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Irving Finkel is a scholar of ancient languages and a longtime curator at the British Museum, renowned for his expertise in Mesopotamian history and cuneiform writing. He specializes in reading and in...
Irving Finkel, curator at the British Museum and expert in cuneiform script, explores the origins and evolution of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to 3500 BC. He discusses controversial theories about writing's true origins (possibly at Göbekli Tepe around 9000 BC), the decipherment process of cuneiform, and his groundbreaking discovery of the Ark Tablet—a Babylonian flood narrative predating Noah by over 1000 years. Finkel challenges conventional academic assumptions about ancient civilizations, arguing that humans were far more sophisticated earlier than typically believed, and that much of our historical record represents only a fraction of what existed.
Finkel explains how writing originated in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC with clay tablets, evolving from pictographic signs to phonetic representation. He controversially argues that writing likely existed much earlier, possibly at Göbekli Tepe (9000 BC), based on a seal with hieroglyphic signs found there. The key innovation was realizing pictures could represent sounds, not just objects.
The decipherment of cuneiform paralleled the Rosetta Stone discovery, using the trilingual Behistun inscription (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian). Finkel credits Edward Hincks, an Irish clergyman, as the true genius behind decipherment, challenging the conventional attribution to Henry Rawlinson. The key was recognizing Babylonian as a Semitic language related to Arabic and Hebrew.
Finkel explains the technical mechanics of cuneiform: a syllabic system where signs represent consonant-vowel combinations (ab, ba, ib, bi, etc.), with no spaces between words. Each sign can have multiple phonetic and semantic values, requiring context to decode. The system derived from Sumerian vocabulary, creating complexity but also flexibility to write any language phonetically.
Sumerian is a linguistic isolate—unrelated to any known language family—suggesting it was recorded 'just in time' before its entire language family went extinct. This implies vast language families existed in prehistory that are now completely lost, with Sumerian as the sole survivor captured by early writing.
Finkel argues that conventional translations of Akkadian omens and medical texts are fundamentally wrong. The language lacks grammatical modal verbs (could, might, should), but these nuances MUST have existed in speech. Translating 'if X then Y will happen' as certainty is absurd—diviners and doctors would never make absolute predictions.
Finkel discovered and deciphered a 1700 BC tablet containing detailed instructions for building a ROUND ark for the Mesopotamian flood story, predating the biblical Noah narrative by over 1000 years. The tablet provides specific measurements and materials, describing a coracle-style vessel. This proves literary dependence: the Genesis flood story derives from Babylonian sources.
Finkel argues the Hebrew Bible was written during the Babylonian exile (6th century BC) to prevent cultural assimilation. Judean refugees in Babylon spoke Aramaic (like Babylonians) and would have disappeared through intermarriage. The priesthood created a historical charter recycling Babylonian narratives (creation, flood) but reframing them morally (sin vs. noise).
Cuneiform's complexity lasted 3000+ years partly due to scribal class self-interest—literacy conferred enormous power. Scribal schools trained students in Sumerian and Akkadian, with graduates stratified into low-level contract writers, professional administrators, and intellectual elites (astronomy, medicine, law, architecture). Mass literacy would have threatened this power structure.
Mesopotamians had a large pantheon with specialized gods, taking divine presence for granted rather than 'believing' in it. Finkel argues monotheism introduced evil through dogmatic exclusivity ('I'm right, you're wrong'), while polytheism was inherently tolerant. Personal gods required maintenance through offerings, reflecting practical rather than mystical relationships.
Finkel emphasizes that surviving tablets represent a tiny fraction of what existed. The Ashurbanipal library tablets found scattered and broken likely represent only duplicates and rejects—the Babylonians probably took the actual library home. Similarly, thousands of Ur III administrative tablets probably came from just two storage rooms, skewing our entire understanding of that period.
#487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths
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