaeologists said that the character “mi” may have something to do with people’s understanding of astrology in ancient times. In one of the tombs, archaeologists found a bone flute and a stone ring, and they unearthed a stone sculpture of a goddess the size of a human body in another tomb. Archaeologists were surprised to find a stone-carved linga on the wall of a tomb and a small stone statue of a goddess below the linga in the same tomb.” ref
“Archaeologist Guo said that many of the relics were first-time discoveries and they are of great significance in studying the burial customs, religious and sacrifice rituals, and the social structure of the Hongshan Culture. He pointed out, the discovery of the “pyramid” is also of great significance in exploring the origin of the Chinese civilization. The Hongshan Culture, belonging to the Neolithic culture, is mainly distributed in the juncture area between Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Hebei provinces.” ref
“In northeast China, Hongshan culture was preceded by Xinglongwa culture (6200–5400 BC), Xinle culture (5300–4800 BC), and Zhaobaogou culture, which may be contemporary with Xinle and a little later. Moreover, the Yangshao culture was in the larger area and contemporary with Hongshan culture. These two cultures interacted with each other.” ref
Pyramids in China (pyramidal shaped tomb structures: 5,000 years old)
In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China, Chinese archeologists have discovered a pyramid which they have dated to be more than 5,000 years old. Archaeologist Guo Dashun stated that the three-stepped pyramid belongs to the Hongshan culture period of 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, during the Stone Age. At the top of the pyramid, the archeologists found seven tombs and the ruins of an altar. Also found were many fragments of broken pottery carved with the Chinese character mi (rice). They also discovered a bone flute, a stone ring, and a life-sized sculpture of a goddess. The term Chinese pyramids refers to pyramidal shaped structures in China, most of which are ancient mausoleums and burial mounds built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around 16 to 22 mi) north-west of Xi’an, on the Guanzhong Plains in Shaanxi Province. The most famous is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, northeast of Xi’an and 1.7 km west of where the Terracotta Warriors were found. The earliest tombs in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Liaoning. They belong to the Neolithic Hongshan culture (6,700 to 2,900 years ago) a culture in northeastern China. The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure.culture in northeastern China. Hongshan burial artifacts include some of the earliest known examples of jade working. The Hongshan culture is known for its jade pig dragons and embryo dragons. Clay figurines, including figurines of pregnant women, are also found throughout Hongshan sites. Small copper rings were also excavated. Origin of the mysterious Yin-Shang bronzes in China indicate they contain lead with puzzlingly highly radiogenic isotopic compositions appeared suddenly in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River around 3,400 years ago. Excavators have discovered an underground temple complex—which included an altar—and also cairns in Niuheliang. The temple was constructed of stone platforms, with painted walls. Archaeologists have given it the name Goddess Temple due to the discovery of a clay female head with jade inlaid eyes. It was an underground structure, 1m deep. Included on its walls are mural paintings. Housed inside the Goddess Temple are clay figurines as large as three times the size of real-life humans. The exceedingly large figurines are possibly deities, but for a religion not reflective in any other Chinese culture. The existence of complex trading networks and monumental architecture (such as pyramids and the Goddess Temple) point to the existence of a “chiefdom“ in these prehistoric communities. Painted pottery was also discovered within the temple. Over 60 nearby tombs have been unearthed, all constructed of stone and covered by stone mounds, frequently including jade artifacts. Cairns were discovered atop two nearby two hills, with either round or square stepped tombs, made of piled limestone. Entombed inside were sculptures of dragons and tortoises. It has been suggested that religious sacrifice might have been performed within the Hongshan culture. In northeast China, Hongshan culture was preceded by Xinglongwa culture (6200–5400 BC), Xinle culture (5300–4800 BC), and Zhaobaogou culture, which may be contemporary with Xinle and a little later. Yangshao culture was in the larger area and contemporary with Hongshan culture (see map). These two cultures interacted with each other. Just as suggested by evidence found at early Yangshao culture sites, Hongshan culture sites also provide the earliest evidence for feng shui. The presence of both round and square shapes at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers suggests an early presence of the gaitian cosmography (“round heaven, square earth”). The three exceptional pyramids around Xi’an, constructed using three different methods:
- The Qian Shi Huang pyramid (Qin Dynasty) constructed of clay bricks
The first and largest “burial pyramid” is thought to be that of the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified China as a country and founded the Qin Dynasty. It lies in the huge mausoleum at the foot of the Qing Ling Shan Mountains, 80 km southwest of Xi’an. He began construction as soon as he ascended the throne at the tender age of 13 in 246 BC. It was to be of tremendous dimensions – its base was 354 x 357 meters, and its original height was 200 meters, making it the largest “pyramid” in the world (for comparison, the great pyramid in Giza is 230 x 230 meters and 147 meters high). For the 36 years that work went on, up to 700,000 people were employed at the site at a time to construct the pyramid and the subterranean complexes over an area of several thousand square meters. Construction was completed in 210 BC.
- Qian Ling pyramid (Tang Dynasty), formed from a hill
This pyramid and the burial complexes are located on the slopes of Mount Liang, 6 km north of Quianling, the county seat, 80 km northwest of Xi’an. It is the mausoleum of the third Tang emperor, Gaozong (650-683 AD) and his wife, who became the Empress Wu Zetian (684-704, seventh daughter of Emperor Zhongzong (Li Xian), who was buried there in 684 or 706. The “pyramid” was not made by piling up material, however, but by shaping an existing hill (resulting in a “shaped pyramid”) which is not square and has large differences in its base lengths. What is special is the emperor’s subterranean burial chambers, which belie influences that are atypical for early China (see Fig. ??). Of the 18 Tang emperor burial sites in the Guanzhong Plain, it is the only complex that was not found and plundered by grave robbers. The enormous stairway access is almost 2 km long with two bulwark towers in front of the “pyramid” and is flanked by figures of animals and people that are up to 4 meters high and by monolithic stone pillars. Among these are armed guards, winged horses (yima), stone lions (shishi) and the Shusheng Tablets and Uncharactered Stele (wuzibei).
- Earthen Pyramid of Princess Yongtai (Tang Dynasty)
Princess Yongtai (Huang Ti) was the granddaughter of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian, and died in 701 AD at only 17 years of age. She was buried near the Qianling Mausoleum in 706, together with Prince Duwei Wu Yanhin, a nephew of Wu Zetian who had died one year earlier (this delayed burial was possible because the bodies had been mummified). Yongtai‘s grave is surrounded by strong, 3-meters-tall walls, oriented to the four cardinal directions. They are 275 meters long from north to south and 220 meters wide from east to west. The pyramidal hill is located in the middle of the mausoleum. Today, it is only 14 meters high, with a respectable side length of 56 meters. An arched corridor 88 meters long, almost 4 meters wide and 6 meters high leads from the southern entrance to an antechamber and from there to the actual burial chamber. This one impressed and surprised me even more than that of Emperor Gaozong; it corresponds almost exactly to the Egyptian construction method. These similarities are not limited to the long corridors leading below the pyramid, but also include the chamber‘s shape and especially the outer sarcophagus. It is made of black basalt and is almost identical to the 24 sarcophagi in the Serapeum of Sakkara (see page 92). The frescoes are also exceptionally well preserved. The burial chamber‘s east and west walls are covered with depictions of black dragons, white tigers and an honor guard, and the ceiling features astronomical motifs. The antechamber‘s east and west walls bear depictions of waiting servants. This tomb is believed to have been plundered very early. Nevertheless, more than 1,300 items have been discovered in the vicinity during the past 50 years, including gold- and silverware, glazed figurines, porcelain and copperware.
- Earthen Pyramid of Mao Ling (Han Dynasty)
This burial site is located 40 km from Xi‘an, near the village of Maoling, northeast of the city of Xingping. The mausoleum of Mao Ling, the burial pyramid of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (141-87 BC) is the largest of the five mausoleums built during the Western Han Dynasty and is also called the “Pyramid of the East”. Its construction is thought to have begun in 139 BC and lasted 53 years. It was surrounded by a square bulwark wall almost 6 meters thick, 431 meters long east to west and 415 meters long north to south. There was one gate in the middle of each section of the wall, one for every cardinal point. The central burial mound is a truncated pyramid, eroded to a height of 46.5 meters, with a base of about 217 x 222 meters. Around the central mausoleum are over 20 other tombs for Wudi’s family, ministers and generals, such as the burial pyramid of generals Huo Qubing, Wei Qing and Jin Midi, located between 1 and 2 km east of the emperor‘s tomb. Today, the complex also features the Mao Ling Museum, where splendid burial objects are displayed; historical records claim that the emperor spent one third of all tax income for several decades on the mausoleum‘s construction and his family’s burial goods.
Finding feng shui?
Early feng shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe. The culture may also have contributed to the development of settlements in ancient Korea. A group called “Qiang” were mentioned in ancient Chinese texts as well as in inscriptions on oracle bones 3000 years ago. The Qiang people who practice Qiang folk religion are an ethnic group in Chin mainly in a mountainous region in the northwestern part of Sichuan on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It is possible that the modern Qiang might be descendants of one of the groups referred to as Qiang in ancient times. Many of the peoples formerly designated as “Qiang” were gradually removed from this category in Chinese texts as they become sinicized or reclassified, and by the Ming and Qing dynasties, the term “Qiang” denoted only non-Han people living in the upper Min River Valley and Beichuan area, the area now occupied by the modern Qiang. Qiang territory lies between the Han Chinese and historical Tibet, and the Qiang would fall under the domination of both. Each village may have one or more stone towers in the past, and the Himalayan Towers remains a distinctive feature of some Qiang villages. Himalayan Towers are also called Stone star-shaped towers, are a series of stone towers located mostly in Kham, a province of premodern Tibet, and in Sichuan. The towers are located principally in the Changtang and Kongpo regions of Tibet as well as in the area inhabited by the modern Qiang people and in the historical region inhabited by the Western Xia. These towers can be found both in cities and in uninhabited regions. Many of the towers use a star pattern of walls as opposed to a strictly rectangular method and heights can exceed 200 ft. The Qiang worship five major gods, twelve lesser gods, some tree gods, and numerous stones were also worshiped as representatives of gods. A special god is also worshiped in every village and locality, who are mentioned by name in the sacred chants of the Qiang priests. Mubyasei, also known Abba Chi, is the supreme god of the universe and the same name is also used to refer to a male ancestor god, Abba Sei. In certain places, Shanwang, the mountain god, is considered to represent the supreme god. Archaeologists have released a photograph of a skull found in an ancient tomb in Alaer (Aral) in Southern Xinjiang, China. The skull shows an unusual characteristic in which the teeth are vertically oriented instead of horizontally. In addition, the researchers have revealed that the skeleton recovered from the tomb measured a massive 2.3 metres (7 feet 6 inches) which researchers have said that skeleton is 4,000 years old and belonged to the Qiang people. The Qiang people have been recognized as a ‘first ancestor’ culture due to their ancient roots – they were mentioned in ancient Chinese texts as well as inscriptions on the oracle bones of 3,000 years ago. However, the ancient Qiang people referred to in these ancient texts were a broad group of nomadic people and the ancestors of the modern Tibeto-Burman speakers, they are therefore not the equivalent of the modern Qiang people who are a small branch of the ancient Qiangs. The Qiangs were also not a single distinctive ethnic group in the past. According to historical records, a clan group made their homes in what is today’s Sichuan Province. During 600 to 900 AD when the Tibetan Regime gradually expanded its rule over the region, some Qiangs were assimilated by the Tibetans and others by the Hans, leaving a small number unassimilated. These developed into the distinctive ethnic group of today. Prehistoric transport and trade nvolved migrations out of the Fertile Crescent would carry early agricultural practices to neighboring regions—westward to Europe and North Africa, northward to Crimea, and eastward to Mongolia. Interestingly, the region where the tomb was uncovered is in the same region where the well-known Tarim mummies with Caucasoid features were recovered. The mummies were found to have typical Europoid body features (elongated bodies, angular faces, recessed eyes), and many of them have their hair physically intact, ranging in color from blond to red to deep brown. Like the Qiang skeleton, the Tarim mummies were also found to be very tall. Could there be a link between them? The ancient people of the Sahara imported domesticated animals from Asia between 6000 and 4000 BCE. In Nabta Playa by the end of the 7th millennium BCE, prehistoric Egyptians had imported goats and sheep from Southwest Asia. Foreign artifacts dating to the 5th millennium BCE in the Badarian culture in Egypt indicate contact with distant Syria. In predynastic Egypt, by the beginning of the 4th millennium BCE, ancient Egyptians in Maadi were importing pottery as well as construction ideas from Canaan. By the 4th millennium BCE shipping was well established, and the donkey and possibly the dromedary had been domesticated. Domestication of the Bactrian camel and use of the horse for transport then followed. Charcoal samples found in the tombs of Nekhen, which were dated to the Naqada I and II periods, have been identified as cedar from Lebanon. Predynastic Egyptians of the Naqada I period also imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. The Naqadans traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the western desert to the west, and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean to the east. Pottery and other artifacts from the Levant that date to the Naqadan era have been found in ancient Egypt. Egyptian artifacts dating to this era have been found in Canaan and other regions of the Near East, including Tell Brak and Uruk and Susa in Mesopotamia. By the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, the gemstone lapis lazuli was being traded from its only known source in the ancient world—Badakhshan, in what is now northeastern Afghanistan—as far as Mesopotamia and Egypt. By the 3rd millennium BCE, the lapis lazuli trade was extended to Harappa, Lothal and Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley Civilization (Ancient India) of modern-day Pakistan and northwestern India. The Indus Valley was also known as Meluhha, the earliest maritime trading partner of the Sumerians and Akkadians in Mesopotamia. The ancient harbor constructed in Lothal, India, around 2,400 years ago is the oldest seafaring harbor known. Ancient Egyptian trade consisted of the gradual creation of land and sea trade routes connecting the Ancient Egyptian civilization with the Fertile Crescent, Arabia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India. are circular and stepped and were made of clay. structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god’s residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction. These pyramids bear a different but somewhat similar resemblance to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, in Egypt and could have possibly, derive from the same cultural/religious/philosophical tradition that inspired this ancient Egyptian monument also similar to Nubian-like pyramids thousands of miles away from the Nubian area in the heart of Igboland. Evidence like this could show some correlation between the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Igbo. There is an existing ideology amongst the Yorubas of Nigeria and other writers of Yoruba history that the original ancestors of the Yorubas originated in ancient Egypt hence there was migration between Egypt and Yorubaland. This researcher contends that even if there was migration between Egypt and Nigeria, such migration did not take place during the predynastic and dynastic period as speculated by some scholars. No one knows precisely the origins of the methods of specialized bronze and brass castings in Nigeria, and the reasons for the similarities between the Nok terracottas (as old as 2,500 years), the art from Igbo-Ukwu near Enugu, and the Yoruba art that produced the famous Ife bronze heads and those of ancient Egyptians. These arts found in Nigeria might have been produced independently of any foreign culture. The ancient Egyptians were not known to be too keen about traveling and to adapt so much to foreign cultures. Trade, adventure, and escape from wars might have led some of them to travel to other parts of the world, but traveling to stay in other countries seemed not to be one of their preferences. Furthermore, the absence of a known and generally acceptable descendant of Egyptians in Nigeria suggests that the Egyptians did
not live in Nigeria permanently. The Nubian dynasty of Egypt (the 25th Dynasty of Egypt) saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom. Amongst the Yorubas of Nigeria, are of the opinion that there were migrations between Egypt and Yorubaland. There is some thinking that there is some linkage between the Egyptians to the Yorubas, like the various forms of spirits, gods and ancestors worshipped. A royal pyramidal tomb, located in Ji’an, Jilin, was built by the Goguryeo Kingdom. The site includes archaeological remains of 40 tombs which were built by Goguryeo, which was founded by Jumong in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, thought to be located in the middle Amrok River and Tongjia River basin, overlapping the current China–North Korea border located in and around the city of Ji’an in China. Some of the tombs have elaborate ceilings designed to roof wide spaces without columns and carry the heavy load of a stone or earth tumulus (mound) was placed above them. The paintings in the tombs, while showing artistic skills and specific style, are also an example of strong influence from various cultures. located in and around the city of Ji’an in China. Koguryo (or Goguryeo, 2,037 years ago to 668 CE) was an ancient kingdom located in what is now Manchuria and the northern Korean Peninsula. Goguryeo was a Korean kingdom with a religion makeup of Buddhism, Taoism, and Shamanism. In the geographic monographs of the Book of Han, the word Goguryeo was first mentioned around 2,113 to 1,349 years ago, as a region under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu Commandery, page 33. Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Goguryo Kingdom located in and around the city of Ji’an in China and located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of inner and outer Manchuria. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula and was also associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan. Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo, was worshipped and respected among the people. There was even a temple in Pyongyang dedicated to Jumong. At the annual Dongmaeng Festival, a religious rite was performed for Jumong, ancestors, and gods. Other pyramids in China, built using different construction methods, and not simply made of piled-up earth. What may deserve more attention than the earthen pyramids of Xi’an, as they are actual layered stone block pyramids, much like those in South America.
Layered stone pyramid of Jian/Zangkunchong (Goguryeo Dynasty)
There are two isolated layered pyramids near the city of Ji’an in Jangxi province in southeastern China. The perfectly preserved Ji’an pyramid is built of precisely cut stone blocks and contains a large burial chamber. Each base has a length of exactly 31.60 meters on every side, and the height is 12.4 meters. It is made up of seven layers, the first of four layers of stone, and all others of three. This layout is surprisingly similar to that of the layered pyramids in South America. The twelve monoliths that were placed so as to lean against the outer walls’ lower layers – the largest of which is 2.7 meters wide and 4.5 meters high – also set this one apart from other Chinese pyramids. Of these twelve monoliths, four are so-called guardian stones, but only “Paechong” (Korean for “warden‘s tomb”) is still intact. Interestingly, the pyramid is oriented to the cardinal points, while the heads of the stone sarcophagi in the chamber pointed precisely to the mystical volcanic crater of Paektusan (Mount Paektu) on the horizon with its beautiful crater lake at an altitude of 2,500 meters. There are three hypotheses about who built it: The first hypothesis suggests that it was built during the ancient Goguryeo empire, which briefly ruled Korea and parts of eastern China, as a stone mausoleum for King Kwangkaeto the Great (Gwangaeto, 374-413 AD). He is also credited with the construction of the nearby stone pyramid that is almost completely destroyed. The foundation walls, with their base lengths of almost 40 meters, are all that remain of that pyramid, which is thought to be his tomb. The second hypothesis posits that the remaining pyramid is the tomb of King Zangsu (Jangsu), which is why it is called “Zangkunchong”. It is also called Juni Ten (the general’s tomb) and “Pyramid of the East”. This name comes from the 20th regent of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the three Korean kingdoms, whose capital was Ji’an. Historical documents state that king Jansu was crowned king in 413 AD at the young age of 19 and went on to lead the kingdom, stretching from Korea to Mongolia, to its golden age. He died in 491 AD. But how did the Goguryeo Dynasty acquire the knowledge necessary for the construction of such flawless layered pyramids, the likes of which had never been seen in the area, and were not seen there again? The third hypothesis posits that the pyramids were built during the Kokuryo period, around 500 AD. That theory does not name the ruler who is buried there.
Xia Pyramids (Xia Dynasty), made of clay bricks
The Xia pyramids are located in western China, on the eastern slope of the Helan mountains, about 35 kilometers west of Yinchuan, the capital of the autonomous region of Ningxia Hui. They consist of pyramidal mausoleums for the imperial family with heights of between 9 and 20 meters, and 207 documented stone tombs for nobles and higher magistrates, all scattered over an area of 40 km2. Chinese researchers have conducted archaeological and scientific analyses on these tombs since the 1980s, but the sudden rise and fall of the western Xia dynasty (also referred to as the Tangut Empire, 1038-1227) remains a mystery. One theory suggests that they were overrun and largely eradicated by invading Mongols under Genghis Khan. The best-preserved burial pyramid (Mausoleum No. 3) is the only one to have been excavated and explored. It was attributed to the first Xia emperor, Jingzong (1003-1048), whose birth name was Li Yuanhao. The pyramids were built with clay tiles, and the construction method used combines elements from the construction of pyramids, towers and traditional temple-mausoleums, while the chambers feature Buddhist elements and paintings, although these might have been added later.
Stone and earth Xituanshan Pyramid near Jiaohe
The ruins of Xituanshan, near the city of Jiaohe, on the border of the Taklamakan Desert, were excavated in 1950 after water erosion exposed the first two tombs (see sunken desert cities on page 586). The entire complex spans an area of 1,000 meters x 500 meters for a total area of 500,000 m2. Historical accounts state that it was the capital of the Chesi Empire from about 108 BC to 450 AD. But in 2006, Chinese archaeologists dug deeper and uncovered a group of six much older tombs that are thought to date back to the Bronze Age, or 1,000 BC, making them 3,000 years old, or almost 1,000 years older than the Chesi empire. For five of the pyramidal structures, only parts of the foundations and first layers remain, but these still reveal their original shape and size. The largest pyramidal tomb has been clearly identified as a three-layered pyramid made of stones and earth. It has a square base of 50 meters x 30 meters and an oval platform of 15 meters x 10 meters at its apex, on which stood a stone sarcophagus covered with a granite plate and surrounded by four engraved stone tablets. This mysterious sarcophagus and the pyramidal tombs were attributed to the “king of an earlier tribe”. I am certain that this complex was built by the legendary Sand People.
