Irving Finkel, a seasoned curator at the British Museum in London and a prominent authority on ancient inscriptions and Mesopotamian history, recently shared his views in an interview. He suggested that much of what we know about the ancient world may stem from a misunderstanding shaped by the survival of only a few records. Finkel pointed out that our understanding of Sumerian history is largely based on clay tablets from merely two or three archives, highlighting the potential skew in our historical perspective, which is derived from a limited selection of bureaucratic documents.
In his discussion, Finkel emphasized that the narrative of the Great Flood predates the Bible by a millennium. He referenced a clay tablet dating back to 1700 BC, which details that the gods intended to eliminate the noisy populace of Mesopotamia. This account mirrors the biblical tale of Noah, with the notable difference that the vessel described was round, reflecting the boat designs of that era rather than the coffin-shaped ark mentioned in the Bible. Finkel suggested that this flood story likely originated from a genuine local flood event, as Mesopotamia was prone to such occurrences, unlike Jerusalem.
Moreover, Finkel reflected on the similarities between modern humans and those from ancient times, asserting that people in antiquity enjoyed a more organic way of life than today's urban dwellers. He also proposed a thought experiment: if Martians were to visit Earth and wanted to grasp the essence of our civilization, a tour of the British Museum would provide them with a comprehensive overview of human life on the planet.
Informational material. 18+.
