Secrets of Ancient Civilizations – Part 3: Origins

In the first two installments of this series on ancient knowledge (part 1 and part 2), we explored significant advancements in construction, science, and technology. In this concluding part, we will examine the myths surrounding the rise of ancient civilizations.

When Did Ancient Civilizations Arise?

Carl Wieland highlighted an intriguing aspect of their origins, noting that these civilizations seem to have arisen independently but within a similar timeframe.¹

The origins of the Sumerian civilization are believed to date back to the 4th millennium BCE.² Similarly, Egyptian civilization emerged around 3100 BCE with the start of the First Dynasty.³ The advanced civilization of the Indus Valley is thought to have arisen in the early 3rd millennium BCE.⁴ The recently discovered civilization in the Andes, known as Norte Chico, has been dated to approximately 3500 BCE.⁵ Additionally, horseback riding on the Great Steppe is believed to have originated around 3500 BCE.⁶ This means that of these significant developments took place within a span of less than 1,000 years.

However, the timeline of human habitation across regions presents a different narrative. Homo sapiens are thought to have emerged in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago, reaching the Nile Valley around 140,000 BCE,⁷ and arriving in Mesopotamia approximately 70,000 years after that. By approximately 50,000 BCE, humans had dispersed across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia, only reaching the Andes around 11,000 BCE.⁸ This indicates a substantial contrast: Egyptian civilisation emerged roughly 137,000 years after humans first settled along the Nile, while the Norte Chico civilisation arose a mere 8,000 years after people arrived in the Andes.

Questions That Need Answers

These facts raise several intriguing questions. How was it possible for the Norte Chico civilisation to emerge in significantly less time than the Sumerian, Egyptian, or Indian civilisations? Why did humans, who had inhabited the same regions for tens of thousands of years during the Ice Age, not consider developing agriculture, relying instead solely on gathering and hunting? And why, during the Holocene epoch, which began around 10,000 BCE, did agricultural communities wait approximately 6,000 to 7,000 years—equivalent to roughly 250 to 350 human generations—before establishing the first ancient cities and civilizations?

These questions continue to challenge scientists today. The prevailing explanation often points to an unstable climate as a factor that may have delayed the development of human civilization. But could the answer be simpler than we assume?

Flood Legends

Ancient civilizations share many common elements, some of which may seem surprising—such as the construction of pyramids in various regions around the world. Perhaps the most intriguing shared feature, however, is the prevalence of flood legends. These stories appear in foundational cultures, including those of Sumer, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, India, and China, as well as Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

Notably, it is not only the existence of flood legends that stands out, but also the frequent alignment of these legends with the biblical narrative. According to Dr. Duane Gish, there are as many as 270 such flood legends.⁹ Many of these share elements reminiscent of the biblical account, including the global scope of the flood, its divine origins, the survival of a small group of people on a vessel, and animals testing the dryness of the land, among other details.

For example¹⁰:

• The Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia recounts how the gods sent a flood because humanity had become excessively noisy. However, the merciful god Enki (or Ea) instructed a man named Utnapishtim to build a cubic ark to save himself, his family, and various animals.
  
• A Tanzanian legend tells of two people whom God instructed to take animals and seeds onto a boat to survive an impending flood that would submerge all the mountains. They later released a dove, followed by a hawk, to see if the earth had dried.
  
• In Scandinavian mythology, when Odin and his brothers killed Ymir, the primordial ice giant, his blood caused a catastrophic flood across the Earth. Two other giants, Bergelmir and his wife, survived in a hollow tree trunk or wooden chest. The theme of a flood caused by blood is also echoed in Egyptian mythology.
  
• An Australian Aboriginal legend speaks of a man named Gajara, who survived a global flood with his family on a raft. He sent out birds to see if the waters had receded. After offering a kangaroo as a sacrifice, the god Ngadja placed a rainbow in the sky to halt the storm clouds.¹¹
  
• In Incan mythology, the world’s creator, Viracocha, decided to destroy all disobedient giants with a flood. Only two giants on a boat survived. Viracocha then created animals and molded humans from clay.
  

Some suggest that flood legends originated from localised flood events. However, these legends—remarkably, even among desert-dwelling cultures—consistently describe a flood of global proportions, covering all lands.¹² Could it be, then, that a worldwide flood actually took place, as believed by ancient societies?