Stone and earth Hongshan Pyramids near Sijiazi
In the autonomous province of Inner Mongolia in northeastern China, a 5,000-year-old, three-tiered pyramid was discovered on a shaped-hill pyramid north of the city of Sijiazi in Aohan County. Even Chinese archaeologists immediately recognized it as a man-made pyramid, specifically as a burial complex from the Hongshan Culture (4,500-2,250 BC). The tiered pyramid is said to be about 30 meters long and 15 meters wide, and an altar and seven graves were found on its platform. In the graves, besides the remains, were various vaults containing a bone flute, a stone ring and the stone statue of a goddess. The archaeologists also discovered clay fragments with small stars scratched into their interiors which they believed to indicate either an early culture’s astronomical knowledge or a mythology that indicated that they would one day return to the stars.
What is the oldest Chinese dynasty?
The Shang dynasty is the oldest Chinese dynasty whose existence is supported by archaeological finds, but more evidence for the existence of the Xia dynasty may yet emerge. It’s estimated that the Shang ruled the Yellow River Valley of China for most of the second millennium BCE—so about 1766 to 1046 BCE. For centuries, people found what they called dragon bones—bones and shells with mysterious inscriptions—in many parts of China. Excavations of the ancient city of Anyang in the early twentieth century revealed tens of thousands of these bone fragments and bronze vessels, many of which had inscriptions in proto-Chinese characters. These artifacts contained records dating back to the Shang dynasty, allowing scholars to learn much about Shang life, such as their agricultural methods, medical treatments, legal system, and craft making styles. The Shang built huge cities with strong social class divisions, expanded earlier irrigation systems, excelled in the use of bronze, and developed a writing system. Shang kings fulfilled a sacred, not political, role, while a council of chosen advisers and bureaucrats—official administrators—organized and ran the government. The oldest surviving form of Chinese writing is found as inscriptions of divination records on the bones or shells of animals, called oracle bones; oracle, from a similar Latin root as the English word orator, means holy messenger or speaker. The writing found on oracle bones shows complexity, indicating that this language had existed for a long time. Writing allowed science in the Shang dynasty to advance, as observations could be recorded more accurately. The Oracle Scripts are accounts of eclipses and other celestial events written by astronomers of the Shang period. Shang astronomers’ works also showed advances in mathematics, the development of odd and even numbers, and principles of accounting. The I-Ching—also known as The Book of Changes—was either written or compiled at this same time, around 3,250 to 3,150 years ago. The I-Ching is a book of divination with roots going back to the fortune tellers of the rural areas and their oracle bones. Musical instruments were also developed by the Shang. At Yin Xu, near Angyang, excavations have revealed instruments from the Shang period such as the ocarina—a wind instrument—drums, and cymbals. Bells, chimes, and bone flutes have been discovered elsewhere. The Shang created a lunar calendar, based on the cycles of the moon, that was used to predict and record important events, especially planting and harvesting of crops. Because lunar years are shorter than solar years, which are based on the Earth’s orbit of the sun, Shang kings employed specially-trained astronomers who made adjustments and maintained the precision of the calendar. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was a hugely important metal during the Shang period. Shang metal workers developed a highly sophisticated method for casting bronze and used it to make ceremonial objects and weapons. Bronze swords and spearheads were stronger than other available metals, giving Shang soldiers an advantage in battle. The influence of the Early Shang extended hundreds of kilometers away from the capital, and many of the Shang bronze techniques diffused over large areas. The Shang in turn adopted skills, ideas, and even crops from some neighboring societies, such as wheat and axes, which may have come from Western Asia. However—because natural barriers like the ocean, mountain ranges, deserts, and steppes kept the Shang in relative isolation—the Shang dynasty as well as later dynasties evolved in unique and insular ways. The first Shang ruler supposedly founded a new capital for his dynasty at a town called Shang, near modern-day Zhengzhou on the Yellow River, is in east-central China Henan province notable as the ancient Shang dynasty capital, whose earthen walls still stand in the city center. Shang, along with other ancient Chinese cities, had two city walls—one inner and one outer wall. The common residents could live within the outer wall, but could not go past the inner wall, which enclosed a temple area, cemetery sites, bronze foundries, bronze casting areas, and bone workshops. The inner walls thus encircled an area of political elite and craft specialists, who together were the engineers of the important ritual performances. In this way, the architecture of these cities was designed to separate different social classes. However, it seems that there were many capitals aside from this one, and rulers may have moved from one to the other because of religious rituals, military strategy, or food requirements. That suggests that the power of the dynasty was concentrated in the king, whose political authority was reinforced by the Shang religion. Anyang, another Shang capital, also in modern-day Henan Province, is another important—but slightly later—Shang city that has been excavated. It was located at the intersection between lowland agricultural areas of the North China Plain and mountains which acted as a defensive border. This site yielded large numbers of oracle bones that describe the travels of eleven named kings. The names and timeframes of these kings match traditional lists of Shang kings. Anyang was a huge city, with an extensive cemetery of thousands of graves and 11 large tombs—evidence of the city’s labor force, which may have belonged to the 11 Shang kings. Cities were crucial to political and religious affairs, and they were the seats of administrative affairs, royal tombs, palaces, and shrines. Common people were concentrated in the agricultural areas outside the cities. The border territories of Shang rule were led by chieftains who gained the right to govern through connections with royalty. Shang relied heavily on neighboring fiefs for raw materials, much of which was devoted to ceremonial performances. The Shang enacted a feudal system, a system in which duties are tied to land ownership, with sharp class divisions based on clan birthright. The aristocracy were centered around Anyang, which was the seat of governmental affairs for the surrounding areas. Regional territories farther from the capital were also controlled by the wealthy. There were many local rulers who held hereditary titles. In this imperial system, elite classes benefitted from the production of peasants and large-scale projects under elite control, usually operated using various forms of unfree labor. There is also evidence of a class of proto-bureaucrats, many of whom were titled officials, who had managerial roles and kept extensive records. Shang religion was incredibly important, and it extended into the political and economic spheres. The Shang religion and state power were closely connected; state power was consolidated through a sense of reverence for royal Shang ancestors. Further, by the end of the Shang dynasty, the king was the only one who could interpret the oracle bones, thereby making him the head shaman. The Shang religion was characterized by a combination of animism, the idea that everything has a soul; shamanism, the belief in shamans who have the ability to communicate with the spiritual world; ancestor worship; and divination. Different gods represented natural and mythological symbols, such as the moon, the sun, the wind, the rain, the dragon, and the phoenix. Peasants prayed to these gods for bountiful harvests. Festivals to celebrate gods were also common. In particular, the Shang kings, who considered themselves divine rulers, consulted the great god Shangdi—the Supreme Being who ruled over humanity and nature—for advice and wisdom. The Shang believed that the ancestors could also confer good fortune; the Shang would consult ancestors through oracle bones in order to seek approval for any major decision, and to learn about future success in harvesting, hunting, or battle. It appears that there was belief in the afterlife during the Shang dynasty. Archaeologists have found Shang tombs surrounded by the skulls and bodies of human sacrifices. Some of these contain jade, which was thought to protect against decay and grant immortality. Archaeologists believe that Shang tombs were very similar to those found in the Egyptian pyramids in that they buried servants with them. Chinese archaeologists theorize that the Shang, like the ancient Egyptians, believed their servants would continue to serve them in the afterlife. Because of this belief, aristocrats’ servants would be killed and buried with them when they died. Another interpretation is that these were enemy warriors captured in battle. One elaborate tomb which has been unearthed was that of Lady Hao, a consort of a Shang king who reigned around 1200 BCE. The artifacts found in her tomb indicate that she had a high social status and a great deal of power in Shang society, which makes historians speculate about the role of women in the Shang dynasty. Based on the artifacts found in Lady Hao’s tomb, it seems that she had her own wealth and political influence, and it is possible that she also had a prominent role in the military, as many bronze weapons were found buried with her. The 16 other skeletons in Fu Hao’s tomb are believed to have been slaves, who were buried alive in order to serve her in the afterlife. The Chinese Bronze Age had begun by 3,700 years ago in the kingdom of the Shang dynasty and ancient DNA reveals a migration of the ancient Di-qiang populations into Xinjiang as early as the early Bronze Age. Moreover, in the Chinese Bronze Age it was believed the king’s right to rule was based on his good relations with the spirits of his ancestors who controlled the destiny of the domain. The king continually posed questions to his ancestors about policy. He did this by instructing his scribe to write the question on an “oracle bone” — that is, an animal shoulder blade or the breast bone of a turtle. A priest then held a hot rod to the bone until it cracked and interpreted the pattern of the cracks for the answer. It was also the king’s duty to please the great forces of nature — the sun and rain gods — who controlled the outcome of the harvest. So that these gods and his ancestor spirits would look favorably on his kingdom, the king made regular sacrifices of wine and cereals, which were placed in elaborate bronze vessels and heated over the fires on the temple altar. During the Shang dynasty bronze vessels were the symbol of royalty. At times the Shang kings make animal and human sacrifices as well; and when the king and powerful members of the royal court died, it was not unusual that their wives, servants, bodyguards, horses and dogs were killed and buried with them. During the Zhou Dynasty people gradually turned away from this custom and substituted clay figures for real people and animals. The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese folk religion, Ancestor worship, and Heaven worship) lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history with capitals in Fenghao (3,046 to 2,771 years ago), Luoyang (2,510 to 314 years ago). The Zhou emulated extensively Shang cultural practices, perhaps to legitimize their own rule, and became the successors to Shang culture. At the same time, the Zhou may also have been connected to the Xirong, a broadly defined cultural group to the west of the Shang, which the Shang regarded as tributaries. In about 1050 BC the Shang dynasty was defeated in battle by armies from Zhou, a rival state to the west, which seems both to have inherited cultural traditions from the Neolithic cultures of the northwest and to have absorbed most of the material culture of the Shang. The conquerors retained their homeland in the Wei River valley in present-day Shaanxi province and portioned out the rest of their territory among their relatives and local chiefs, creating a number of local courts or principalities. The culture of the early Zhou is known to us not solely through archaeological evidence, but also through transmitted texts, such as the Book of Documents (Shujing), which describes the Zhou conquest of the Shang as the victory of just and noble warriors over a decadent and dissolute king. In these texts and bronze inscriptions alike, the rule of the Zhou kings was linked to heaven, conceived of as the sacred moral power of the cosmos. A king and a dynasty could rule only so long as they retained heaven’s favor. Zhou rulers introduced what was to prove one of East Asia’s most enduring political doctrines. The concept of the “Mandate of Heaven”. They did this so by asserting that their moral superiority justified taking over Shang wealth and territories, also that heaven had imposed a moral mandate on them to replace the Shang and return good governance to the people. The Mandate of Heaven was presented as a religious compact between the Zhou people and their supreme god in heaven (literally the ‘sky god’). The Zhou agreed that since worldly affairs were supposed to align with those of the heavens, the heavens conferred legitimate power only one person, the Zhou ruler. In return, the ruler was duty-bound to uphold heaven’s principles of harmony and honor. Any ruler who failed in this duty, who let instability creep into earthly affairs, or who let his people suffer, would lose the mandate. Under this system, it was the prerogative of spiritual authority to withdraw support from any wayward ruler and to find another, more worthy one. In this way, the Zhou sky god legitimated regime change. In using this ccreed, nthe Zhou rulers had to acknowledge that any group of rulers, even they themselves could be ousted if they lost the mandate of haven because of improper practices. The book of odes, written during the Zhou period clearly intoned this caution. The early Zhou kings contended that heaven favored their triumph because the last Shang kings had been evil men whose policies brought pain to the people through waste and corruption. After the Zhou came to power, the mandate became a political tool. Like in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus River valley, civilization in China developed around a great river. The Yellow River carried floodwater and sediment to the land around it, making the area incredibly fertile, and thus an excellent place for the Stone Age inhabitants of the area to experiment with agriculture. While the Yellow River was the main cradle of Chinese civilization, people also settled around other rivers, such as the Huai and the Yangtze. By around 4000 BC, villages began to appear. They cultivated a number of crops, but most important was a grain called millet (two types of millet: proso and foxtail millet). The Chinese, even up to modern times, revere the Wǔgǔ, the Five Sacred Grains, which are traditionally considered soybeans, wheat, hemp, and the two types of millet. Rice was also cultivated in this period, but it was not yet the important staple that it would later become in the Chinese diet. The Neolithic Chinese domesticated animals such as pigs, dogs, and chickens. Silk production, through the domestication of silk worms, probably also began in this early period. During the Neolithic period in China, there were multiple groups of people, mostly around the Yellow River, with separate emerging cultures. Some of these various cultures include the Yangshao culture (ca. 4800 – ca. 3000 BC), the Majiayao culture (ca. 3800 – ca. 2000 BC), the Dawenkou culture (ca. 4300 – ca. 2400 BC), the Qijia culture (ca. 2200 – ca. 1800 BC), and the Longshan culture (ca. 2600 – ca. 2000 BC). Over time, they influenced each other more and more, and pottery, art, and artifacts recovered by archaeologists show greater homogenization as time went on. By 2000 BC a more unified Chinese culture was developing, and there is also evidence of urbanism and the use of early writing among the Chinese. Archaeologists have discovered advanced Bronze Age culture in China, which they call the Erlitou culture. Its capital, Erlitou, was a huge city around 2000 BC, with two possible palaces, a drainage system, and what seems to have been a very high population. This may be the people referred to in Chinese mythology as the Xia. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
AI Overview: Archaeological excavations in China have revealed several significant structures dating back approximately 5,000 years, primarily belonging to the Neolithic
Yangshao and Dawenkou cultures. Key discoveries include a large rammed-earth platform at the Shuanghuaishu site in Henan, a sacrificial temple and altar complex in Liaoning, and a high-status burial at the Wangzhuang ruins.
Key 5,000-year-old sites and discoveries include:
- Shuanghuaishu Site (Henan): Often referred to as a “palace” or, in some contexts, part of a larger ceremonial center, this 1.17 million-square-meter site from the middle-to-late Yangshao culture features a 4,300-square-meter rammed-earth foundation, suggesting a capital-like city.
- Niuheliang Site (Liaoning): Discovered in the 1980s, this site contains a “Temple of the Goddess,” a sacrificial altar, and stone tombs, highlighting early religious practices in northeast China.
- Wangzhuang Ruins (Henan): Recent excavations (2024–2025) uncovered a large, high-status tomb, likely belonging to a king, containing hundreds of jade and pottery artifacts, suggesting a complex, hierarchical society.
- Liangzhu City (Zhejiang): This UNESCO World Heritage site showcases a sophisticated 5,000-year-old civilization, featuring advanced water management, jade production, and large-scale, elevated, high-grade cemeteries.
These findings indicate that organized, complex societies with religious, social, and political stratification existed in China as early as 3000 BCE.
AI Overview: Traditional Chinese cosmology held that the Earth was flat and square, while the heavens were round, often described by the phrase
tian yuan di fang (“round heaven, square earth”). This “square Earth” model persisted for centuries until Jesuit missionaries introduced the concept of a spherical Earth to China in the 17th century.
Key Aspects of Traditional Chinese Cosmology
- Square Earth, Round Heaven (天圆地方): This concept was not just literal but also symbolic, representing the Earth (square, cardinal directions) below a rotating, canopy-like sky (round).
- Symbolic Shapes: Neolithic jade artifacts, such as the Bi (disc, symbolizing heaven) and Cong (tube with square sides, symbolizing earth), reflect this belief.
- Textual Evidence: The Huainanzi (Han Dynasty) describes the Earth as flat and square, with the human body’s structure sometimes analogized to this cosmos.
- Cartography: Ancient maps often depicted China as a central, flat, expanding square or disc, rather than a globe.
Niuheliang site Stone Mounds
“14 stone mounds dot hilltops at the Niuheliang site, each containing multiple graves representing a clear hierarchy. UNESCO reports, “First, a large grave is located at the center, dominating the other graves. This central grave, spaciously constructed, is deeply anchored into its rock foundation. A stone coffin, whose inner wall is neatly constructed, contains a variety of jade articles without other burial objects such as potteries and stone objects.” Jade objects were prized, and are indicative of status. The second and third level graves have fewer jade grave goods, but are spacious and as well constructed as the center burials. These large clusters of prehistoric graves demonstrate a clear system of social rankings among people. The central graves of the mounds match the scale and splendor of the later period emperor mausoleums. The Niuheliang site is sometimes compared to Britain’s Stonehenge, as Niuheliang may have been used by the Neolithic priestesses to predict the solstices and equinoxes, as well as other astronomical phenomena. Standing stones at Niuheliang altars form concentric circles, with stone piles located at the centers, suggesting to experts that complex rituals worshipping heaven and earth may have been preformed there.” ref
Shimao pyramid: ‘Pyramid of eyes’ at heart of 4300-year-old city
A 4,300-year-old city, which has a massive step pyramid that is at least 230 feet (70 meters) high and spans 59 acres (24 hectares) at its base, has been excavated in China. The pyramid was decorated with eye symbols and “anthropomorphic,” or part-human, part-animal faces. Those figures “may have endowed the stepped pyramid with special religious power and further strengthened the general visual impression on its large audience,” the archaeologists wrote in the article. The pyramid contains 11 steps, each of which was lined with stone. On the topmost step, there “were extensive palaces built of rammed earth, with wooden pillars and roofing tiles, a gigantic water reservoir. The city’s rulers lived in these palaces, and art and craft production were carried out nearby. The stepped pyramid complex seems to possibly have functioned not only as a residential space for ruling Shimao elites, but also as a space for artisanal or industrial craft production. Shimao is a Neolithic site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi, China. The site in located in the northern part of the Loess Plateau, on the southern edge of the Ordos Desert. Unusual features include jade embedded in the city walls, possibly to provide spiritual protection, and paintings of geometrical patterns on the inner walls. Many human skulls were found under the city gate, suggesting ritual sacrifices during construction. For five centuries, a city flourished around the pyramid. At one time, the city encompassed an area of 988 acres (400 hectares), making it one of the largest in the world, the archaeologists wrote. Today, the ruins of the city are called “Shimao,” but its name in ancient times is unknown. A series of stone walls with ramparts and gates were built around the pyramid and the city. “At the entrance to the stepped pyramid were sophisticated bulwarks [defensive walls] whose design suggests that they were intended to provide both defense and highly restricted access. The remains of numerous human sacrifices have been discovered at Shimao. “In the outer gateway of the eastern gate on the outer rampart alone, six pits containing decapitated human heads. Some of the victims may be from another archaeological site called Zhukaigou, which is located to the north of Shimao, and the people of Shimao may have conquered the neighboring site. “Morphological analysis of the human remains suggests that the victims may have been related to the residents of Zhukaigou, which could further suggest that they were taken to Shimao as captives during the expansion of the Shimao polity,” the study said. While archaeologists have known about Shimao for many years, it was once thought to be part of the Great Wall of China, a section of which is located nearby. It wasn’t until excavations were carried out in recent years that archaeologists realized that Shimao is far older than the Great Wall, which was built between 2,700 and 400 years ago. ref, ref
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AI Overview: The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, located 200 km north of Lima, Peru, features massive 5,000-year-old pyramids built by one of the oldest civilizations in the Americas, dating to around 2600 BCE. The Caral culture, also known as the Norte Chico civilization, is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between 3000 and 1800 BCE. Located in the Supe Valley of north-central Peru, it developed concurrently with the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. It holds extensive monumental architecture, including plazas and temples, that flourished simultaneously with the Egyptian pyramids. These, along with other sites in the Supe Valley, represent the foundational urban design for later Andean civilizations. The site is dominated by six massive earthen pyramids (platform mounds), the largest being the Pirámide Mayor, and features sunken circular courts used for ceremonies. Their economy was based on a symbiotic relationship between inland farmers and coastal fishermen. Farmers grew cotton (used for fishing nets) and food crops like squash and beans, trading them for fish and shellfish. Remarkably, archaeologists have found no evidence of weapons, defensive walls, or mass casualties, suggesting a culture built on trade and religious cohesion rather than warfare. The discovery of a quipu (a system of knotted cords) suggests an early record-keeping system. Excavations revealed 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones, alongside 37 cornetts, highlighting a rich musical tradition. Unlike later Andean cultures, the Caral people did not use pottery. They used gourds and woven bags for storage and transport. Excavations revealed 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones, alongside 37 cornetts, highlighting a rich musical tradition.
Key facts about the 5,000-year-old pyramids in Peru include
- Caral-Supe Civilization: Considered the oldest civilization in the Americas (and the second oldest in the world), Caral predates the Incas by over 4,000 years.
- Structure and Design: The site features six large pyramids, or “temples,” with rectangular platforms and circular plazas.
- Construction Method: Builders used “shicras,” which were woven reed bags filled with large rocks to construct the pyramid retaining walls.
- El Paraiso: Another 5,000-year-old site near Lima, El Paraiso was once the largest monument in the region, although part of it was destroyed in 2013.
- Recent Discoveries: Archaeologists continue to discover similar, ancient structures in the region, such as a 3500 BCE site in the La Otra Banda area.
“The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, or simply Caral, is an archaeological site in Peru where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe District of Peru, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometres (113 mi) north of Lima, 23 kilometres (14 mi) from the coast and 350 meters above sea level. It is attributed an antiquity of 5,000 years and it is considered the oldest city in the Americas and one of the oldest in the world. No other site has been found with such a diversity of monumental buildings or different ceremonial and administrative functions in the Americas as early as Caral.” ref
“The Caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 BCE (Late Archaic and Lower Formative periods). In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, developing 1,500 years earlier than the Olmec civilization, the first Mesoamerican complex society. Closely related to the city of Caral was an early fishing city, Áspero or El Áspero, located on the coast near the mouth of the Supe River. There, remains of human sacrifices (two children and a newborn) have been found. In 2016, the remains were found of a woman, who presumably was one of the local elite around 2500 BCE.” ref
“Caral was inhabited from at least 2600 to 2000 BCE, and the site includes an area of more than 60 hectares (150 acres). Caral has been described by its excavators as the oldest urban center in the Americas. This claim has been challenged by the discovery of other ancient sites nearby, such as Bandurria, Peru. Accommodating more than 3,000 inhabitants, Caral is the best studied and one of the largest sites known of the Norte Chico civilization. In one of the Caral temples, researchers found 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones and 37 cornetts of deer and llama bones. One find revealed the remains of a baby, wrapped and buried with a necklace made of stone beads.” ref
“Some excavations have uncovered human remains associated with ceremonial or construction contexts, indicating that certain rites involved the deliberate killing of individuals. One such skeleton represents the earliest known evidence of human sacrifice in the Andean region, dating to around 3000 BCE. The skeleton’s positioning and trauma, such as skull fractures and finger mutilations, imply that the individual may have been a construction worker or captive offered as a sacrificial victim. Caral had a population of around 3,000 people. However, 19 other sites in the area (posted at Caral), allow for a possible total population of 20,000 people sharing the same culture in the Supe Valley. All of these sites share similarities with Caral, including small platforms or stone circles.” ref
City layout
The city of Caral was split into two sections, an “Upper Half” and a “Lower Half”. These halves were divided naturally by the Supe River Valley. In the Upper Half there are six monumental complexes, each of which includes a pyramid, open plaza, and assemblage of residential buildings. In the Lower Half there are residential buildings, small pyramids, and one monumental complex called the “Temple of the Amphitheater.” ref
“The Upper Half complexes were all constructed around a pyramid. These are the “Great Temple/Great Pyramid”, “Central Pyramid”, “Quarry Pyramid”, “Lesser Pyramid”, “Pyramid of the Gallery”, and “Pyramid of the Huanca”. The associated residential structures around each of these pyramids contain evidence of elite living, including food remnants that would have been exclusive to elite lifestyles, such as sea lion bones. In the Upper Half of Caral, many of the residents were wealthy elites, whose lives likely were associated with religious and social activities that would have taken place in the temples.” ref
“By comparison, the residential buildings in the Lower Half have less evidence of elite populations. Instead of the large structures, exclusively elite residential complexes of the Upper Half, these residences are smaller and single rooms are used for more than one purpose. The diets of the people living in the Lower Half of Caral consisted mostly of agricultural plants and some fish. These diets were less rich than those of the elites living in the Upper Half.” ref
“The current explanation for the divided city is that the city was intentionally planned in this way, with the monumental architecture and complexes of the Upper Half designed both to house elites and to physically indicate their political power. Conversely, the Lower Half was designed to house laborers, with the river serving as the division between these groups. This sort of intentional city planning is evidence of structuralized inequality at Caral, which perpetuated existing social stratification.” ref
California-Peruvian connection
“The Cell study also revealed a surprising connection between ancient people living in California’s Channel Islands and the southern Peruvian Andes at least 4,200 years ago. It appears that these two geographically distant groups have a shared ancestry, the researchers found. It’s unlikely that people living in the Channel Islands actually traveled south to Peru, the researchers said. Rather, it’s possible that these groups’ ancestors sallied forth thousands of years earlier, with some ending up in the Channel Islands and others in South America. But those genes didn’t become common in Peru until much later, around 4,200 years ago, when the population may have exploded, the researchers said. It could be that this ancestry arrived in South America thousands of years before and we simply don’t have earlier individuals showing it,” study co-lead researcher Nathan Nakatsuka, a research assistant in the Reich lab at Harvard Medical School, said in the statement. “There is archaeological evidence that the population in the Central Andes area greatly expanded after around 5,000 years ago. Spreads of particular subgroups during these events may be why we detect this ancestry afterward.” ref
AI Overview: Saqqara Mastaba 3038, dating to the 1st Dynasty reign of Anedjib, is a significant, medium-sized mudbrick tomb discovered by Walter B. Emery in 1936–1937. It is notable for having a unique, three-sided, eight-stepped core, which led to it being considered an early,,, evolution from mastaba to pyramid,” precursor to the later Step Pyramids.
Key Features and Details:
- Structure: The tomb featured a 13-foot (4-meter) deep, rectangular pit,” topped by mudbrick walls rising to a height of 19-20 feet (6 meters).
- Stepped Design: Unlike typical flat-roofed mastabas, this structure was built with three sides forming eight shallow, 49-degree angled steps.
- Construction Phases: The tomb shows signs of multiple construction stages, with a, stepped core,” built over the burial chamber, suggesting evolving, complex funerary practices.
- Significance: It serves as a, crucial link in the development,” of funerary architecture, demonstrating an early attempt at a, stepped, elevated structure,” that pre-dates Djoser’s, step pyramid by over a century,”.
- Contents: Excavations revealed items such as copper tools, weapons, and vessels,”.
Step Pyramid of Djoser 27th century BCE
During the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser.
Djoser’s Pyramid draws ideas from several precedents. The most relevant precedent is found at Saqqara mastaba S3038 (c. 2900 BCE). The substructure lay in a 4 m (13 ft) deep rectangular pit, and had mudbrick walls rising to 6 m (20 ft). Three sides were extended and built out to create eight shallow steps rising at an angle of 49°. This would have been an elongated step pyramid if the remaining side had not been left uncovered. In another parallel to Djoser’s complex, to complete this mastaba complex a niched enclosure wall was erected.
“1st Egyptian Dynasty tomb” and Early “Proto-Pyramid” Form
1st Egyptian Dynasty tombs: (3100–2890 BCE)
AI Overview: Mastaba S3038 is attributed to the reign of King Anedjib and features a unique stepped mudbrick core and a rectangular pit. It is considered a vital precursor to the later step pyramids, marking a key evolution in Egyptian funerary architecture.
Location: Saqqara necropolis, Egypt.
Structure: The tomb featured a 13-foot (4 m) deep pit with mudbrick walls rising to 19 feet (6 m). It had eight shallow steps built on three sides with a 49-degree angle, designed as part of an intentional, cohesive structure rather than a later-added, stepped shape.
Significance: It serves as a crucial, early example of the architectural transition from flat-roofed mastabas to the stepped pyramids of the 3rd Dynasty.
Discoveries: Excavations revealed a variety of copper tools, vessels, weapons, ivory, and stone palettes.
Inscriptions: Inscribed objects were found, including an ebony label belonging to King Djer and several seal impressions mentioning Hemaka and King Den.
Although sometimes cited as a direct, gradual evolutionary step towards the Pyramid of Djoser, more recent analysis suggests that while it is an important, early “proto-pyramid” form, it might not directly represent the specific, gradual development stage to the later step pyramids.
AI Overview: 1st Egyptian Dynasty tombs
1st Egyptian Dynasty tombs (c. 3100–2890 BCE) are primarily located in the Umm el-Qa’ab necropolis at Abydos, featuring mud-brick, subterranean chambers. Key tombs include those of Narmer (B17/B18), Hor-Aha (B10/B15/B19), and King Den (Tomb T), which often included subsidiary burials for servants.
Key 1st Dynasty Tomb Sites & Features
- Location: The main royal burial ground is Umm el-Qa’ab, Abydos.
- Structure: Early tombs were simple, open pits lined with mud-brick, later evolving into more complex, multi-chambered structures, with some, like King Den’s, showing advanced construction.
- Key Individuals:
- Narmer (Tomb B17/B18): Often considered the first ruler to unify Egypt.
- Hor-Aha (Tomb B10/15/19): Followed Narmer; his tomb was significantly larger.
- Queen Merneith: Her tomb is unique as the only one for a woman in this period, surrounded by 41 subsidiary graves.
- King Den (Tomb T): Noted for having the most elaborate 1st Dynasty structure.
- Associated Structures: Each tomb had a separate mud-brick “funerary enclosure” near the Nile’s floodplain.
- Rituals: Evidence suggests the practice of human sacrifice, with servants buried near the king to accompany them in the afterlife.
AI Overview: In 1st Dynasty Egypt (c. 3100–2890 BCE), the “mound of creation” (or benben) was more than just a myth; it was a foundational architectural principle that transformed simple pit graves into sacred monuments of resurrection.
The Mound of Creation: The Benben
According to Heliopolitan creation theology, the world began as a dark, watery chaos called Nu. The first land to emerge from these waters was the primeval mound, or Benben.
- Symbolism: It represented the spark of life and the place where the sun god, Atum or Ra, first appeared.
- Purpose: For the deceased, being buried within a structure that mimicked this mound meant they were placed at the very point of “first creation,” magically ensuring their rebirth into the afterlife.
Architecture of 1st Dynasty Tombs
During the 1st Dynasty, royal and elite tombs evolved from simple pits into complex structures that explicitly referenced this sacred mound.
- The Hidden Mound: Excavations at Saqqara and Abydos have revealed that 1st Dynasty mastabas (bench-shaped tombs) often contained a hidden earthen mound directly over the burial chamber.
- Transition to Stone: While initially made of mud brick and wood, these mounds were sometimes encased in stepped brickwork, as seen in
Mastaba S3038
at Saqqara. This “stepped” internal mound is considered the direct architectural ancestor of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty.
- Royal Necropolis: Most 1st Dynasty kings were buried at
(Umm el-Qa’ab), a site that later became sacred to Osiris, the god of the dead.
Key Differences Between Dynastic Tombs
|
Feature |
1st Dynasty Mastabas |
Later Old Kingdom Pyramids |
|
Primary Material |
Mud brick, wood, and cedar |
Massive limestone and granite |
|
Mound Visibility |
Often hidden inside the mastaba superstructure |
The entire structure is a visible mound/pyramid |
|
Location |
Mostly Abydos and Saqqara |
Giza, Saqqara, and Dahshur |
AI Overview: Tomb B17/18 at Umm el-Qa’ab in Abydos is widely accepted as the burial site of King Narmer, the founder of the First Dynasty. It consists of two interconnected, mud-brick lined chambers forming a, for its time, relatively modest royal grave, often associated with the early, symbolic “mound of creation” concept in Egyptian mythology.
Tomb B17/B18 Details
- Location: Umm el-Qa’ab, the royal necropolis at Abydos.
- Structure: Comprises two distinct chambers, B17 and B18, built into a large pit.
- Dimensions: Each chamber is roughly 3 x 10 meters, though B17 is better preserved.
- Features: The walls were lined with mud brick, and some were originally coated with white-painted mortar. Holes for roof-supporting posts were found in the B17 chamber.
- Artifacts: Excavations revealed seal impressions, flint arrowheads and knives, a fragment of an ebony chair leg, and ivory fragments, including one depicting a bearded man in a stooping posture.
Significance
- The “Mound of Creation”: The tomb represents the earthly, physical form of the primordial mound (Benben) from which creation emerged in Egyptian theology, a concept later evolving into pyramid complexes.
- King Narmer: He is considered the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt (c. 3100 BC), bridging the Predynastic period and the Early Dynastic period.
- Excavation: Flinders Petrie initially studied the area, identifying the complex as belonging to the earliest kings, with B17/18 specifically linked to Narmer.
The tomb represents one of the earliest examples of royal elite burial, which served as a prototype for later, more monumental,, structures.
AI Overview: Hor-Aha (c. 3100 BCE), the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty, was buried in a complex of three large, mud-brick-lined chambers (designated
Tomb B10, B15, and B19) in the Umm el-Qa’ab necropolis at Abydos. While not a pyramid, this type of Early Dynastic mastaba tomb represented the “mound of creation”—the Benben or primordial hill that emerged from the waters of chaos (Nun) in Egyptian mythology.
Key Aspects of Hor-Aha’s Tomb (B10/15/19):
- Structure: The tomb consisted of three separate, interconnected, or closely placed large chambers, which were often surrounded by smaller, subsidiary graves for retainers.
- Symbolism: The subterranean burial chamber, covered by a sandy, rectangular mud-brick superstructure, served as a symbolic representation of the primeval mound of earth from which life began.
- Location: Situated in the sacred royal cemetery of Abydos (Umm el-Qa’ab), which was viewed as the burial place of the creator god Osiris in later periods, linking the king directly to creation and rebirth.
- Funerary Cult: Excavations by L. Bestock and others have revealed that Hor-Aha built separate, large funerary enclosures in the North Abydos area, which were essential for the continuation of his royal cult and associated with the ritual acts of the afterlife.
These tombs are considered the direct predecessors to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, where the “mound” was first solidified into stone.
AI Overview: King Den’s Tomb T at Umm el-Qaab (Abydos) is a 1st Dynasty (c. 3000–2900 BCE) royal tomb featuring a pioneering subterranean, staircase-accessed design
. It likely featured a superstructure—a mound of sand/gravel—representing the primeval mound of creation, signifying the king’s resurrection and fertility. The tomb was the first to use red/black granite flooring and included 136 subsidiary burials.
- Tomb Architecture: As the 4th ruler of the 1st Dynasty, Den’s tomb (Tomb T) introduced a long, descending stairway, allowing the burial chamber to be completed before the funeral.
- Significance of the Mound: The burial mound or superstructure covering the tomb symbolized the benben, the primeval hill that emerged from the chaotic waters of creation in Egyptian mythology. This served to ensure the king’s rebirth.
- Innovations: It is the first known tomb to use stone (granite from Aswan) for its flooring instead of only mud-brick.
- Subsidiary Burials: The tomb was surrounded by 136 subsidiary graves, reflecting the practice of retainer sacrifice to serve the king in the afterlife.
- Artifacts: The tomb contained ivory labels, including one of the oldest depictions of a king (Den) wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Den (pharaoh)
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42 years, starting c. 2970 BCE |
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Tomb T, Umm El Qa’ab |
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“Den, also known as Hor-Den, Dewen, and Udimu, was the Horus name of a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period who ruled during the First Dynasty of Egypt. He is the best archaeologically-attested ruler of this period, credited with bringing prosperity to his realm.” ref
“Den was attributed the title “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” and wore the double crown (red and white). Notably, the floor of his tomb at Umm El Qa’ab, near Abydos, was constructed using red and black granite, making it the earliest known use of this hard stone as a building material in Egypt with a flight of stairs leading to it. During his long reign, he established many of the customs of court ritual and royalty drawn on by later rulers and was held in high regard by his immediate successors.” ref
“The Ancient Egyptian historian Manetho called him “Oúsaphaîdos” and credited him with a reign of 20 years, whilst the Royal Canon of Turin is damaged and therefore unable to provide information about the duration of Den’s reign. Egyptologists and historians generally believe that Den had a reign of 42 years, based on inscriptions on the Palermo Stone. Recent radiocarbon data from the tombs at Abu Rawash, datable to the reign of Den, provide likely estimate for the Den’s accession to 3011–2921 BCE (1σ).” ref
“Den’s serekh name is well attested on earthen seal impressions, on ivory labels and in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, diorite and marble. The artifacts were found at Abydos, Saqqara and Abu Rawash. Den’s name is also attested in later documents. For example, the Medical Papyrus of Berlin (the Ramesside era) discusses several methods of treatment and therapies for a number of different diseases. Some of these methods are said to originate from the reign of Den, but this statement may merely be trying to make the medical advice sound traditional and authoritative. Similarly, Den is mentioned in the Papyrus of Ani (also dated to Ramesside times) in chapter 64.” ref
“Den’s serekh name was “Den” or “Dewen”, most likely meaning “he who brings the water”. This is consistent with his birth name, which was “Khasty”, meaning “he of the two deserts”. Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson and Francesco Tiradritti think that the birth name refers to the eastern and the western desert – both surrounding Egypt like protective shields – or to Lower and Upper Egypt. This is in accord with the introduction of the Nisut-Bity-title by Den. This royal title was designed to legitimise the ruler’s power over the whole of Egypt.” ref
“Den’s family has been the subject of significant research. His mother was queen Merneith; this conclusion is supported by contemporary seal impressions and by the inscription on the Palermo Stone. Den’s wives were the queens Semat, Seshemet-ka, Serethor, and, possibly, Qaineit. He also had numerous sons and daughters; his possible successors could have been king Anedjib and king Semerkhet.” ref
“Den’s Royal Household is also well researched. Subsidiary tombs and palatial mastabas at Sakkara belonged to high officials such as Ipka, Ankh-ka, Hemaka, Nebitka, Amka, Iny-ka and Ka-Za. In a subsidiary tomb at Den’s necropolis, the rare stela of a dwarf named Ser-Inpu was found. The birth name of Den was misread in Ramesside times. The Abydos King List has “Sepati” written with two symbols for “district”. This derives from the two desert symbols Den originally had used. The Turin King List refers to “Qenenti”, which is quite difficult to translate. The origin of the hieroglyphs used the Royal Canon of Turin remains unknown. The Saqqara Tablet mysteriously omits Den completely.” ref
Beginning
“According to archaeological records, at the very beginning of his reign, Den had to share the throne with his mother Meritneith for several years. It seems that he was too young to rule himself. Therefore, Meritneith reigned as a regent or de facto pharaoh for some time. Such a course of action was not unusual in ancient Egyptian history. Queen Neithhotep may have taken on a similar role before Meritneith, while queens such as Sobekneferu and Hatshepsut were later female Egyptian rulers. Den’s mother was rewarded with her own tomb of royal dimensions and with her own mortuary cult.” ref
Events
“An important innovation during Den’s reign was the introduction of numbering using hieroglyphs. Prior to this, important year events were merely depicted in signs and miniatures, sometimes guided by the hieroglyphic sign rnpt “bald palm panicle“, meaning “year”. From Den’s reign onwards, the Egyptians used numbering hieroglyphs for a range of purposes including calculating tax collections and for annotating their year events. Den is the first Egyptian king attested with rock reliefs in the Sinai Peninsula. Two or perhaps even three reliefs are showing the standing king and some of his officials.” ref
“Most religious and political happenings from Den’s reign are recorded in the numerous ivory tags and the Palermo Stone inscription. The tags show important developments in typography and arts. The surface is artistically parted into sections, each of them showing individual events. For example, one of these tags reports on an epidemic then affecting Egypt. The inscription shows the figure of a shaman with an undefined vessel or urn at his feet. A nearby inscription begins with “Henu…” but it is unclear, if that means “provision” or if it is the first syllable of the name “Henu-Ka” (a high official).” ref
“Another tag, known as the “MacGregor Label”, shows the first complete depiction of an Egyptian king with the so-called nemes headdress. The picture shows Den in a gesture known as “smiting the enemy”. In one hand Den holds a mace, in the other hand he grabs a foe by his hair. Thanks to the braids and the conic beard the foe has been identified as of Asian origin. The hieroglyphs at the right side say “first smiting of the east”. At the left side the name of the high official Iny-Ka is inscribed.” ref
“It seems that Den sent troops to the Sinai Peninsula and the eastern desert a number of times. Plundering nomads, known by the early Egyptians as jwntj.w “people with hunting bows”, were regular foes of Egypt, often causing trouble. They are again mentioned in a rock inscription in the Sinai Peninsula under Semerkhet, one of Den’s successors. More events are reported on the Palermo Stone fragments. The second celebration of the Hebsed (a throne jubilee) is affirmed by several stone vessel inscriptions from Den’s necropolis.” ref
“The Palermo Stone main fragment reports:
- 28th year: Visit to the temple of Ptah… (rest is missing).
- 29th year: Smiting of the Iuntju people.
- 30th year: Appearance of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; 2nd celebration of the Hebsed.
- 31st year: Planning for the construction of the eastern and western canals through the districts of the Rehyts.
- 32nd year: 2nd celebration of the Djet-festival.
- 33rd year: Stretching the cords (a foundation ceremony[19]) for the divine fortress Isut-Netjeru (“thrones of the gods”).
- 34th year: Stretching the cords for the royal palace of the divine fortress Isut-Netjeru by the high priest of Seshat.
- 35th year: Inauguration of the sacred lakes at the divine fortress Isut-Netjeru; royal hippopotamus hunt.
- 36th year: Residing at Nenj-nesw (Heracleopolis Magna) and at the lake of the god Heryshaf.
- 37th year: Sailing trip to Sah-Setni; foundation/destruction of the city Wer-Ka.
- 38th year: Creation of a statue for the god Sed.
- 39th year: Appearance of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; 1st race of the Apis-Bull.
- 40th year: Creation of a statue for the goddesses Seshat and Mafdet.