Legends of Language Confusion

Though less common, legends about the diversification of human languages appear in various cultures worldwide. Some even reference a towering structure reaching the heavens. For example, a legend from Burma tells of people who, after a great flood, built a tall pagoda. However, angered by their actions, their god descended, confounded their languages, and scattered them across the Earth.¹³

Similar legends are found in India, notably among the Mikir (Karbi) tribe in Assam, and on Hao Island in French Polynesia. Other versions make no mention of a tower. For instance, in Greek mythology, people initially spoke a single language until Hermes, as a prank, confounded their speech. In Incan mythology, the god Viracocha, who created humans from clay following a great flood, bestowed upon them different languages and scattered them across the world.¹⁴

The Sumerian King List and the Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis, like the Sumerian King List, names individuals who lived before the flood. The Sumerian King List, which combines both mythological and historical figures from ancient Sumer, records astonishingly long reigns for early rulers. The earliest part of the list describes eight kings who supposedly ruled before the flood, each with an extraordinarily long lifespan. For instance, Alulim, the first king, is said to have ruled for 28,800 years, while Enmenluanna, the third king, ruled for an astonishing 43,200 years.¹⁵

The concept of pre-flood kings closely mirrors the biblical list of ten patriarchs who lived before the flood. These patriarchs are also described as having exceptionally long lifespans, though not as lengthy as those attributed to the Sumerian kings. Most pre-flood patriarchs are said to have lived over 900 years, although none reached 1,000—still far beyond today’s average lifespan of 70–80 years, or even 100 years. Interestingly, when Adam (the first man) and Noah (known for surviving the flood) are excluded, the remaining eight patriarchs correspond to the eight pre-flood kings in the Sumerian lists.¹⁶

At first glance, this might seem like nothing more than a myth. However, if the ancient accounts hold any truth and a flood truly did occur, could we be confronting a forgotten chapter in the world’s history?

Who Could the Pre-Flood People Have Been?

It is possible that a flood did indeed occur, as recounted in the Bible.¹⁷ According to the biblical narrative, God created Adam and Eve, who, after sinning, were expelled from Paradise but went on to become the ancestors of future generations. Some of their descendants, like Cain and Lamech, chose paths marked by arrogance and wrongdoing. As humanity grew, so too did the spread of evil across the Earth. Due to this pervasive wickedness, God chose to send forth a flood, sparing only Noah and his family.

This is the account presented in the Bible, with ancient legends indirectly supporting it. Modern scientists, however, often regard these narratives as mere myth. Yet, could it be that ancient civilizations held a more accurate understanding of their own history?

By the way, we recommend reading the articles:

• What Did the Miller-Urey Experiment Actually Prove?
• Göbekli Tepe – A Great Mystery for Historians
• Scientists and Philosophers Who Found Faith in God
• What is the Higgs Boson?
• Defining the Human-Animal Divide

Footnote:

1. Wieland, C. (2008) ‘All at once’, Creation, 31(1), p. 16. Available at: https://creation.com/civilization-comes-suddenly.
2. Mark, J.J. (2011) ‘Sumer’, World History Encyclopedia, 28 April. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/sumer/.
3. Mark, J.J. (2009) ‘Ancient Egypt’, World History Encyclopedia, 2 September. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/egypt/.
4. Mark, J.J. (2020) ‘Indus Valley Civilization’, World History Encyclopedia, 7 October. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Valley_Civilization/.
5. Khan Academy (n.d.) ‘Andean and Chavin Civilizations’. Available at: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-americas/a/andean-and-chavn-civilizations-article.
6. Brahic, C. (2009) ‘Riding with the first cowboys – in 3500 BC’, New Scientist, 5 March. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16713-riding-with-the-first-cowboys-in-3500-bc/.
7. Gibbons, A. (2015) ‘Trail of Tools Reveal Modern Humans’ Path Out of Africa’, National Geographic, 24 February. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/150224-africa-stone-tools-modern-humans-arabia-emiran-nubian-origins.
8. Hunter, A. (2021) ‘The Migration of Homo Sapiens’, 17 March. Available at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1d3040b51dac46d1b334e73a2a1dd698.
9. White, M. (2007) ‘Flood Legends’, Answers Magazine, 2, pp. 18-20. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/flood-legends/.
10. Answers Magazine (2016) ‘Worldwide Flood Legends’, 4, pp. 46-47. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/answers/magazine/v11-n4/bible-culture/worldwide-flood-legends/.
11. ‘The Flood’ (1981) Creation, 4(3), pp. 9–12, trans. Coates, H. Available at: https://creation.com/aboriginal-flood-legend.
12. Landis, D. (2012) The Genius of Ancient Man, Master Books, pp. 75-76.
13. Ibid., p. 77.
14. Lacey, T. and Hodge, D. (2013) ‘What About Creation, Flood, and Language Division Legends?’, in The New Answers Book 4, Master Books. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/world-religions/creation-flood-language-legends/.
15. López, R. (1998) ‘The Antediluvian Patriarchs and the Sumerian King List’, Journal of Creation, 12(3), pp. 347-357. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-history/the-antediluvian-patriarchs-and-the-sumerian-king-list/.
16. Ibid.
17. The Bible, New King James Version, 1982, Genesis 7-8.

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