- 41st year: Appearance of the king of Lower- and… (rest is missing).” ref
Tomb
“Den was interred within a tomb (“Tomb T”) in the Umm El Qa’ab area of Abydos, which is associated with other First Dynasty kings. Tomb T is among the largest and most finely-built of the tombs in this area, and is the first to feature a staircase and a floor made of granite. His was the first tomb to have a flight of stairs leading to it, those of earlier kings being filled directly above from their roofs. It is possible the tomb was used as a storehouse for surplus produce during the king’s lifetime, while also making it easier to add grave goods for later use in the afterlife by Den.” ref
“Tomb T is also the first tomb to include architectural elements made of stone rather than mud-brick. In the original layout for the tomb, a wooden door was located about halfway up the staircase, and a portcullis placed in front of the burial chamber, designed to keep out tomb robbers. The floor of the tomb was paved in red and black granite from Aswan, the first architectural use of such hard stone on a large scale.” ref
“Twenty labels made of ivory and ebony were found in his tomb, 18 by Flinders Petrie in the spoil heaps left by the less thorough Émile Amélineau. Among these labels are the earliest known depictions of a pharaoh wearing the double-crown of Egypt (see above), as well as running between ritual stele as part of the Sed festival. Also found are seal impressions that provide the earliest confirmed king list.” ref
“Tomb T is surrounded by the burial sites of 136 men and women who were buried at the same time as the king. Thought to be the king’s retainers, an examination of some of the skeletons suggests they were strangled, making this an example of human sacrifice which is considered to be common with the pharaohs of the First Dynasty. This practice seems to have ceased by the end of the dynasty, with ushabtis taking the place of the bodies of actual people to aid the pharaohs with the work expected of them in the afterlife.” ref
“The pharaohs were the rulers of Ancient Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3100 BCE, with several times of fragmentation and foreign rule. The specific title of “pharaoh” (pr-ꜥꜣ) was not used until the New Kingdom, c. 1400 BCE, but it is retroactively applied to all Egyptian kings; the generic term for monarchs was “nesut” (nswt). In addition to these titles, pharaohs had a complex royal titulary that remained relatively constant during its 3000-year history, having up to five royal names.” ref
“Egypt was continually governed, at least in part, by native pharaohs for approximately 2500 years, until it was conquered by the Kingdom of Kush in the late 8th century BCE, whose rulers adopted the pharaonic titulature and became the 25th Dynasty. Following 100 years of Kushite rule, Egypt experienced another century of independent native rule before being conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The last native pharaoh was Nectanebo II of the short-lived 30th Dynasty, which ended when the Persians conquered Egypt for a second time in 342 BCE.” ref
“The Persians were in turn conquered by the Macedonian Greeks of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, after which Egypt was ruled by the Hellenic pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their rule came to an end with the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, and pharaonic Egypt cesased to be an independent monarchy. However, Roman emperors continued to be accorded pharaonic titles by the Egyptians until the reign of Maximinus Daza in 313 CE.” ref
“The dates provided for most of Egypt’s early history are only approximate and may vary depending on the author, sometimes by centuries. The names and order of kings is mostly based on the Digital Egypt for Universities database developed by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. For royal titles and hieroglyphs, see the handbook of Jürgen von Beckerath, as well as the website Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, which itself contains extensive bibliography. Regnal numbers did not exist in Ancient Egypt and is a modern way to distinguish pharaohs who shared the same personal name.” ref
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- Medicine Wheel
- Serpent Mound
- Mesa Verde
- Chaco Canyon
- Casas Grandes/Paquime
- Ciudad Perdida “lost city”; Teyuna
- Ingapirca “Inca”
- Chavín de Huántar “pre-Inca”
- Sacred City of Caral-Supe *Caral culture developed between 3000 – 1800 BCE*
- Machu Picchu
- Nazca Lines
- Sacsayhuamán
- Tiwanaku/Tiahuanaco
- Atacama Giant/Lines
- Pucará de Tilcara “pre-Inca”
AI Overview: Square earthen mounds, or platform mounds, in the Americas were central to indigenous cosmology, often representing the “first earth” or a sacred center for rituals, particularly in Mississippian culture. These flat-topped structures, such as Monks Mound at Cahokia, served as elevated platforms for temples and elite residences, connecting the earthly world to the sky realm.
Key Aspects of Square Mounds and Creation Mythology
Creation Symbolism: In many Southeastern Native American traditions, creation myths often involve an animal diving into primordial water to bring up mud, forming the earth. The construction of massive, artificial mounds is believed to be a physical manifestation of this creation story.
Mississippian Culture (c. 800–1600 CE): The peak of square, platform mound construction occurred in the Mississippi Valley. Monks Mound in Illinois, the largest pre-Columbian earthwork north of Mexico, served as the center for a vast, urban complex.
Hopewell Tradition (c. 100 BCE–500 CE): Earlier, the Hopewell people in Ohio constructed massive, precise geometric earthworks, including squares and circles, often in alignment with solar or lunar events.
Purpose: These mounds were not just burial sites; they were the focal points of “world renewal,” fertility, and creation rituals. They elevated civic and religious leaders, acting as a bridge between the spiritual and physical worlds.
Structural Form: While many mounds were conical, the “platform” or “temple” mounds were specifically built with flat tops and rectangular or square bases to support wooden structures.
Mississippian Mound Culture cosmology
AI Overview: Mississippian cosmology (c. 900–1500 CE) was a tripartite belief system centered on a structured universe consisting of an Upper World (order, sun, spirits), Middle World (humanity), and Beneath World (chaos, water, fertility). It emphasized dualistic opposition, agricultural renewal, ancestor worship, and the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (S.E.C.C.) iconography.
Key Aspects of Mississippian Cosmology
Tripartite Universe: The cosmos was divided into three levels: the Above World (home of the Thunderers and Sun), the Middle World (Earth), and the Beneath World (watery, chaotic, ruled by the Underwater Panther).
Axis Mundi: A central axis, often represented as a cedar tree or striped pole, connected these three worlds.
Key Deities and Figures
Birdman/Morning Star (Red Horn): A major deity associated with the Upper World, falcon/hawk imagery, and the sun.
Great Serpent: A powerful, chaotic adversary of the Birdman, associated with the Beneath World.
Corn Mother: Often associated with the Beneath World and agricultural fertility.
Iconography and Symbolism (S.E.C.C.): Material culture, such as engraved shells, copper plates, and pottery, displayed symbols like the “weeping eye,” falcon dancers, and striped poles.
Ritual and Belief
Sun Worship: Central to the religion, with priests likely controlling food distribution and ritual.
Ancestor Veneration: Rituals and burials, such as those in Mound 72, reflected a focus on ancestors, sometimes including human sacrifice.
Dualism: The belief system was built on opposing forces, such as stability vs. chaos or sky vs. underworld.
Natural Elements: Cedar was revered for purification, and animals moving between environments (frogs, turtles) were seen as messengers.
Cultural Significance
Political Power: Cosmology was likely used to legitimize the power of elites, who may have claimed descent from celestial beings.
Social Structure: The society was matrilineal, with rituals often focusing on the relationship between uncles and nephews.
Regional Variation: Beliefs were adapted locally, but shared motifs indicate a widespread, integrated system.
Canopic Jars and the 4 Cardinal Directions
“Beginning in the 4th dynasty, the Egyptians placed the mummified lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines in special jars, known today as canopic jars. During the Old Kingdom, these jars were plain, with thick, tapering sides and flat lids. This set comes from the tomb of an individual whose identity remains unknown.” ref
“The removed organs were placed in four boxes, or jars, referred to as canopic jars, and normally placed in the grave.” ref
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a “golden age” of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from c. 2613 to c. 2498 BCE. It was a time of peace and prosperity, as well as one during which trade with other countries was officially documented. The Fourth Dynasty heralded the height of the pyramid-building age. The peaceful rule of the Third Dynasty allowed artistic expressions to flourish. Building experiments done by King Sneferu led to the evolution of mastaba tombs into the smooth-sided pyramids like those seen on the Giza Plateau. According to some historians, no other period in Egyptian history equaled the accomplishments achieved during the Fourth Dynasty.” ref
“Canopic jars are funerary vessels that were used by the ancient Egyptians to house embalmed organs that were removed during the mummification process. They also served to store and preserve the viscera of the soul for the afterlife. During mummification, the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines were removed from the corpse to prevent putrefaction of the body. Each organ was salted in natron and placed respectively into one of four canopic jars. Use of the jars dates back to the Old Kingdom and continued until the Late Period and the Ptolemaic Period, after which time the viscera were simply wrapped and placed with the body.” ref
“Over the course of ancient Egyptian history, various changes occurred in the design and style of canopic jars. The practice of evisceration began early in the Old Kingdom, but the use of canopic jars as storage for the organs was not well established until the First Intermediate Period. Some canopic jars from the Old Kingdom were found empty and damaged, even in undisturbed tombs, suggesting that canopic jars may have been used symbolically in the burial ritual rather than physically being used to hold the organs.” ref
“It was not until the First Intermediate Period that stoppers in the shape of human heads became prevalent. The human heads represented the iconized embodiments of the four sons of Horus in their human form and were the predominant styling for the jars throughout ancient Egypt until the New Kingdom in the Nineteenth Dynasty. During the New Kingdom period, the style of canopic jars transitioned to the more well-known depiction of animal heads.” ref
Following the Nineteenth Dynasty, canopic jars were stylistically carved to represent the four sons of Horus. Each of Horus’s sons, along with a companion goddess, was responsible for protecting a particular organ and represented a cardinal direction:
- Hapi: the baboon-headed god representing the North was protected by the goddess Nephthys and was assigned to the lungs;
- Duamutef: the jackal-headed god representing the East was protected by the goddess Neith and was assigned to the stomach;
- Imseti: the human-headed god representing the South was protected by the goddess Isis and was assigned to the liver;
- Qebehsenuef: the falcon-headed god representing the West was protected by the goddess Serket and was assigned to the intestines.” ref
Four sons of Horus and the 4 Directions
“The four sons of Horus were a group of four deities in ancient Egyptian religion who were believed to protect the dead in the afterlife. Beginning in the First Intermediate Period of Egyptian history (c. 2181–2055 BCE), Imsety, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef were especially connected with the four canopic jars that housed the internal organs which were removed from the body of the deceased during the process of mummification. Most commonly, Imsety protected the liver, Hapy the lungs, Duamutef the stomach, and Qebehsenuef the intestines, but this pattern often varied. The canopic jars were given lids that represented the heads of the sons of Horus. Although they were originally portrayed as humans, in the latter part of the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE), they took on their most distinctive iconography, in which Imsety is portrayed as a human, Hapy as a baboon, Duamutef as a jackal, and Qebehsenuef as a falcon. The four sons were also linked with stars in the sky, with regions of Egypt, and with the cardinal directions.” ref
“The worship of the sons of Horus was almost entirely restricted to funerary practice. The sons were first mentioned late in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE) in the Pyramid Texts and continued to be invoked in funerary texts throughout ancient Egyptian history. Their connection with the canopic jars was established in the First Intermediate Period, and afterward they became ubiquitous in the decoration of canopic chests, coffins, and sarcophagi. Although they were increasingly closely associated with the internal organs, they continued to appear in burial equipment even after the use of canopic jars was abandoned in the Ptolemaic Period (303–30 BCE), disappearing only in the fourth century CE with the extinction of the ancient Egyptian funerary tradition. In the tenth section of the New Kingdom Book of Gates, a funerary text that depicts the underworld in detail, the four sons are portrayed holding chains that bind the malign beings called wmmtj, meaning “snakes.” ref
“In the Pyramid Texts, the sons of Horus are said to assist the deceased king in the afterlife. In Spell 688, for example, they “make firm a ladder” for the king to ascend into the sky, while in Spell 338 they protect him from hunger and thirst. Egyptologists often treat the protection of the deceased as their primary role, though Maarten Raven argues that the four sons originated as celestial deities, given that the Pyramid Texts frequently connect them with the sky and that Horus himself was a sky deity. Texts from later periods continue to invoke the sons of Horus for protection in the afterlife as the Pyramid Texts do. In many texts, they were said to protect Osiris, the funerary deity whose mythological death and resurrection served as the template for ancient Egyptian funerary practices. Some texts even refer to them as the sons of Osiris rather than Horus. The latter placement, with the sons of Horus on four sides rather than four corners, links the four deities with the cardinal directions rather than the corners of the cosmos. The coexistence of the two systems of orientation suggests that the Egyptians did not sharply distinguish the four corners from the four directions.” ref
“The four sons developed a specialized connection with the internal organs of the deceased. During the mummification process, four internal organs—the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines—were removed from the body and dried before being placed in the burial, usually separately from the body. In the late Old Kingdom, these organs began to be placed in a set of jars known as canopic jars, and during the First Intermediate Period (c. 2181–2055 BCE), the jars began to be inscribed with texts invoking the sons of Horus. The sons of Horus themselves were thought to be under the protection of four goddesses, usually Isis for Imsety, Nephthys for Hapy, Neith for Duamutef, and Serqet for Qebehsenuef. In the Middle Kingdom, this scheme could vary and sometimes included different goddesses, so that Sendjet guarded Duamutef and Renenutet guarded Qebehsenuef.” ref
“The sons of Horus were also connected with the sky or parts of the cosmos as the Egyptians envisioned it. In the New Kingdom, they were sometimes thought of as stars in the northern sky or as birds flying to the four corners of the world. Bernard Mathieu suggests that they were equated with the four stars at the corners of the constellation Orion (Saiph, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, and Rigel) and with four of the stars in Ursa Major (Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe). Several Egyptologists have suggested that the four sons were equated with the four pillars that supported the vault of the sky in Egyptian cosmology. The four sons did not receive the regular cultic worship that major Egyptian deities did, and they appeared exclusively in funerary contexts.” ref
“They were also connected with regions of Egypt: they were sometimes equated with the Souls of Nekhen and Pe, a set of deities that represented the Predynastic rulers of Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. Hapy and Duamutef were linked with the Lower Egyptian city of Buto, and Imsety and Qebehsenuef with the Upper Egyptian city of Nekhen. Egyptian beliefs drew analogies between the human body and the cosmos, and these analogies were particularly visible in burial customs. In Middle Kingdom burials, bodies were laid out with the head to the north and the feet to the south. The texts that decorated coffins in this period placed some deities in consistent locations, thus linking them with particular directions. Middle Kingdom burial orientations suggest that the sons of Horus were linked with the four corners of the Egyptian cosmos. Their orientation may be related to the positions of each organ.” ref
“The cosmology of the ancient Near East refers to beliefs about where the universe came from, how it developed, and its physical layout, in the ancient Near East, an area that corresponds with the Middle East today (including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, the Levant, Anatolia, and the Arabian Peninsula). The basic understanding of the world in this region from premodern times included a flat earth, a solid layer or barrier above the sky (the firmament), a cosmic ocean located above the firmament, a region above the cosmic ocean where the gods lived, and a netherworld located at the furthest region in the direction down. Creation myths explained where the universe came from, including which gods created it (and how), as well as how humanity was created. These beliefs are attested as early as the fourth millennium BC and dominated until the modern era, with the only major competing system being the Hellenistic cosmology that developed in Ancient Greece in the mid-1st millennium BCE.” ref
“Four different Egyptian models of the firmament and/or the heavenly realm are known. One model was that it was the shape of a bird: the firmament above represented the underside of a flying falcon, with the sun and moon representing its eyes, and its flapping causing the wind that humans experience. The second was a cow, as per the Book of the Heavenly Cow. The cosmos is a giant celestial cow represented by the goddess Nut or Hathor. The cow consumed the sun in the evening and rebirthed it in the next morning. The third is a celestial woman, also represented by Nut. The heavenly bodies would travel across her body from east to west. The midriff of Nut was supported by Shu (the air god) and Geb (the earth god) lay outstretched between the arms and feet of Nut. Nut consumes the celestial bodies from the west and gives birth to them again in the following morning. The stars are inscribed across the belly of Nut and one needs to identify with one of them, or a constellation, in order to join them after death. The fourth model was a flat (or slightly convex) celestial plane which, depending on the text, was thought to be supported in various ways: by pillars, staves, scepters, or mountains at the extreme ends of the Earth. The four supports give rise to the motif of the “four corners of the world.” ref
Four Corners of the World
“Several cosmological and mythological systems portray four corners of the world or four quarters of the world corresponding approximately to the four points of the compass (or the two solstices and two equinoxes). At the center may lie a sacred mountain, garden, world tree, or other beginning-point of creation. Often four rivers run to the four corners of the world, and water or irrigate the four quadrants of Earth.” ref
- Structure: The universe consisted of a heaven (An) and earth (Ki), separated by a, or, enclosed by a, firmament. Below the earth was the netherworld.
- The Four Corners (kib-ra-a-ti er-bé-et-tì): This concept often defined the known world, with rulers styling themselves “King of the Four Corners”. These regions were: North: Subartu (hill-dwellers). West: Martu (tent-dwellers/Amorites). East: Elamites. South: The Lower Sea (Persian Gulf) and Dilmun.
- Cosmic Geography: The Earth was considered a flat disc surrounded by a cosmic ocean.
- Orientation: Instead of strict cardinal directions, the Sumerians often used the four winds (NW, NE, SE, SW) to orient their world.
- Symbolism: Ziggurats, such as the one at Ur, were built with four corners aligned to cardinal directions, acting as a link between heaven and earth.
“In Mesopotamian cosmology, four rivers flowing out of the garden of creation, which is the center of the world, define the four corners of the world. From the point of view of the Akkadians, the northern geographical horizon was marked by Subartu, the west by Mar.tu, the east by Elam, and the south by Sumer; later rulers of all of Mesopotamia, such as Cyrus, claimed among their titles LUGAL kib-ra-a-ti er-bé-et-tì, “King of the Four Corners“. In Christianity and Judaism, the Old Testament (Book of Genesis, Genesis 2:8–14) identifies the Garden of Eden, and the four rivers as the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, and Gihon. The Tigris runs to Assyria, the Euphrates to Armenia, the Pishon to Havilah or Elam, and the Gihon to Ethiopia. The four corners of the earth are also spoken of in the book of Revelation 7:1, and mention of the “four quarters of the earth” appears in Revelation 20:8.” ref
“In Hinduism, the sacred mountain Kailash has four sides, from which four rivers flow to the four quarters of the world (the Ganges, Indus, Oxus (Amu Darya), and Śita (Tarim)), dividing the world into four quadrants. Another account portrays a celestial mountain, Mount Meru, buttressed by four terrestrial mountain ranges which extend in four directions. Between them lie four sacred lakes, through which the celestial river divides into four earthly rivers, which flow to the four corners and irrigate the four quadrants of the Earth. Buddhism and the Bon religion of Tibet have similar accounts. Another similar account from Jain cosmology features a model of the universe with the world of humans located in the middle. Mount Meru is shown on the central continent Jambudvīpa which is surrounded by a series of concentric continents and oceans bordered by a serrated ring marking the mountain range beyond which humans cannot travel. Past this boundary in the four corners of the world are four temples enshrining Jinas, flanked by celebrants and celestial attendants.” ref
AI Overview: Mayan mythology generally features a 13-level sky, but is organized around four cardinal quadrants (heavens) sustained by the Bacab gods. These four directions—East (Red), West (Black), North (White), and South (Yellow)—represent the structural, directional, and color-coded “heavens” or sky corners, often supported by a central Ceiba tree. Bacab gods: Four brothers—Hobnil (East), Cantzi
- East (Red): Associated with the rising sun.
- West (Black): Associated with the setting sun.
- North (White): Associated with the sun at its zenith.
- South (Yellow): Associated with the sun at its nadir.
“The Bacabs “were four brothers whom God placed, when he created the world, at the four points of it, holding up the sky so that it should not fall. […] They escaped when the world was destroyed by the deluge.” Bacab is the generic Yucatec Maya name for the four prehispanic aged deities of the interior of the Earth and its water deposits. The Bacabs have more recent counterparts in the lecherous, drunken old thunder deities of the Gulf Coast regions. In addition, the “Four Gods, Four Bacabs” were often invoked in curing rituals that had the four-cornered world and its beaches for a theatre, which is the basic reason why the most important early-colonial collection of Yucatec curing texts, the Ritual of the Bacabs, has been named after them.” ref
The Four Cardinal Directions
“The four main compass directions: north (N), east (E), south (S), and west (W). In astronomy, the cardinal points of an astronomical body as seen in the sky are four points defined by the directions toward which the celestial poles lie relative to the center of the disk of the object in the sky. Particular colors are associated in some traditions with the cardinal points. Many cultures, especially in Asia, include the center as a fifth cardinal point. In many regions of the world, prevalent winds change direction seasonally, and consequently, many cultures associate specific named winds with cardinal and intercardinal directions. For example, classical Greek culture characterized these winds as Anemoi.” ref
“Ten Hindu deities, known as the “Dikpālas“, have been recognized in classical Indian scriptures, symbolizing the four cardinal and four intercardinal directions with the additional directions of up and down. Each of the ten directions has its own name in Sanskrit. Countries where Arabic is used refer to the cardinal directions as aš-šamāl (N), aš-šarq (E), al-janūb (S), and al-ḡarb (W). Additionally, al-wasaṭ is used for the center. All five are used for geographic subdivision names (wilayahs, states, regions, governorates, provinces, districts, or even towns), and some are the origin of some Southern Iberian place names (such as Algarve, Portugal, and Axarquía, Spain).” ref
“Some indigenous Australians have cardinal directions deeply embedded in their culture. For example, the Warlpiri people have a cultural philosophy deeply connected to the four cardinal directions, and the Guugu Yimithirr people use cardinal directions rather than relative direction even when indicating the position of an object close to their body. The precise direction of the cardinal points appears to be important in Aboriginal stone arrangements. Many Aboriginal languages contain words for the usual four cardinal directions, but some contain words for 5 or even 6 cardinal directions.” ref
AI Overview: For some, the four cardinal directions (North, East, South, West) originated from ancient, universal human observations of the sun’s daily path, the stars, and, in some cultures, wind patterns. East and West were defined by sunrise and sunset, while North and South were determined by the highest point of the sun at noon or by observing the night sky.
- Astronomical Basis: The fundamental origin is the movement of the sun, which allowed early civilizations to establish a horizontal, two-dimensional plane for navigation.
- Etymology (Germanic/Proto-Indo-European)
: The English names for the directions are derived from Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots: - East: From aus-t-, meaning “dawn” or “shine”.
- West: From a root meaning “evening”.
- North: Rooted in ner-, meaning “left” or “below” (assuming one faces the rising sun), or from the Germanic Nordri.
- South: Derived from sunþ-, likely referring to the “region of the Sun”.
“Central Asian, Eastern European, and North East Asian cultures frequently have traditions associating colors with four or five cardinal points. Systems with five cardinal points (four directions and the center) include those from pre-modern China, as well as traditional Turkic, Tibetan, and Ainu cultures. In Chinese tradition, the five cardinal point system is related to I Ching, the Wu Xing and the five naked-eye planets. In traditional Chinese astrology, the zodiacal belt is divided into the four constellation groups corresponding to the directions. Each direction is often identified with a color, and (at least in China) with a mythological creature of that color. Geographical or ethnic terms may contain the name of the color instead of the name of the corresponding direction.” ref
“In Mesoamerica and North America, a number of traditional indigenous cosmologies include four cardinal directions and a center. Some may also include “above” and “below” as directions, and therefore focus on a cosmology of seven directions. For example, among the Hopi of the Southwestern United States, the four named cardinal directions are not North, South, East, and West but are the four directions associated with the places of sunrise and sunset at the winter and summer solstices. Each direction may be associated with a color, which can vary widely between nations, but which is usually one of the basic colors found in nature and natural pigments, such as black, red, white, and yellow, with occasional appearances of blue, green, or other hues. There can be a great variety in color symbolism, even among cultures that are close neighbors geographically.” ref
AI Overview: Ancient Egyptian medicine did not formally use the “Four Elements” theory (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) in the same way Greek medicine did, though some scholars believe it may have originated in Egypt before being systematized by Hippocrates. The formal Four Elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) and their associated Four Humors (Yellow Bile, Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile) were primarily developed by Greek philosophers like Empedocles and physicians like Hippocrates. However, Hippocrates and Galen both traveled to Egypt to study, acknowledging the profound influence of Egyptian traditions on their work. Their travels reflect the immense intellectual exchange between ancient Greece and Egypt. In fact, Hippocrates and Galen both traveled to Egypt to study, acknowledging the foundational contributions of ancient Egyptian medicine and the superiority of its practitioners. They recognized Egyptian, specifically, and the polymath Imhotep, as the true origins of medical knowledge, with Hippocrates learning from their advanced, specialized practices.
- The Eye of Horus (Wedjat): Symbolized the eye plucked out by Set and restored by Thoth; it was commonly used in amulets to ward off evil and promote healing
. Some theories suggest the modern pharmacy symbol “Rx” evolved from this eye
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The Caduceus (Two Snakes on a Staff): While often associated with the Greek Hermes, this symbol has roots in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, representing the staff of the Egyptian god Thoth (or Hermes Trismegistus), who was a patron of magic and medicine.
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The Rod of Asclepius (One Snake on a Staff): While technically Greek, this symbol—a single snake coiled around a staff—is sometimes traced back to Moses’s serpent pole in the Old Testament, which was claimed to have been created during the mythical Exodus from Egypt.
“The classical elements typically refer to earth, water, fire, air, and (later) aether, which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Angola, Tibet, India, and Mali had similar lists which sometimes referred, in local languages, to “air” as “wind”, and to “aether” as “space”. These different cultures and even individual philosophers had widely varying explanations concerning their attributes and how they related to observable phenomena as well as cosmology. Sometimes these theories overlapped with mythology and were personified in deities.” ref
“While the classification of the material world among the ancient Indians, Hellenistic Egyptians, and ancient Greeks into air, earth, fire, and water was more philosophical; scientists of the Middle Ages used practical, experimental observation to classify materials. In Europe, the ancient Greek concept, devised by Empedocles, evolved into the systematic classifications of Aristotle and Hippocrates. This evolved slightly into the medieval system, and eventually became the object of experimental verification in the 17th century, at the start of the Scientific Revolution.” ref
“Modern science does not support the classical elements to classify types of substances. Atomic theory classifies atoms into more than a hundred chemical elements such as oxygen, iron, and mercury, which may form chemical compounds and mixtures. The modern categories roughly corresponding to the classical elements are the states of matter produced under different temperatures and pressures. Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma share many attributes with the corresponding classical elements of earth, water, air, and fire, but these states describe the similar behavior of different types of atoms at similar energy levels, not the characteristic behavior of certain atoms or substances.” ref
AI Overview: Mandala expressing a World Pyramid/Mount Meru—”axis mundi”
A mandala acting as a world pyramid represents a three-dimensional sacred space, mapping the cosmos with a central axis—often Mount Meru—as the “axis mundi” or pinnacle of the universe. This structure, frequently visualized as a palace or mountain, signifies the journey from the outer, chaotic world to an inner, enlightened state. This symbolic, multi-dimensional representation allows for the integration of physical, mental, and cosmic realms.
Key Features of a World Pyramid Mandala
Cosmic Structure: It often represents the entire universe, with Mount Meru at the center surrounded by continents.
Hierarchical Layers: Similar to a pyramid, it has levels, with the primary deity, such as Vairochana, at the pinnacle, symbolizing perfect wisdom.
Symbolic Directions: The structure is oriented with four cardinal directions, usually with gates.
Three-Dimensional Visualization: Though often drawn in 2D, practitioners visualize it as a 3D palace, with layers of lotus petals, vajras, and flames.
Symbolic Transformation: The mandala serves as a guide, moving from the periphery (outer, material world) towards the center (enlightened consciousness), representing a path of transformation.
Physical and Artistic Examples
Borobudur, Java: Built in stone, this structure represents a massive, three-dimensional mandala and world mountain.
Tibetan Sand Mandalas: These are intricate, temporary, and consecrated, symbolizing impermanence.
AI Overview: Mandalas, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism, often feature a four-fold structure representing the four cardinal directions, gates, or corners of a deity’s celestial palace. This structure symbolizes the universe, with the center representing unity, and the four sides representing the four wisdoms or the Four Immeasurables.
Key Aspects of “Mandala and Four”:
- Four Directions and Gates: The central deity is surrounded by four,6,7. walls or gates facing the cardinal directions, representing a complete, symmetrical, and divine universe.
- Four Immeasurables: The four corners of the inner square often symbolize loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
- Four Types of Mandalas (Shingon): In Japanese Shingon Buddhism, these are the Great (Buddha figures), Samaya (vows/symbols), Dharma (Sanskrit letters), and Karma (actions) mandalas.
- Four Guardian Kings: These figures are often depicted at the four gates of the mandala’s outer rings, acting as protectors.
- Four Mandalas of the Vajravali Series: A specific Tibetan artistic and meditative tradition where four distinct mandalas are depicted on one thangka painting, representing different aspects of the Buddhist cosmos.
“A mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल, romanized: maṇḍala, lit. ’circle’, [ˈmɐɳɖɐlɐ]) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. In the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Shinto it is used as a map representing deities, or especially in the case of Shinto, paradises, kami or actual shrines. In Hinduism, a basic mandala, also called a yantra, takes the form of a square with four gates containing a circle with a centre point. A mandala can also represent the entire universe, which is traditionally depicted with Mount Meru as the axis mundi in the center, surrounded by the continents. One example is the Cosmological Mandala with Mount Meru, a silk tapestry from the Yuan dynasty that serves as a diagram of the Tibetan cosmology, which was given to China from Nepal and Tibet. Buddhist architecture often applied mandala as the blueprint or plan to design Buddhist structures, including temple complex and stupas. A notable example of mandala in architecture is the 9th century Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia. It is built as a large stupa surrounded by smaller ones arranged on terraces formed as a stepped pyramid, and when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind.” ref
Indigenous Religion and Monuments of the Land: Ancient Earthworks/Rockworks; Rings and Mounds in Canada:
*Rings, such as medicine wheels
*Mounds, such as burial mounds, temple mounds, platform (like elite housing or ritual ceremonies) mounds, and effigy mounds
Most people know about medicine wheels in the Americas, but they are also part of Siberian religion, and since people from the Americas came from Siberia, that is to be expected. But what is not expected is that they are in African Religion as well. While all are somewhat different, there are also some lost similarities as well.
“The medicine wheel has been adapted into a visual symbol, with associated correspondences and meanings, by pretendian Hyemeyohsts Storm, who first published his invention in 1972. It has been adopted as a visual icon and teaching tool by a number of pan-Indian groups, as well as Native groups whose ancestors did not traditionally use medicine wheels as a structure.” ref
“The other familiar medicine wheel image is the iconic circle divided into four separately coloured quadrants. The number four has great significance in most Indigenous cultures. The black, white, red, and yellow medicine wheels that we frequently see in logos, on drums, and in art are all somewhat different. The one shown here is a compilation of some of the many attributes or powers that can be included in the medicine wheel. This one does not include the inner circle, or centre, which is usually green and given the attributes of learning, self, balance, and beauty. Certain culturally significant animals, being part of the natural world, are also often included. The medicine wheel is interpreted uniquely by each culture. The order of the colours is not the same in each culture, nor are the attributes, and it would be wrong to make a sweeping generalization that indicated otherwise. The next time you see a medicine wheel, take a moment and think about its history and cultural significance.” ref
AI Overview: The Medicine Wheel is a foundational, circular symbol in many Indigenous North American cultures representing health, harmony, and the interconnectedness of all life through four, often color-coded, cardinal quadrants. It guides holistic well-being by balancing the four aspects of a person—Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, and Mental—throughout the cycles of life, seasons, and nature.
Key Components and Symbolism
The four quadrants generally correspond to the following, arranged in a clockwise direction starting from the East:
- East (Yellow): Represents new beginnings, sunrise, spring, birth, and the physical/mental aspect.
- South (Red): Represents summer, teenage years, emotion, growth, and trust.
- West (Black): Represents the setting sun, autumn, adulthood, introspection, and physical strength.
- North (White): Represents winter, elderly years, wisdom, spirit, and intellect.
Common Associations
- Four Aspects of Being: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual.
- Four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
- Four Stages of Life: Birth, Youth, Adult, Elder.
- Four Elements: Fire, Earth, Air, Water.
- Four Sacred Medicines: Often associated with Tobacco (East), Sage (South), Cedar (West), and Sweetgrass (North).
The wheel emphasizes that no single quadrant is more important than another, and total health requires balance between all four.
The Medicine Wheel, also known as the Sacred Hoop, is a holistic symbol used by many Indigenous peoples in North America to represent the interconnectedness of all life. While specific teachings vary significantly between different Nations—such as the Lakota, Anishinaabe, Cree, and Blackfoot—the wheel is typically divided into four quadrants that represent a variety of essential life categories.
Common attributes assigned to the four quadrants include:
- The Four Directions & Colors
Each quadrant corresponds to a cardinal direction, often associated with a specific color. Note that the order and color placement can vary by tribe:
- East: Often represented by Yellow (signifying the rising sun and new beginnings).
- South: Often represented by Red (signifying growth and vitality).
- West: Often represented by Black (signifying introspection and the setting sun).
- North: Often represented by White (signifying wisdom and rest).
- The Four States of Being
The wheel serves as a tool for evaluating personal balance across four dimensions of health:
- Mental: Logic, intellect, and beliefs.
- Physical: The body, exercise, and nourishment.
- Spiritual: Connection to the universe, Creator, or Nature.
- Emotional: Feelings, intuition, and heart.
- The Four Stages of Life
The quadrants also symbolize the cycle of human life:
- Birth/Childhood: The East, where new life begins.
- Youth/Adolescence: The South, a time of learning and growth.
- Adulthood: The West, representing maturity and responsibility.
- Elders/Death: The North, representing wisdom and the completion of the cycle.
- Sacred Medicines & Elements
- Medicines: The four sacred plants often included are tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweetgrass.
- Elements: The natural elements associated with the quadrants are fire, water, earth, and air (or wind).
- Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
For many Indigenous people, the goal is to remain centered in the middle of the wheel, ensuring that no single quadrant is neglected, as an imbalance in one can affect all others.
AI Overview: The oldest and most significant medicine wheel in Alberta is the
Majorville Cairn and Medicine Wheel (also known as Iniskim Umaapi), located south of Bassano. Estimated to be 4,500 to 5,500 years old, this site features a 9-meter diameter central cairn with 28 spokes connecting to a 27-meter wide,5,000-year-old circle.
Key details about the Majorville Cairn and Medicine Wheel:
- Age and Significance: It is one of the oldest, continuously used, and most significant religious monuments in North America, often referred to as “Canada’s Stonehenge”.
- Structure: It consists of a central, 9-meter diameter stone cairn surrounded by a 27-meter wide cobble circle, connected by 28 spokes.
- Purpose: It was used for ceremonies, rituals, and offerings (such as tobacco, sweetgrass, and buffalo stones or Iniskim) by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
- Location: Situated on a high hill overlooking the prairie, providing a vast view of the surrounding landscape.
How old is the medicine wheel? (according to the National Park Service, of the United States federal government)
“They have been used for centuries. Hundreds of stone medicine wheels dot the landscapes of the U.S. and Canada. The oldest (in Alberta, Canada) is estimated to be over 5,000 years old. One of the largest and best-preserved is the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming. The medicine wheel (also called the Sun Dance Circle or Sacred Hoop) is an ancient and sacred symbol used by many Tribes. It signifies Earth’s boundary and all the knowledge of the universe. The four colors (black, white, yellow, and red) embody concepts such as the Four Directions, four seasons, and sacred path of both the sun and human beings. Arrangement of colors vary among the different customs of the Tribes. The medicine wheel may have different colors than the traditional black, white, yellow, and red. In ceremonies, they can have colors that correspond with the medicine being used. Since they can be used in decoration, they can be made with as many or few colors as desired. The medicine wheel is used in ceremonies to put feathers and medicines on, like in a bundle. However, it can also be used in daily life and decoration.” ref
“The Majorville Cairn and Medicine Wheel (Iniskim Umaapi) is an archaeological site of the Blackfoot Nation located south of Bassano, Alberta. The medicine wheel has been dated to possibly as old as 3200 BCE (5200 years ago) by careful stratification of known artifact types. The medicine wheel sits on top of a grassy hill at an elevation of 918 m overlooking a large area of undisturbed prairie around the Bow River. The structure consists of a round stone cairn, 9 m in diameter, surrounded by a 27 m wide cobble circle connected to the cairn by 28 stone spokes. This arrangement is categorized as Subgroup 6 and of the total 67 known medicine wheels only 3 belong to this category, the other two being the Jennings site in South Dakota and Bighorn in Wyoming.” ref
“The southern half of the cairn has been excavated and the projectile points found indicate it was in use since the Oxbow/McKean Phase for the last 4500 years, although this sample doesn’t come from the earliest construction period. The site was built in layers and the sequence of construction is uncertain as well as it is not clear that spokes and wheel were built at the same time. Rocks and arrowheads were added to it until contact with Europeans, although there was a gap in its use between 3000 and 2000 years ago. Because of its use over such a long time and the changes in its construction, archaeologists believe that its function may have changed at times.” ref
“Among the stones, other findings included offerings in the form of sweet grass, willow, cloth, and tobacco. The site further yielded iniskim stones (“buffalo calling stones”), fragments of ammonite fossils that can be found in the bedrock exposed by the Bow River to the east of the site. Iniskim are small natural stones that resemble the shoulders and hump of a bison. In this case the petrified coils of ammonite shells that broke along the septa into small figurines with four prongs on one side resembling legs. These have been used in the Blackfoot Nation folklore to secure the return of the migrating bison.” ref
AI Overview: A Siberian medicine wheel/ Sacred Hoop, rooted in ancient shamanic traditions, is a sacred, circular arrangement of stones or symbols used for connecting with nature, spiritual guidance, and healing. It often maps out celestial movements, cardinal directions, and elemental forces to help shamans and practitioners maintain balance between physical, spiritual, and emotional realms.
Key Aspects of the Siberian Medicine Wheel:
- Structure: It typically features a central point (representing the Creator or Axis Mundi) surrounded by a circle of stones representing the four directions, seasons, and elements.
- Shamanic Purpose: Used by Siberian shamans to map cosmic, spiritual, and earthly energies, often in isolated, natural settings.
- Symbolism: Similar to other Indigenous wheels, it embodies the interconnection of all life, representing cycles of time and the four states of being.
- Elements & Directions: It often incorporates the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) and four cardinal directions, though specific, localized Siberian interpretations differ from North American models.
Note: While “medicine wheel” is a common term for stone circles in North America, similar, ancient, circular petroform structures or ritual spaces exist in Siberian shamanism, often associated with, though not limited to, Altai or Tuvan practices.
While the “Medicine Wheel” is most famously associated with Indigenous North American traditions, a “Siberian Medicine Wheel” typically refers to similar circular cosmological maps used in Siberian shamanism to navigate the spirit world and the cycles of nature.
Sacred Drums of Siberia: https://www.sacredhoop.org/SacredDrums.pdf
Key Concepts of the Siberian Shamanic Wheel
In Siberian traditions, particularly among the Tuvan, Buryat, and Sakha peoples, the wheel (often represented by the shaman’s drum or ritual stone circles) serves as a bridge between realms.
- The Drum as a Wheel: For many Siberian shamans, the Shamanic Drum acts as a portable medicine wheel. It is divided into layers representing the Upper World (celestial spirits), Middle World (humans and nature), and Lower World (ancestors and underworld spirits).
- Structure: It often consists of a central, flat area, surrounded by arranged stones, and sometimes includes radiating lines to mark cardinal points or celestial events.
- Symbolism: It represents the four directions (North, South, East, West), four elements (earth, air, fire, water), and four seasons.
- Function: It is a tool for personal healing, gaining insight into life’s challenges, and connecting with the wisdom of nature.
- Shamanic Connection: In the context of Siberia, this type of wheel is often linked to the practices of local shamans who act as healers and spiritual intermediaries.
- The Eight Directions: Unlike the four-quadrant North American wheel, some Siberian traditions utilize an eight-spoked wheel to represent the primary and intermediate cardinal directions, aligning with the “Eight Winds” or cosmic pillars.
- Cosmic Alignment: Wheels are often used to map “transits” or spiritual journeys. Practitioners may build physical stone wheels in isolated areas to mark places of high energy or to perform seasonal rituals.
Comparison with North American Traditions
Though they share themes of balance and interconnectedness, there are distinct differences:
- Origin: North American wheels (like the Bighorn Medicine Wheel) are often ancient stone structures used for celestial tracking and prayer.
- Symbolism: While both use the wheel to represent the Circle of Life, Siberian wheels are more frequently tied to the specific “trance journey” of the shaman rather than a broader communal tribal identity.
African Medicine Wheel: Dagara (Dagaaba) people, Yoruba people, and Bakongo (Kongo) people
Dagara (Dagaaba) people: Dagara religion
“Bantu religion is a system of various spiritual beliefs and practices that relate to the Bantu people of Central, East, and SouthernAfrica. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu languages. Many Bantu cultures traditionally believed in a supreme god whose name is a variation of Nyambe/Nzambe and ancestral veneration. The phrase “Bantu tradition” usually refers to the common, recurring themes that are found in all, or at least most, Bantu cultures on the continent.” ref
- Boshongo (Kuba) Myth: The world was initially only darkness and water. After Bumba vomited the sun, dry land appeared. He then vomited the stars, moon, and animals, followed by the first humans.
- Zulu Myth (Uthlanga): The creator, Umvelinqangi, sent a seed to Earth, which grew into a long reed. These reeds covered a vast, primordial swampy area in the north known as Uthlanga, which was the place where the first ancestor, Unkulunkulu, emerged.
- Kamba Myth: The high god, Engai, produced the first man from an ant-hill by the sea.
Main African Language families, shown above:
- Afroasiatic languages are spread throughout Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel.
- Saharan, Nilotic, and Sudanic languages (previously grouped under the hypothetical Nilo-Saharan macro-family), are present in East Africa and Sahel.
- Niger–Congo, which includes the large Atlantic-Congo and Bantu branches in West, Central, Southeast, or Southern Africa.
- The Khoisan languages are a number of African languages that have click consonants but do not belong to other African language families and are now held to comprise three distinct language families and two language isolates. ref, ref
African Bantu Languages and Peoples: Their Migrations, Culture, Beliefs, and Mythology
AI Overview: Totemism in Traditional African religions is a belief system connecting specific clans or ethnic groups to sacred plants, animals, or natural phenomena, acting as a guardian spirit, ancestral link, and social bond. It governs daily life, dictating prohibitions against harming or eating the totem, promoting conservation, and defining kinship ties.
“The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals, including belief in a number of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic, and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic with various polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. Animism builds the core concept of the Bantu religious traditions, similar to other traditional African religions. This includes the worship of tutelary deities, nature worship, ancestor worship, and the belief in an afterlife. While some religions adopted a pantheistic worldview, most follow a polytheistic system with various gods, spirits, and other supernatural beings.” ref
“It is suggested that most ancient traditional African religions, like most other indigenous folk religions around the world, were strictly polytheistic and lacked the belief in monotheistic concepts, such as a single supreme creator god. Native African religions are centered on ancestor veneration, the belief in a spirit world, supernatural beings, and free will (unlike the later developed concept of faith). Deceased humans (and animals or important objects) still exist in the spirit world and can influence or interact with the physical world. Polytheism was widespreaded in most of ancient African and other regions of the world, before the introduction of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. High gods, along with other more specialized deities, ancestor spirits, territorial spirits, and beings, are a common theme among traditional African religions, highlighting the complex and advanced culture of ancient Africa.” ref
“Four moments of the sun” equate with the four stages of life: conception, birth, maturity, and death. For the Bakongo, everything transitions through these stages: planets, plants, animals, people, societies, and even ideas.” ref
“Kongo religion of the Bakongo people. Due to the highly centralized position of the Kingdom of Kongo, its leaders were able to influence much of the traditional religious practices across the Congo Basin. As a result, many other ethnic groups and kingdoms in West-Central Africa, like the Chokwe and Ambundu, adopted elements of Bakongo spirituality.” ref
“A Medicine Wheel is the basis of the cosmology and five-element rituals of the Dagara. The five elements are Fire (red, south), Water (blue, north), Earth (yellow, centre), Mineral (white, west), and Nature (green, east).” ref
AI Overview: The African Medicine Wheel, often interpreted through Dagara (Burkina Faso) traditions, focuses on five core elements (Mineral, Nature, Water, Fire, Earth) rather than strictly four, but incorporates four cardinal directions/seasons for balance. These represent stages of life, energies, and interconnectedness to nature and ancestors, promoting holistic healing.
- East (Yellow/Spring): Represents the beginning of life, childhood, air, and the ability to see and know.
- South (Red/Summer): Represents youth, adolescence, fire, and emotional, physical, and mental growth.
- West (Black/Fall): Represents adulthood, introspection, water, and looking within for wisdom.
- North (White/Winter): Represents eldership, death/rebirth, earth, and spiritual wisdom.
Key Principles:
- Balance: The wheel emphasizes balancing the four states of being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
- Cycles: Life is viewed as a continuous cycle of movement rather than a linear path.
- Animal Energies: Specific animals (e.g., Bateleur eagle, Otter, Elephant, Leopard) act as keepers of these energies and gifts.
The Dagara tradition, originating from Burkina Faso and Ghana, is a deeply communal, ritual-based culture focused on bridging the seen (physical) and unseen (spiritual) worlds. Centered on five elements—Fire, Water, Earth, Mineral, and Nature—it emphasizes ancestors, healing, and community-driven, often ecstatic, rituals to maintain balance.
Key Aspects of Dagara Tradition:
- Role of Ritual: Rituals are considered essential daily sustenance, with life marked by constant connection to spirits and ancestors.
- The Five Elements: The Dagara rely on5 elements to connect with the spiritual realm:
- Fire: Connects to the spirit world and consumes obstacles.
- Water: Used for purification, reconciliation, and peace-making.
- Earth: Focuses on community, grounding, and home.
- Mineral: Invites memory of purpose through ritual.
- Nature: Promotes transformation and self-realization.
- Community and Healing: Illness is viewed as a community issue rather than an individual one. Healing involves, for example, the “Ash Circle” ritual to address spiritual imbalances.
- Ancestors and the Soul: The soul is considered an eternal traveler between the ancestral realm and the tribe. Ancestors are active, daily participants in life.
- Divination and Medicine: Spiritual leaders, or shamans, use tools like bones or cowrie shells to interpret messages. A “medicine bag” (or bundle) is used for protection, containing significant herbs, stones, and, in some cases, Kontomble (nature spirits).
- Funeral Rites: Known as the Baga Yir, these ceremonies focus on honoring the deceased and facilitating their transition to become ancestors.
- Oral Tradition: The culture relies on stories, proverbs, and the bagr (mythical recitations) to pass down knowledge.
I figured out gods through my deeper study of African religions, seeing that there were many related themes with other religions. I knew that ideas about religion from outside Africa entered Africa, but I did not realize they arrived sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, with gods emerging much earlier, until I researched this, which helped me understand a more specific time for the emergence of gods.
“A supreme deity, supreme god or supreme being is the conception of the sole deity of monotheistic religions or, in polytheistic or henotheistic religions, the paramount deity or supernatural entity which is above all others. Supreme god or Supreme being: in many religions, it may be a Creator deity, King of the gods, Supreme god, or the singular deity of monotheistic religions.” ref, ref, ref
Of the many Supreme Deities in Africa, 14 are Bantu-related, 7 are Niger-Congo-related, 6 are Afroasiatic-related, and 3 are Nilo-Saharan related.
1 Chukwu in Igbo religion, Niger-Congo related
2 Mwari in Shona religion (a Bantu ethnic group) and Nyambe god in Bantu religion
3 Bakongo people/Lele people, Bantu ethnic groups, Nzambi god in Bakongo religion
4 Bassa people, Ngambi/Nyombe god, Bantu related
5 Chokwe people, Nzambi god (similar to the Bakongo god, Nzambi Mpungu), Bantu related
6 Fang people, Nzeme god, also called Mebere, Bantu related
7 Nyoro and Toro people, Nyamuhanga god, Bantu related
8 Hambukushu people, Nyambi god, Bantu related
9 Herero people, god Njambi Kurunga, whom they also refer to as Omukuru, Bantu related
10 Lozi people, Nyambe god, Bantu related
11 Akan people, god Nyame (also Oyame), Bantu related
12 Ọlọrun in Yoruba religion / Ashanti of Ghana: How Spider Obtained the Sky-God’s Stories, Niger-Congo related
13 Ruhanga god in the Rutara religion, Bantu related
14 Mbombo of Bakuba/Kuba mythology, Niger–Congo and Bantu related
15 Unkulunkulu, a god in Zulu mythology, Bantu related
16 Bemba god, Bambara people of Mali, Niger–Congo related
17 Ngewo god, Mende people, Niger–Congo related
18 Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) god, Cushitic languages (Afro-Asiatic related)
19 Kushite religion, god Amun (also called Asha Renu, Amen, Aman, and Gem Aten), Afroasiatic related
20 Serer religion, god Roog (or Rog), Niger–Congo related
21 Chadian classical religions, Ra sun god/sun spirit, (Afroasiatic language family), and Nilo-Saharan related
22 Khonvoum (also Khonuum, Kmvoum, Chorum), Mbuti (Bambuti) mythology, Bantu related
23 Many different names for God in Lugbara mythology, Nilo-Saharan related
24 Ndzambyaphuungu, Suku people, Bantu related
25 god Gomwa: Gomwa, Gbaya people, Niger-Congo language related
26 Enkai (also called Engai), an androgynous god, Maasai people, Nilo-Saharan related
27 Kamba people, Mulungu/”Nyàmbé” god, Bantu related
28 Berbers of North Africa, sun (Tafukt in Tamazight) and oon (Ayyur in Tamazight), and for some Ancient Egyptian god Amon, Afroasiatic related
29 Chiuta god, Tumbuka group of Bantu peoples, and god Amazigh for Libyan and Tehenu tribes of the Western Desert, Berber related: Afroasiatic related
30 Amun-Ra and Aten, Ancient Egypt, Afroasiatic related
AI Overview: Religious myths are sacred, interconnected stories within cultural groups that explain the origin of the world, human existence, death, and supernatural beings. These religious and mythic narratives reflect a culture’s values and beliefs or form a culture’s values and beliefs. Traditional African religions are vast and diverse, yet they share common threads, including a general belief in a single supreme creator deity, often described as distant or remote, who is approached through lower deities, spirits, or ancestors. These religions are often lived through ritual, oral tradition, and cosmology rather than written texts.Africa has no single, unified supreme deity; rather, various cultures and regions revere their own supreme creators, such as Olodumare (Yoruba), Nyame (Akan), Nana Buluku (Fon/Ewe), Amma (Dogon), and Mwari (Shona). These beings are typically viewed as omnipotent, distant, genderless, or sky-dwelling creators responsible for the universe.
- Distant/Withdrawn: Often considered remote, having created the world and then left daily management to lower deities or ancestors.
- Indirect Worship: Unlike lesser deities (orishas/spirits), the supreme being often has no shrines or direct sacrifices, with prayers offered through intermediaries.
- Genderless/Androgynous: Frequently described as beyond gender, though sometimes referred to with masculine or feminine pronouns based on the culture.
- Omnipotent/Creator: Responsible for bringing order to the universe.
- Creator and Sustainer:The supreme deity is universally viewed as the ultimate creator of the universe, earth, and human beings, often referred to as “The Molder,” “Giver of Breath,” or “Owner of All”.
- Transcendent yet Immanent: While often viewed as distant or “hidden” from daily life, the Supreme Being is simultaneously considered omnipresent, acting as a protector who can be reached anywhere.
- Role of Intermediaries: Because the Supreme Being is deemed too high or remote to be directly approached for mundane issues, worship often involves lesser gods, spirits, or ancestors who act as intermediaries.
- Monotheistic Structure: Despite the presence of many lesser spirits, African traditional religions are generally considered monotheistic, with one supreme god (e.g., Olodumare in Yoruba, Nyame in Akan, Chukwu in Igbo, Ngai in Kikuyu) who is not an equal to other deities.
- Ethical and Benevolent: The Supreme Being is almost always considered good, holy, and a source of moral order, rather than causing arbitrary destruction.
- Gender Neutrality or Duality: While sometimes assigned male attributes, the Supreme Being is frequently considered genderless, transcendent of gender, or in some cases, both male and female (e.g., the Mawu-Lisa duality).
“A supreme deity, supreme god, or supreme being:
- Creator deity, often also the supreme deity in many religions
- King of the gods, the lead god of a polytheistic pantheon
- Supreme god, the god exclusively worshipped by henotheists
- God, the singular deity of monotheistic religions.” ref
Supreme Deities in Africa: Religious Myths and Cultural Groups
Mesopotamian Influences on Egyptian Civilization/Culture (4000–3100 BCE)
“Egypt–Mesopotamia relations were the relations between the civilizations of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the Middle East. They seem to have developed from the 4th millennium BCE, starting in the Uruk period for Mesopotamia (circa 4000–3100 BCE) and the half a millennium younger Gerzean culture of Prehistoric Egypt (circa 3500–3200 BCE), and constituted a largely one-way body of influences from Mesopotamia into Egypt. Mesopotamian influences can be seen in the visual arts of Egypt, in architecture, in technology, weaponry, in imported products, religious imagery, economic practices, in agriculture and livestock, in genetic input, and also in the likely transfer of writing from Mesopotamia to Egypt, and generated “deep-seated” parallels in the early stages of both cultures. A similar Mesopotamian influence during this period is seen in Elam in Ancient Iran, the Levant, Anatolia, and the northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.” ref
“Egyptians used traditional disk-shaped maceheads during the early phase of Naqada culture, circa 4000–3400 BCE. At the end of the period, the disk-shaped macehead was replaced by the militarily superior Mesopotamian-style pear-shaped macehead as seen on the Narmer Palette. The Mesopotamian macehead was much heavier with a wider impact surface, and was capable of giving much more damaging blows than the original Egyptian disk-shaped macehead. The original pyramidal structure, the Mesopotamian “Anu Ziggurat” dates to around 4000 BCE, and the White Temple was built on top of it circa 3500 BCE. The design of the ziggurat was probably a precursor to that of the Egyptian pyramids, the earliest of which dates to circa 2600 BCE. Although there are many examples of Mesopotamian influence in Egypt in the 4th millennium BCE, the reverse is not true, and there are no traces of Egyptian influence in Mesopotamia at any time, clearly indicating a one-way flow of ideas.” ref
“Prior to a specific Mesopotamian influence there had already been a longstanding influence from West Asia into Egypt, North Africa and even into some parts of the Horn of Africa and the Sahel in the form of the Neolithic Revolution which from circa 9000 BCE diffused advanced agricultural practices and technology, gene-flow, certain domesticated animals and crops and the likely spread of Proto-Afroasiatic language into the region, with Semitic languages that had evolved in West Asia circa 4000 BCE being introduced via the Arabian Peninsula and Levant into the Horn of Africa and North Africa respectively after 1000 BCE.” ref
“In terms of chronology, Egypt was one of the first areas to adopt the Neolithic package emerging from West Asia as early as the 6th millennium BCE. Population genetics in the Nile Valley observed a marked change around this period, as shown by odontometric and dental tissue changes. Cultural exchange and trade between the two regions then continued through the 4th millennium BCE, as shown by the transfer of Mesopotamian Late Uruk period features to the Nile Valley of the later Predynastic Period. Migrations flows from Mesopotamia accompanied such cultural exchanges, possibly through the sea routes of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea or through yet un-sampled intermediaries in the Levant, which could explain the relative smallness of genetic influence from known Chalcolithic/Bronze Age Levantines populations.” ref
“There was generally a high-level of trade between Ancient Egypt and the Near East throughout the Pre-dynastic period of Egypt, during the Naqada II (3600–3350 BCE) and Naqada III (3350–2950 BCE) phases. These were contemporary with the Late Uruk (3600–3100 BCE) and Jemdet Nasr (3100–2900 BCE) periods in Mesopotamia. The main period of cultural influence, particularly consisting in the transfer of Mesopotamian imagery, symbols, and technology to Egypt, is considered to have lasted about 250 years, during the Naqada II to Dynasty I periods.” ref
“Distinctly foreign objects and art forms entered Egypt during this period, indicating contacts with several parts of Western Asia. The designs that were emulated by Egyptian artists are numerous: the Uruk “Priest-King” with his tunic and brimmed hat in the posture of the Master of animals, the serpopards, winged griffins, snakes around rosettes, boats with high prows, all characteristic of long-established Mesopotamian art of the Late Uruk (Uruk IV, c. 3350–3200 BCE) period. The same “Priest-King” is visible in several older Mesopotamian works of art of the end of the Uruk period, such as the Blau Monuments, cylinder seals, and statues. Objects such as the Gebel el-Arak knife handle, which has patently Mesopotamian relief carvings on it, have been found in Egypt, and the silver, which appears in this period can only have been obtained from Asia Minor (Anatolia today is part of Turkey).” ref
Here are a few things:
- Adoption of Mesopotamian-style maceheads (4000–3300 BCE)
- Mesopotamian-style ziggurats/step pyramids (4000–3000 BCE)
- Mesopotamian-style pottery in Egypt (3500 BCE)
- Mesopotamian-style cylinder seals (3500–3300 BCE)
- Mesopotamian-style serpopard design (serpent-necked “lion/leopard” animal) (circa 3500–3000 BCE)
- Mesopotamian influence in the development of writing (3400–3200 BCE)
- Mesopotamian King-Priest on Egyptian prehistoric knife (3300–3200 BCE)
- Mesopotamian-style temples and civic architecture (3000–2500 BCE)
I combined two maps into one blended map to help others understand my thinking.
Egyptian influence on Mesopotamian art after 3,000 BCE (or 5,000 years ago)
“This coincides with the time that Haplogroup E Y-DNA leaves Egypt and heads all the way into the Balkans in Southeastern Europe.”
“After this early period of exchange and the direct introduction of Mesopotamian components into Egyptian culture, Egypt soon began to assert its own style from the Early Dynastic Period (3150–2686 BCE), with the Narmer palette seen as a turning point. Egypt seems to have provided some artistic feedback to Mesopotamia at the time of the Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia (2900–2334 BCE). This is especially the case with royal iconography: the figure of the king smiting his enemies with a mace, and the depiction of dead enemies being eaten by birds of prey appeared in Egypt from the time of the Narmer palette, and were then adopted centuries later (possibly from Egypt) by Mesopotamian rulers Eannatum and Sargon of Akkad. This depiction appears to be part of an artistic system to promote “hegemonistic kingship”. Another example is the usage of decorated mace heads as a symbol of kingship. There is also a possibility that the depictions of the Mesopotamian king with a muscular, naked, upper body fighting his enemies in a quadrangular posture, as seen in the Stele of Naram-Sin or statues of Gudea (all circa 2000 BCE), were derived from Egyptian sculpture, which by that time had already been through its Golden Age during the Old Kingdom.” ref
I speculate that the ideas of the square/stepped Mound of Creation/Axis Mundi spread and were transmitted several times, reaching their furthest extension in South American Preu cultures.
The advancing/evolving “Benben” Mound of Creation mythology that influenced pre-pyramid Mastabas and soon related to the inspiration of the first step-Mastabas 2900 BCE and step-pyramid 2600 BCE left Egypt around 5,000 years ago with Haplogroup E Y-DNA into Southern Europe. In Europe, it moved to Ukraine, where Haplogroup R Y-DNA took it to Siberia. Once in Siberia, Haplogroup Q Y-DNA took it into North America. It was then moved down the Pacific coast first to the general area of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and the Puget Sound area of the U.S. state of Washington, where there are many 5,000-year-old shell mounds. The ideas kept moving south to the San Francisco Bay in California, where there are many 5,000-year-old shell mounds. The ideas kept moving south from California, all the way to Peru by 5,000 years ago, where an inland culture developed, connected to the coast, and made the oldest pyramids in the Americas.
I also speculate that some of these new ideas moved inland from the Pacific Northwest into Alberta, relating to the area where the 5,000-year-old medicine wheels were created. Also, ideas moved inland from the Puget Sound and Columbia Basin area of Washington and Oregon, where they moved inland, eventually reaching the Great Lakes region, involved in the Middle Archaic period 3500–1500 BCE, shell mounds and “riverine” economies, and then later moving down to Ohio and the first earthwork Moundbuilder Cultures beginning 800 BCE.
I combined two maps into one blended map to help others understand my thinking.
Proto-Turkic “knife” is *bïčgak, from Proto-Turkic root *bïč-, meaning “to cut”. The Proto-Yeniseian word is *don. Proto-Indo-European *gneibʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European *gen-. I think Proto-Indo-European influenced both Proto-Turkic and Proto-Yeniseian, and by extension Na-Dene.
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Earth Diver Mythology and Religious Migrations into the Americas from Siberia:
1. Early Shamanism (Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site, 32,000 years ago and pre-Ancient North Eurasian/Mal’ta–Buret’ culture, 24,000 years ago) No Raeth Diver Myth and no Great Spirit
“The Earth-Diver myth has gone through 3 evolutionary stages: MNP-0, MNP-1, and MNP-2.”
2. Evolved Shamanism mixed with ideas from European totemism-shamanism, but no paganism. Earth Diver Mythology (MNP-0) with a great spirit (limited to “great mystery”). This Earth Diver myth can have any creature (and any number of creatures) become the demiurge’s helper as long as the least likely creature succeeds.
3. Early Paganistic-Shamanism, influenced by the early paganism of the Middle East. Sky god and goddess are now involved. Earth Diver Mythology (MNP-1) with a great spirit (sky deity-like). This Earth Diver myth has a plot that is now crystallized around a pair of waterfowl in Siberia and Western North America, as well as a pair of animals in Eastern North America.
4. Evolved Paganistic-Shamanism, influenced by the evolved paganism of the Middle East. Sky god and goddess are now involved. Earth Diver Mythology (MNP-2) with a great spirit (now a High-God/Supreme-God). This Earth Diver myth now only has one of the creatures dropped off, and the demiurge used the help of only one helper. The “cladistics” of the myth is, therefore, relatively simple: the dynamic and variable ancestral forms crystallize into progressively fewer characters.
There were a few migrations from Asia/Siberia into the Americas, and each brought different evolved religious ideas into the Americas, where they also evolved several times. Migrations from Asia/Siberia to the Americas were roughly 1 to 4 and involved mainly Y-DNA Q haplogroup across all time ranges, as well as C haplogroup only #3:
1. 24,000 to 12,000 years ago
2. 12,000 to 9,000/8,000 years ago
3. 9,000/8,000 to 6,000/5,500 years ago
4. 6,000/5,500 to 2,000 years ago
Some think there were no migrations after 5,000 years ago, the Arctic Small Tool tradition, “Paleo Inuit,” “Ancestral Inuit,” pre-Dorset, pre-Thule, or pre-Inuit.
“But according to Flegontov et al., the later Old Bering Sea archaeological culture resulted from back-and-forth migrations across the Bering Strait by tribes associated with the Arctic Small Tool tradition, or their descendants (Old Whaling, Choris, Norton culture, from 3,100 to 2,500 years ago). These people were mixing with the Chukotko-Kamchatkan speakers of Siberia. Eventually, the Old Bering Sea archaeological culture became the ancestor of the Yup’ik and Inuit, the speakers of Eskaleut languages: Eskimo–Aleut, Inuit–Yupik–Unangan.” ref
AI Overview: Thule Y-DNA haplogroups are often associated with Haplogroup Q (specifically Q-M242 and its subclades like Q-M3 and Q-NWT01). Inuit Y-DNA haplogroups are predominantly within Haplogroup Q, especially sub-haplogroups like Q-NWT01, Q-M3, and Q-M346, reflecting their ancestral origins from Siberia and ancient migrations into the Americas, with Q-NWT01 suggesting links to Paleo-Inuit populations and Q-M3 to Thule migration.
It was once believed that the Americas were isolated or landlocked, developing cultures and religious ideas “on their own,” independently. But as you read and understand it now, it becomes clear that it never really stopped; there were multiple migrations, and because it was mostly Y-DNA Haplogroup Q, it traces back to the same ancestral family line through different branches. It is understandable why it was hard to tell that so many migrations happened. This is why some theories suggested only one migration at first.
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Manitoulin Island, called mnidoo mnis, or “island of the Great Spirit”
“Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi), it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 lakes itself. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe settlement of the island, archaeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and Archaic cultures dating from 10,000 to 2,000 BCE. The modern Odawa name for Manitoulin Island is Mnidoo Mnising, meaning “Spirit Island”. The current name of the island is the English version, via French, of the Ottawa or Ojibwe name Manidoowaaling, which means “cave of the spirit”. It was named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit is said to live. Manitoulin means spirit island in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language). The island is considered sacred by the Native Anishinaabe people, who identify as the “People of the Three Fires.” This loose confederation is made up of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi tribes.” ref
“Manitou is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American mythology. Manitou is one aspect of the interconnection and balance of nature and life, similar to the East Asian concept of qi. In simpler terms it can refer to a spirit. This spirit is seen as a person as well as a concept. Everything has its own manitou—every plant, every stone and, since their invention, even machines. These manitous do not exist in a hierarchy like European gods/goddesses, but are more akin to one part of the body interacting with another and the spirit of everything; the collective is named Gitche Manitou. Manitoulin Island, called mnidoo mnis, or “island of the Great Spirit”, by the Odawa, is very important to the Ojibwe, or Anishinaabe, because of its many sacred sites and sounding rocks. Manitou is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. Aashaa monetoo means “good spirit”, while otshee monetoo means “bad spirit”. When Turtle Island was created, the Great Spirit, Aasha Monetoo, gave the land to the indigenous peoples. Manitou was widely used during early European contact. In 1585, when Thomas Harriot recorded the first glossary of an Algonquian language, Roanoke (Pamlico), he included the word mantóac, meaning “gods and goddesses”. Similar terms are found in nearly all Algonquian languages. In some Algonquian traditions, Gitche Manitou refers to a supreme being. The term has analogues dating to before European contact, and the word uses of gitche and manitou existed before contact. After contact, however, Gitche Manitou was adopted by some Anishinaabe, such as the Ojibwe, to refer to the supreme being.” ref
“Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means “Great Spirit” in several Algonquian languages. Christian missionaries have translated God as Gitche Manitou in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian languages. Manitou is a common Algonquian term for spirit, mystery, or deity. Native American Churches in Mexico, United States and Canada often use this term. In more recent Anishinaabe culture, the Anishinaabe language word Gichi-manidoo means Great Spirit, the Creator of all things and the Giver of Life, and is sometimes translated as the “Great Mystery”. Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection. According to Anishinaabeg tradition, Michilimackinac, later named by European settlers as Mackinac Island, in Michigan, was the home of Gitche Manitou, and some Anishinaabeg tribes would make pilgrimages there for rituals devoted to the spirit. Other Anishinaabe names for God incorporated through the process of syncretism are Gizhe-manidoo (“venerable Manidoo”), Wenizhishid-manidoo (“Fair Manidoo”) and Gichi-ojichaag (“Great Spirit”). While Gichi-manidoo and Gichi-ojichaag both mean “Great Spirit”, Gichi-manidoo carried the idea of the greater spiritual connectivity while Gichi-ojichaag carried the idea of individual soul’s connection to the Gichi-manidoo. Consequently, Christian missionaries often used the term Gichi-ojichaag to refer to the Christian idea of a Holy Spirit. In addition to the Algonquian Anishinaabeg, many other tribes believed in Gitche Manitou. References to the Great Manitou by the Cheyenne and the Oglala Sioux (notably in the recollections of Black Elk), indicate that belief in this deity extended into the Great Plains, fully across the wider group of Algonquian peoples.” ref
“The Great Spirt and the Evil one Native American (Navajo): the Fathers of All Fathers. The Supreme Being. The Father of the Holy People. The Great Spirit. (watches us by light like sun light or moon light) = Sky Father creator and maker to all things, corn pollen prayer are offered, sacred stone offering to, protect us by the light of the sun. The Great Spirit is a common reference among many Native American Tribes.” ref, ref
There are three types of the Great Spirit thinking (to me):
- Great Spirit (animistic type): “Great Mystery” likely no referred gender.
- Great Spirit (totemistic/shamanistic type): “Great Spirit” is likely not fully seen as a god/goddess-type spirit, it could be an animal but may have male or female gender.
- Great Spirit (paganistic type): “Great/High God” likely a male gender commonly related to the sun or blue/clear sky.
Sky Father/Sky Chief Mythology: Great spirit, Great Mystery, and Great Father
Dene–Yeniseian languages
Dene–Yeniseian (which I am starting to think entered the Americas twice, once 7,000 to 6,000 years ago with Haplogroup C Y-DNA, first. Then, a second time around 5,500 to 5,000 years ago, with Haplogroup Q Y-DNA, it then spread to Haplogroup C Y-DNA. Yeniseian-speaking Ket people of Siberia have one of the highest frequencies of Y-DNA Haplogroup Q in Eurasia, up to 94%.) It is a proposed language family consisting of the Yeniseian languages of central Siberia and the Na–Dene languages of northwestern North America. As for the wider Dene–Caucasian hypothesis, while Vajda did not find the kinds of morphological correspondences with these other families that he did with Yeniseian and Na–Dene, he did not rule out the possibility that such evidence exists, and urges that more work be done.” ref
I used to agree with the common claim that Na-Dene speakers brought Haplogroup C Y-DNA to the Americas approximately 8,000 to 6,000 years ago. But I now think it likely that Dene–Yeniseian arrived twice, once closer to 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, with Haplogroup C Y-DNA. Then again, around 5,500 to 5,000 years ago, with Haplogroup Q Y-DNA, a time that aligns with the linguistic evidence, suggesting the Tlingit language likely separated from the Na-Dené language family roughly 5,000 years ago. Tlingit Y-DNA is predominantly represented by Haplogroup Q Y-DNA, with high diversity.
“In ancient Ukraine, stone mace heads were first used nearly eight millennia ago.” ref
Info on the Eneolithic cemetery at Khvalynsk on the Volga River
“The genetically attested migrations of the third millennium BCE have made the origins and nature of the Yamnaya culture a question of broad relevance across northern Eurasia. But none of the key archaeological sites most important for understanding the evolution of Yamnaya culture are published in Western languages. These key sites include the fifth-millennium BCE Khvalynsk cemetery in the middle Volga steppes. When the first part of the Eneolithic cemetery (Khvalynsk I) was excavated, the graves displayed many material and ritual traits that were quickly recognized as similar and probably ancestral to Yamnaya customs, but without the Yamnaya kurgans. With the discovery of a second burial plot (Khvalynsk II) 120 m to the south, Khvalynsk became the largest excavated Eneolithic cemetery in the Don-Volga-Ural steppes (201 recorded graves), dated about 4500–4300 BCE or 6,500 to 6,300 years ago. It has the largest copper assemblage of the fifth millennium BCE in the steppes (373 objects) and the largest assemblage of sacrificed domesticated animals (at least 106 sheep-goat, 29 cattle, and 16 horses); and it produced four polished stone maces from well-documented grave contexts. The human skeletons have been sampled extensively for ancient DNA, the basis for an analysis of family relationships. This report compiles information from the relevant Russian-language publications and from the archaeologists who excavated the site, two of whom are co-authors, about the history of excavations, radiocarbon dates, copper finds, domesticated animal sacrifices, polished stone maces, genetic and skeletal studies, and relationships with other steppe cultures as well as agricultural cultures of the North Caucasus (Svobodnoe-Meshoko) and southeastern Europe (Varna and Cucuteni-Tripol’ye B1). Khvalynsk is described as a coalescent culture, integrating and combining northern and southern elements, a hybrid that can be recognized genetically, in cranio-facial types, in exchanged artifacts, and in social segments within the cemetery. Stone maces symbolized the unification and integration of socially defined segments at Khvalynsk.” ref
My map of how Mace heads that start in Turkey at Körtik Tepe 12,000 years ago go into Egypt and Ukraine at around 8,000 years ago, also taking the mace, ideas of male elites, Supreme god/high god/sun god/sky god, and several mythologies similar to proto-Indo-European mythology, (seeming to confirm it started in the area of East Turkey/South of the Caucasus Mountains as many think related to the Anatolian hypothesis 9,000 years ago or so).
These ideas went east to Siberia, then China, around 5,000 years ago, the time sun symbols show up in Siberia and Mongolia, and the mace gets to China, with ideas of kings too. These new cultural ideas went to North America around 5,000 years ago, seen in Q DNA, but also ideas of elites and the labrets, first seen 11,000 years ago at Boncuklu Höyük. There were two intersections of ideas in pre-Egypt 8,000 R1b-v88 DNA, and then ideas related to Iraq and the Caucasus Mountain cultures 6,000 years ago. As the Mace heads in Egypt seem to start 6,000 years ago, Amratian/Naqada I culture, the mace must have gone to Egypt around 6,000 years ago, and likely some evolved mythology as well.
Also, Early European Farmers, a group of Anatolian Neolithic Farmers, brought agriculture to Europe and then Northwest Africa. In northwestern Africa, lifestyle transitioned from foraging to food production around 7,400 years ago, but what sparked that change remains unclear. The earliest basal R1b-V88 haplogroups were found in several Eastern European hunter-gatherers approximately 11,000 years ago; this DNA then migrated into Ukraine around 8,000 years ago. The haplogroup then seemingly spread with the expansion of Neolithic farmers, who established agriculture in the Western Mediterranean by around 7500 years ago.
I will add that R1b-v88 also came into North Africa through southern Europe, and moved to Chad, but I think it could have been both, as I see ideas moving a lot. I am open to it being just from the Northwest, it is still expressing that R1b-v88 brought more than just agriculture and pottery, it brought ideas of elites and the Supreme God, too. What I am saying. Elites and High Gods were invented in the Middle East, with or around the time of agriculture, is my reasoned speculation. Anatolian Neolithic farmers is a better word choice than Early European Farmers; calling them ANF, as EEF implies admixture to some extent. But both are used interchangeably.
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“Wheat and barley evolved from large-seeded annual grasses in the arid, low latitudes of Asia; their spread into higher elevations and northern latitudes involved corresponding evolutionary adaptations in these plants, including traits for frost tolerance and shifts in photoperiod sensitivity. The adaptation of farming populations to these northern latitudes was also a complex and poorly understood process that included changes in cultivation practices and the varieties of crops grown. In this article, we push back the earliest dates for the spread of wheat and barley into northern regions of Asia as well as providing earlier cultural links between East and West Asia. The archaeobotanical, palynological, and anthracological data we present come from the Tongtian Cave site in the Altai Mountains, with a punctuated occupation dating between 5,200 and 3,200 calibrated years ago, coinciding with global cooling of the middle–late Holocene transition. These early low-investment agropastoral populations in the north steppe area played a major role in the prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange. The spread of wheat and barley involves evolutionary and human adaptation, but has been difficult to date properly. Findings from a cave site suggest a much earlier transfer of cereal grains across Eurasia.” ref
Early contact between late farming and pastoralist societies in southeastern Europe
“Archaeogenetic studies have described two main genetic turnover events in prehistoric western Eurasia: one associated with the spread of farming and a sedentary lifestyle starting around 7000–6000 BCE and a second with the expansion of pastoralist groups from the Eurasian steppes starting around 3300 BCE. The period between these events saw new economies emerging on the basis of key innovations, including metallurgy, wheel and wagon, and horse domestication. However, what happened between the demise of the Copper Age settlements around 4250 BCE and the expansion of pastoralists remains poorly understood. To address this question, we analysed genome-wide data from 135 ancient individuals from the contact zone between southeastern Europe and the northwestern Black Sea region spanning this critical time period. While we observe genetic continuity between Neolithic and Copper Age groups from major sites in the same region, from around 4500 BCE on, groups from the northwestern Black Sea region carried varying amounts of mixed ancestries derived from Copper Age groups and those from the forest/steppe zones, indicating genetic and cultural contact over a period of around 1,000 years earlier than anticipated. We propose that the transfer of critical innovations between farmers and transitional foragers/herders from different ecogeographic zones during this early contact was integral to the formation, rise, and expansion of pastoralist groups around 3300 BCE.” ref
“It is not entirely clear how, when or where the domestication of the horse took place. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. The clearest evidence of early use of the horse as a means of transport is from chariot burials dated c. 2000 BCE. However, an increasing amount of evidence began to support the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes in approximately 3500 BCE. Discoveries in the context of the Botai culture had suggested that Botai settlements in the Akmola Province of Kazakhstan are the location of the earliest domestication of the horse. However, Taylor and Barrón-Ortiz (2021) argue that Botai findings only reflect intensive exploitation of wild horses—possibly involving some level of management, herding, or seasonal capture—but not full domestication in the way we see in later horse-using societies. Warmuth et al. (2012) pointed to horses having been domesticated around 3000 BCE in what is now Ukraine and Western Kazakhstan. The evidence is disputed by archaeozoologist Williams T. Taylor, who argues that domestication did not take place until around 2000 BCE. Genetic evidence indicates that domestication of the modern horse’s ancestors likely occurred in an area known as the Volga–Don, in the Pontic–Caspian steppe region of eastern Europe, around 2200 BCE. From there, use of horses spread across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work, and warfare. Scientists have linked the successful spread of domesticated horses to observed genetic changes. They speculate that stronger backs (GSDMC gene) and increased docility (ZFPM1 gene) may have made horses more suitable for riding.” ref
But is Atlantis real?
No. Atlantis (an allegory: “fake story” interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning) can’t be found any more than one can locate the Jolly Green Giant that is said to watch over frozen vegetables. Lol
May Reason Set You Free
There are a lot of truly great things said by anarchists in history, and also some deeply vile things, too, from not supporting Women’s rights to Anti-Semitism. There are those who also reject those supporting women’s rights as well as fight anti-Semitism. This is why I push reason as my only master, not anarchist thinking, though anarchism, to me, should see all humans everywhere as equal in dignity and rights.
We—Cory and Damien—are following the greatness that can be found in anarchist thinking.
As an Anarchist Educator, Damien strives to teach the plain truth. Damien does not support violence as my method to change. Rather, I choose education that builds Enlightenment and Empowerment. I champion Dignity and Equality. We rise by helping each other. What is the price of a tear? What is the cost of a smile? How can we see clearly when others pay the cost of our indifference and fear? We should help people in need. Why is that so hard for some people? Rich Ghouls must End. Damien wants “billionaires” to stop being a thing. Tax then into equality. To Damien, there is no debate, Capitalism is unethical. Moreover, as an Anarchist Educator, Damien knows violence is not the way to inspire lasting positive change. But we are not limited to violence, we have education, one of the most lasting and powerful ways to improve the world. We empower the world by championing Truth and its supporters.
Anarchism and Education
“Various alternatives to education and their problems have been proposed by anarchists which have gone from alternative education systems and environments, self-education, advocacy of youth and children rights, and freethought activism.” ref
“Historical accounts of anarchist educational experiments to explore how their pedagogical practices, organization, and content constituted a radical alternative to mainstream forms of educational provision in different historical periods.” ref
“The Ferrer school was an early 20th century libertarian school inspired by the anarchist pedagogy of Francisco Ferrer. He was a proponent of rationalist, secular education that emphasized reason, dignity, self-reliance, and scientific observation. The Ferrer movement’s philosophy had two distinct tendencies: non-didactic freedom from dogma and the more didactic fostering of counter-hegemonic beliefs. Towards non-didactic freedom from dogma, and fulfilled the child-centered tradition.” ref
Teach Real History: all our lives depend on it.
Damien sees lies about history as crimes against humanity. And we all must help humanity by addressing “any and all” who make harmful lies about history.
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My favorite “Graham Hancock” Quote?
“In what archaeologists have studied, yes, we can say there is NO Evidence of an advanced civilization.” – (Time 1:27) Joe Rogan Experience #2136 – Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble
People don’t commonly teach religious history, even that of their own claimed religion. No, rather they teach a limited “pro their religion” history of their religion from a religious perspective favorable to the religion of choice.
Do you truly think “Religious Belief” is only a matter of some personal choice?
Do you not see how coercive one’s world of choice is limited to the obvious hereditary belief, in most religious choices available to the child of religious parents or caregivers? Religion is more commonly like a family, culture, society, etc. available belief that limits the belief choices of the child and that is when “Religious Belief” is not only a matter of some personal choice and when it becomes hereditary faith, not because of the quality of its alleged facts or proposed truths but because everyone else important to the child believes similarly so they do as well simply mimicking authority beliefs handed to them. Because children are raised in religion rather than being presented all possible choices but rather one limited dogmatic brand of “Religious Belief” where children only have a choice of following the belief as instructed, and then personally claim the faith hereditary belief seen in the confirming to the belief they have held themselves all their lives. This is obvious in statements asked and answered by children claiming a faith they barely understand but they do understand that their family believes “this or that” faith, so they feel obligated to believe it too. While I do agree that “Religious Belief” should only be a matter of some personal choice, it rarely is… End Hereditary Religion!
Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey
“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref
We are like believing machines; we vacuum up ideas, like Velcro sticks to almost everything. We accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives, often without realizing it. Our willingness must be to alter skewed beliefs that impede our balance or reason, which allows us to achieve new positive thinking and accurate outcomes.
My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:
- (Pre-Animism Africa mainly, but also Europe, and Asia at least 300,000 years ago), (Pre-Animism – Oxford Dictionaries)
- (Animism Africa around 100,000 years ago), (Animism – Britannica.com)
- (Totemism Europe around 50,000 years ago), (Totemism – Anthropology)
- (Shamanism Siberia around 30,000 years ago), (Shamanism – Britannica.com)
- (Paganism Turkey around 12,000 years ago), (Paganism – BBC Religion)
- (Progressed Organized Religion “Institutional Religion” Egypt around 5,000 years ago), (Ancient Egyptian Religion – Britannica.com)
- (CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS after 4,000 years ago) (Origin of Major Religions – Sacred Texts)
- (Early Atheistic Doubting at least by 2,600 years ago) (History of Atheism – Wikipedia)
“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…
Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.
Understanding Religion Evolution:
- Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago)
- Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago)
- Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago)
- Shamanism (Siberia: 30,000 years ago)
- Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago)
- Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago), (Egypt, the First Dynasty 5,150 years ago)
- CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago)
- Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by 2,600 years ago)
“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”
It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred.
Quick Evolution of Religion?
Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago) with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).
Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.
Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.
I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.
Here are several of my blog posts on history:
- To Find Truth You Must First Look
- (Magdalenian/Iberomaurusian) Connections to the First Paganists of the early Neolithic Near East Dating from around 17,000 to 12,000 Years Ago
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- Possible Clan Leader/Special “MALE” Ancestor Totem Poles At Least 13,500 years ago?
- Jewish People with DNA at least 13,200 years old, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples.
- The Rise of Inequality: patriarchy and state hierarchy inequality
- Fertile Crescent 12,500 – 9,500 Years Ago: fertility and death cult belief system?
- 12,400 – 11,700 Years Ago – Kortik Tepe (Turkey) Pre/early-Agriculture Cultic Ritualism
- Ritualistic Bird Symbolism at Gobekli Tepe and its “Ancestor Cult”
- Male-Homosexual (female-like) / Trans-woman (female) Seated Figurine from Gobekli Tepe
- Could a 12,000-year-old Bull Geoglyph at Göbekli Tepe relate to older Bull and Female Art 25,000 years ago and Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk?
- Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago.
- Alcohol, where Agriculture and Religion Become one? Such as Gobekli Tepe’s Ritualistic use of Grain as Food and Ritual Drink
- Neolithic Ritual Sites with T-Pillars and other Cultic Pillars
- Paganism: Goddesses around 12,000 years ago then Male Gods after 7,000 years ago
- First Patriarchy: Split of Women’s Status around 12,000 years ago & First Hierarchy: fall of Women’s Status around 5,000 years ago.
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- J DNA and the Spread of Agricultural Religion (paganism)
- Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system
- Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism)
- Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and the Shamanism Phenomena
- Need to Mythicized: gods and goddesses
- 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago – Paleo-Indian Culture (The Americas)
- 12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)
- Norse did not wear helmets with horns?
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago?
- 10,400 – 10,100 Years Ago, in Turkey the Nevail Cori Religious Settlement
- 9,000-6,500 Years Old Submerged Pre-Pottery/Pottery Neolithic Ritual Settlements off Israel’s Coast
- Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 9,500 to 7,700 years ago (Turkey)
- Cultic Hunting at Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”
- Special Items and Art as well as Special Elite Burials at Catal Huyuk
- New Rituals and Violence with the appearance of Pottery and People?
- Haplogroup N and its related Uralic Languages and Cultures
- Ainu people, Sámi people, Native Americans, the Ancient North Eurasians, and Paganistic-Shamanism with Totemism
- Ideas, Technology and People from Turkey, Europe, to China and Back again 9,000 to 5,000 years ago?
- First Pottery of Europe and the Related Cultures
- 9,000 years old Neolithic Artifacts Judean Desert and Hills Israel
- 9,000-7,000 years-old Sex and Death Rituals: Cult Sites in Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai
- 9,000-8500 year old Horned Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany
- Neolithic Jewelry and the Spread of Farming in Europe Emerging out of West Turkey
- 8,600-year-old Tortoise Shells in Neolithic graves in central China have Early Writing and Shamanism
- Swing of the Mace: the rise of Elite, Forced Authority, and Inequality begin to Emerge 8,500 years ago?
- Migrations and Changing Europeans Beginning around 8,000 Years Ago
- My “Steppe-Anatolian-Kurgan hypothesis” 8,000/7,000 years ago
- Around 8,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Mistress of Animals, “Ritual” Motif
- Pre-Columbian Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture 8,000-3,000 years ago
- 7,522-6,522 years ago Linear Pottery culture which I think relates to Arcane Capitalism’s origins
- Arcane Capitalism: Primitive socialism, Primitive capital, Private ownership, Means of production, Market capitalism, Class discrimination, and Petite bourgeoisie (smaller capitalists)
- 7,500-4,750 years old Ritualistic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine
- Roots of a changing early society 7,200-6,700 years ago Jordan and Israel
- Agriculture religion (Paganism) with farming reached Britain between about 7,000 to 6,500 or so years ago and seemingly expressed in things like Western Europe’s Long Barrows
- My Thoughts on Possible Migrations of “R” DNA and Proto-Indo-European?
- “Millet” Spreading from China 7,022 years ago to Europe and related Language may have Spread with it leading to Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Indo-European (PIE), ancestor of Indo-European languages: DNA, Society, Language, and Mythology
- The Dnieper–Donets culture and Asian varieties of Millet from China to the Black Sea region of Europe by 7,022 years ago
- Kurgan 6,000 years ago/dolmens 7,000 years ago: funeral, ritual, and other?
- 7,020 to 6,020-year-old Proto-Indo-European Homeland of Urheimat or proposed home of their Language and Religion
- Ancient Megaliths: Kurgan, Ziggurat, Pyramid, Menhir, Trilithon, Dolman, Kromlech, and Kromlech of Trilithons
- The Mytheme of Ancient North Eurasian Sacred-Dog belief and similar motifs are found in Indo-European, Native American, and Siberian comparative mythology
- Elite Power Accumulation: Ancient Trade, Tokens, Writing, Wealth, Merchants, and Priest-Kings
- Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids may hold deep connections?
- Between 7,000-5,000 Years ago, rise of unequal hierarchy elite, leading to a “birth of the State” or worship of power, strong new sexism, oppression of non-elites, and the fall of Women’s equal status
- Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite & their slaves
- Hell and Underworld mythologies starting maybe as far back as 7,000 to 5,000 years ago with the Proto-Indo-Europeans?
- The First Expression of the Male God around 7,000 years ago?
- White (light complexion skin) Bigotry and Sexism started 7,000 years ago?
- Around 7,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Divine Bird (Tutelary and/or Trickster spirit/deity), “Ritual” Motif
- Nekhbet an Ancient Egyptian Vulture Goddess and Tutelary Deity
- 6,720 to 4,920 years old Ritualistic Hongshan Culture of Inner Mongolia with 5,000-year-old Pyramid Mounds and Temples
- First proto-king in the Balkans, Varna culture around 6,500 years ago?
- 6,500–5,800 years ago in Israel Late Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Period in the Southern Levant Seems to Express Northern Levant Migrations, Cultural and Religious Transfer
- KING OF BEASTS: Master of Animals “Ritual” Motif, around 6,000 years old or older…
- Around 6000-year-old Shared Idea of the Solid Wheel & the Spoked Wheel-Shaped Ritual Motif
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus?
- Religious/Ritual Ideas, including goddesses and gods as well as ritual mounds or pyramids from Northeastern Asia at least 6,000 years old, seemingly filtering to Iran, Iraq, the Mediterranean, Europe, Egypt, and the Americas?
- Maykop (5,720–5,020 years ago) Caucasus region Bronze Age culture-related to Copper Age farmers from the south, influenced by the Ubaid period and Leyla-Tepe culture, as well as influencing the Kura-Araxes culture
- 5-600-year-old Tomb, Mummy, and First Bearded Male Figurine in a Grave
- Kura-Araxes Cultural 5,520 to 4,470 years old DNA traces to the Canaanites, Arabs, and Jews
- Minoan/Cretan (Keftiu) Civilization and Religion around 5,520 to 3,120 years ago
- Evolution Of Science at least by 5,500 years ago
- 5,500 Years old birth of the State, the rise of Hierarchy, and the fall of Women’s status
- “Jiroft culture” 5,100 – 4,200 years ago and the History of Iran
- Stonehenge: Paganistic Burial and Astrological Ritual Complex, England (5,100-3,600 years ago)
- Around 5,000-year-old Shared Idea of the “Tree of Life” Ritual Motif
- Complex rituals for elite, seen from China to Egypt, at least by 5,000 years ago
- Around 5,000 years ago: “Birth of the State” where Religion gets Military Power and Influence
- The Center of the World “Axis Mundi” and/or “Sacred Mountains” Mythology Could Relate to the Altai Mountains, Heart of the Steppe
- Progressed organized religion starts, an approximately 5,000-year-old belief system
- China’s Civilization between 5,000-3,000 years ago, was a time of war and class struggle, violent transition from free clans to a Slave or Elite society
- Origin of Logics is Naturalistic Observation at least by around 5,000 years ago.
- Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)
- Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old)
- Did a 4,520–4,420-year-old Volcano In Turkey Inspire the Bible God?
- Finland’s Horned Shaman and Pre-Horned-God at least 4,500 years ago?
- 4,000-year-Old Dolmens in Israel: A Connected Dolmen Religious Phenomenon?
- Creation myths: From chaos, Ex nihilo, Earth-diver, Emergence, World egg, and World parent
- Bronze Age “Ritual” connections of the Bell Beaker culture with the Corded Ware/Single Grave culture, which were related to the Yamnaya culture and Proto-Indo-European Languages/Religions
- Low Gods (Earth/ Tutelary deity), High Gods (Sky/Supreme deity), and Moralistic Gods (Deity enforcement/divine order)
- The exchange of people, ideas, and material-culture including, to me, the new god (Sky Father) and goddess (Earth Mother) religion between the Cucuteni-Trypillians and others which is then spread far and wide
- Koryaks: Indigenous People of the Russian Far East and Big Raven myths also found in Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Indigenous People of North America
- 42 Principles Of Maat (Egyptian Goddess of the justice) around 4,400 years ago, 2000 Years Before Ten Commandments
- “Happy Easter” Well Happy Eostre/Ishter
- 4,320-3,820 years old “Shimao” (North China) site with Totemistic-Shamanistic Paganism and a Stepped Pyramid
- 4,250 to 3,400 Year old Stonehenge from Russia: Arkaim?
- 4,100-year-old beaker with medicinal & flowering plants in a grave of a woman in Scotland
- Early European Farmer ancestry, Kelif el Boroud people with the Cardial Ware culture, and the Bell Beaker culture Paganists too, spread into North Africa, then to the Canary Islands off West Africa
- Flood Accounts: Gilgamesh epic (4,100 years ago) Noah in Genesis (2,600 years ago)
- Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
- When was the beginning: TIMELINE OF CURRENT RELIGIONS, which start around 4,000 years ago.
- Early Religions Thought to Express Proto-Monotheistic Systems around 4,000 years ago
- Kultepe? An archaeological site with a 4,000 years old women’s rights document.
- Single God Religions (Monotheism) = “Man-o-theism” started around 4,000 years ago with the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān (天)?
- Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism?
- Yes, Your Male God is Ridiculous
- Mythology, a Lunar Deity is a Goddess or God of the Moon
- Sacred Land, Hills, and Mountains: Sami Mythology (Paganistic Shamanism)
- Horse Worship/Sacrifice: mythical union of Ruling Elite/Kingship and the Horse
- The Amorite/Amurru people’s God Amurru “Lord of the Steppe”, relates to the Origins of the Bible God?
- Bronze Age Exotic Trade Routes Spread Quite Far as well as Spread Religious Ideas with Them
- Sami and the Northern Indigenous Peoples Landscape, Language, and its Connection to Religion
- Prototype of Ancient Analemmatic Sundials around 3,900-3,150 years ago and a Possible Solar Connection to gods?
- Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
- The Weakening of Ancient Trade and the Strengthening of Religions around 3000 years ago?
- Are you aware that there are religions that worship women gods, explain now religion tears women down?
- Animistic, Totemistic, and Paganistic Superstition Origins of bible god and the bible’s Religion.
- Myths and Folklore: “Trickster gods and goddesses”
- Jews, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- An Old Branch of Religion Still Giving Fruit: Sacred Trees
- Dating the BIBLE: naming names and telling times (written less than 3,000 years ago, provable to 2,200 years ago)
- Did a Volcano Inspire the bible god?
- Dené–Yeniseian language, Old Copper Complex, and Pre-Columbian Mound Builders?
- No “dinosaurs and humans didn’t exist together just because some think they are in the bible itself”
- Sacred Shit and Sacred Animals?
- Everyone Killed in the Bible Flood? “Nephilim” (giants)?
- Hey, Damien dude, I have a question for you regarding “the bible” Exodus.
- Archaeology Disproves the Bible
- Bible Battle, Just More, Bible Babble
- The Jericho Conquest lie?
- Canaanites and Israelites?
- Accurate Account on how did Christianity Began?
- Let’s talk about Christianity.
- So the 10 commandments isn’t anything to go by either right?
- Misinformed christian
- Debunking Jesus?
- Paulism vs Jesus
- Ok, you seem confused so let’s talk about Buddhism.
- Unacknowledged Buddhism: Gods, Savior, Demons, Rebirth, Heavens, Hells, and Terrorism
- His Foolishness The Dalai Lama
- Yin and Yang is sexist with an ORIGIN around 2,300 years ago?
- I Believe Archaeology, not Myths & Why Not, as the Religious Myths Already Violate Reason!
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Aquatic Ape Theory/Hypothesis? As Always, Just Pseudoscience.
- Ancient Aliens Conspiracy Theorists are Pseudohistorians
- The Pseudohistoric and Pseudoscientific claims about “Bakoni Ruins” of South Africa
- Why do people think Religion is much more than supernaturalism and superstitionism?
- Religion is an Evolved Product
- Was the Value of Ancient Women Different?
- 1000 to 1100 CE, human sacrifice Cahokia Mounds a pre-Columbian Native American site
- Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?
- Promoting Religion as Real is Mentally Harmful to a Flourishing Humanity
- Screw All Religions and Their Toxic lies, they are all fraud
- Forget Religions’ Unfounded Myths, I Have Substantiated “Archaeology Facts.”
- Religion Dispersal throughout the World
- I Hate Religion Just as I Hate all Pseudoscience
- Exposing Scientology, Eckankar, Wicca and Other Nonsense?
- Main deity or religious belief systems
- Quit Trying to Invent Your God From the Scraps of Science.
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists: Misunderstanding, Rhetoric, Misinformation, Fabrications, and Lies
- Misinformation, Distortion, and Pseudoscience in Talking with a Christian Creationist
- Judging the Lack of Goodness in Gods, Even the Norse God Odin
- Challenging the Belief in God-like Aliens and Gods in General
- A Challenge to Christian use of Torture Devices?
- Yes, Hinduism is a Religion
- Trump is One of the Most Reactionary Forces of Far-right Christian Extremism
- Was the Bull Head a Symbol of God? Yes!
- Primate Death Rituals
- Christian – “God and Christianity are objectively true”
- Australopithecus afarensis Death Ritual?
- You Claim Global Warming is a Hoax?
- Doubter of Science and Defamer of Atheists?
- I think that sounds like the Bible?
- History of the Antifa (“anti-fascist”) Movements
- Indianapolis Anti-Blasphemy Laws #Free Soheil Rally
- Damien, you repeat the golden rule in so many forms then you say religion is dogmatic?
- Science is a Trustable Methodology whereas Faith is not Trustable at all!
- Was I ever a believer, before I was an atheist?
- Atheists rise in reason
- Mistrust of science?
- Open to Talking About the Definition of ‘God’? But first, we address Faith.
- ‘United Monarchy’ full of splendor and power – Saul, David, and Solomon? Most likely not.
- Is there EXODUS ARCHAEOLOGY? The short answer is “no.”
- Lacking Proof of Bigfoots, Unicorns, and Gods is Just a Lack of Research?
- Religion and Politics: Faith Beliefs vs. Rational Thinking
- Hammer of Truth that lying pig RELIGION: challenged by an archaeologist
- “The Hammer of Truth” -ontology question- What do You Mean by That?
- Navigation of a bad argument: Ad Hominem vs. Attack
- Why is it Often Claimed that Gods have a Gender?
- Why are basically all monotheistic religions ones that have a male god?
- Shifting through the Claims in support of Faith
- Dear Mr. AtHope, The 20th Century is an Indictment of Secularism and a Failed Atheist Century
- An Understanding of the Worldwide Statistics and Dynamics of Terrorist Incidents and Suicide Attacks
- Intoxication and Evolution? Addressing and Assessing the “Stoned Ape” or “Drunken Monkey” Theories as Catalysts in Human Evolution
- Sacred Menstrual cloth? Inanna’s knot, Isis knot, and maybe Ma’at’s feather?
- Damien, why don’t the Hebrews accept the bible stories?
- Dealing with a Troll and Arguing Over Word Meaning
- Knowledge without Belief? Justified beliefs or disbeliefs worthy of Knowledge?
- Afrocentrism and African Religions
- Crecganford @crecganford offers history & stories of the people, places, gods, & culture
- Empiricism-Denier?
I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education.
To me, Animism starts in Southern Africa, then to West Europe, and becomes Totemism. Another split goes near the Russia and Siberia border becoming Shamanism, which heads into Central Europe meeting up with Totemism, which also had moved there, mixing the two which then heads to Lake Baikal in Siberia. From there this Shamanism-Totemism heads to Turkey where it becomes Paganism.
Not all “Religions” or “Religious Persuasions” have a god(s) but
All can be said to believe in some imaginary beings or imaginary things like spirits, afterlives, etc.
Paganism 12,000-4,000 years old
12,000-7,000 years old: related to (Pre-Capitalism)
7,000-5,000 years old: related to (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!
5,000 years old: related to (Kings and the Rise of the State)
4,000 years old: related to (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity
“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref
“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref
“Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref
“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref
Tutelary deity
“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang. In Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States
“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and Ur; Ancient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as Florence, Siena, Ferrara, Milan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coast; Ragusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref
“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref
“Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:
You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref
“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref
“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref
“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref
Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)
“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref
“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref
“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref
“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:
- Brownie (Scotland and England) or Hob (England) / Kobold (Germany) / Goblin / Hobgoblin
- Domovoy (Slavic)
- Nisse (Norwegian or Danish) / Tomte (Swedish) / Tonttu (Finnish)
- Húsvættir (Norse)” ref
“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref
“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref
“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref
“William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:
The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref
“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:
It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …
In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref
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“These ideas are my speculations from the evidence.”
I am still researching the “god‘s origins” all over the world. So, you know, it is very complicated, but I am smart and willing to look, DEEP, if necessary, which going very deep does seem to be needed here, when trying to actually understand the evolution of gods and goddesses. I am sure of a few things and less sure of others, but even in stuff I am not fully grasping I still am slowly figuring it out, to explain it to others. But as I research more, I am understanding things a little better, though I am still working on understanding it all or something close and thus always figuring out more.
Sky Father/Sky God?
“Egyptian: (Nut) Sky Mother and (Geb) Earth Father” (Egypt is different but similar)
Turkic/Mongolic: (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) Sky Father and (Eje/Gazar Eej) Earth Mother *Transeurasian*
Hawaiian: (Wākea) Sky Father and (Papahānaumoku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
New Zealand/ Māori: (Ranginui) Sky Father and (Papatūānuku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
Proto-Indo-European: (Dyḗus/Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) Sky Father and (Dʰéǵʰōm/Pleth₂wih₁) Earth Mother
Indo-Aryan: (Dyaus Pita) Sky Father and (Prithvi Mata) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Italic: (Jupiter) Sky Father and (Juno) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Etruscan: (Tinia) Sky Father and (Uni) Sky Mother *Tyrsenian/Italy Pre–Indo-European*
Hellenic/Greek: (Zeus) Sky Father and (Hera) Sky Mother who started as an “Earth Goddess” *Indo-European*
Nordic: (Dagr) Sky Father and (Nótt) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Slavic: (Perun) Sky Father and (Mokosh) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Illyrian: (Deipaturos) Sky Father and (Messapic Damatura’s “earth-mother” maybe) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Albanian: (Zojz) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Baltic: (Perkūnas) Sky Father and (Saulė) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Germanic: (Týr) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Colombian-Muisca: (Bochica) Sky Father and (Huythaca) Sky Mother *Chibchan*
Aztec: (Quetzalcoatl) Sky Father and (Xochiquetzal) Sky Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Incan: (Viracocha) Sky Father and (Mama Runtucaya) Sky Mother *Quechuan*
China: (Tian/Shangdi) Sky Father and (Dì) Earth Mother *Sino-Tibetan*
Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian: (An/Anu) Sky Father and (Ki) Earth Mother
Finnish: (Ukko) Sky Father and (Akka) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Sami: (Horagalles) Sky Father and (Ravdna) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Puebloan-Zuni: (Ápoyan Ta’chu) Sky Father and (Áwitelin Tsíta) Earth Mother
Puebloan-Hopi: (Tawa) Sky Father and (Kokyangwuti/Spider Woman/Grandmother) Earth Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Puebloan-Navajo: (Tsohanoai) Sky Father and (Estsanatlehi) Earth Mother *Na-Dene*
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Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref
Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref
Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref
“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref
“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref
Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref
Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref
Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref
Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref
Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref
Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref
Knowledge to Ponder:
Stars/Astrology:
- Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
- The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
- Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
- Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.
“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref
Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref
Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logics is a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref
Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref
Hinduism:
- 3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
- 3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Judaism:
- around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
- around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed
Myths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths
- Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
- Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
- Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books.
- Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
- The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
- The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
- The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
- The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
- Henotheism:
- Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
- Polytheism:
- Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
- Monotheism:
- Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:
- Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
- Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
- Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
- Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
- Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
- Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref
This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.
“Theists, there has to be a god, as something can not come from nothing.”
Well, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something. This does not tell us what the something that may have been involved with something coming from nothing. A supposed first cause, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something is not an open invitation to claim it as known, neither is it justified to call or label such an unknown as anything, especially an unsubstantiated magical thinking belief born of mythology and religious storytelling.
While hallucinogens are associated with shamanism, it is alcohol that is associated with paganism.
The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:
Show two: Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show tree: Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show four: Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show five: Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show six: Emergence of hierarchy, sexism, slavery, and the new male god dominance: Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!
Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses: VIDEO
Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism): VIDEO
Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves: VIEDO
Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State): VIEDO
Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism): VIEDO
I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.
The truth is best championed in the sunlight of challenge.
An archaeologist once said to me “Damien religion and culture are very different”
My response, So are you saying that was always that way, such as would you say Native Americans’ cultures are separate from their religions? And do you think it always was the way you believe?
I had said that religion was a cultural product. That is still how I see it and there are other archaeologists that think close to me as well. Gods too are the myths of cultures that did not understand science or the world around them, seeing magic/supernatural everywhere.
I personally think there is a goddess and not enough evidence to support a male god at Çatalhöyük but if there was both a male and female god and goddess then I know the kind of gods they were like Proto-Indo-European mythology.
This series idea was addressed in, Anarchist Teaching as Free Public Education or Free Education in the Public: VIDEO
Our 12 video series: Organized Oppression: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of power (9,000-4,000 years ago), is adapted from: The Complete and Concise History of the Sumerians and Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia (7000-2000 BC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFjxmY7jQA by “History with Cy“
Show #1: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Samarra, Halaf, Ubaid)
Show #2: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #3: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Uruk and the First Cities)
Show #4: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (First Kings)
Show #5: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Early Dynastic Period)
Show #6: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #7: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Sargon and Akkadian Rule)
Show #9: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Gudea of Lagash and Utu-hegal)
Show #12: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Aftermath and Legacy of Sumer)
The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.
Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?
Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.
I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.
Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.
At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.
Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)
Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft
Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie
Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.
Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”
I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.
Around 10,000 years ago, ideas went into Africa. Around 10,000 to 9,000 years ago, these ideas from the Middle East were in Siberia then moved to China and to the Americas by around 9,000 years ago. Religious ideas also left the Middle East from 9,000 to 8,000 years ago to Europe. Around 8,000 years ago, new ideas got to Ukraine but didn’t spread far. From 8,000 to 7,000 years ago, ideas again entered Africa with evolved beliefs from the Middle East. By 7,000 years ago, evolved deities from the Middle East moved again to Europe and Ukraine. And 7,000 years ago, the Siberian sun god of the sky, with a warrior culture, armed forts, and pre-kurgans, moved from Siberia to Ukraine and then returned to the Middle East around 6,000 years ago, influencing the Sumerian religious ideas. 6,000 to 5,000 years ago, these new Siberian influenced ideas from the Middle East were also in Africa. Then new evolved ideas moved back out of from Ukraine to the East by 5,500 to 5,000 years ago to Siberia, then China, and the Americas. Ideas from Ukraine went into Europe as well. Then, 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, the new ideas, now somewhat evolved again, from Siberia headed back to Europe, and so did ideas from the Middle East. ETC. This is just a rough outline to grasp some of the details, as I feel I understand them. There is a bit more, but this gives a good idea of how complicated it was.
I think the person, snakes, and two birds seen at Körtik Tepe is the oldest known Neolithic archaeological site in Turkey, more than 12,000 years old, were likely related to the Orion constellation as a shamanic figure holding a snake, referencing the use of the Milky Way to communicate with the gods and ancestors, as well as soul travel via the Milky Way. The big snake to me would reference the Milky Way itself and the two birds, either the star Venus and the moon, or some aspect of the sun, and the moon, but the sun aspect was likely not the noon sun by itself, as I see that as gaining prominence at a later date. And I think the other figures, also related to the Orion constellation, either as a deity or a deity of the stars, put Orion there. I assume, as seen at Tell Fekheriye, Syria, 11,000 to 9,000 years old, involving two standing figures on “step stools of power” that by 11,000 years ago were at least two sky deities, such as something similar to both a sky father and a sky mother deity, at this time, related to the stars, or planets (also seen as stars or star-like). But we must remember that planets were seen as star-related in mythology.
Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):
Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism
My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com