Wayland' Smithy Revised Decipherment - LexiLine Journal 495

In the course of reconstruction of the pages at Megaliths.net (in this case the home page - the rest will follow), I had cause to revise my decipherment of the megaliths of Wayland's Smithy, the first megalithic site deciphered by me in the year 2002.

In the intervening six years and hundreds if not thousands of megalithic sites later, a lot more experience in decipherment of the megaliths has come to bear on megalithic site interpretation and a revision was unavoidable. The revised decipherment does not change my decipherment of the megaliths in the United Kingdom in any way, but it does assign different stars to some of the stones.

The revised decipherement has been uploaded to our LexiLine files at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LexiLine/files/Ancient%20Britain/
as
waylandssmithydeciphermentnew2008.png (the graphic below)


There are more interesting things ahead in terms of new decipherments.
I have many already waiting on my hard disk, and I just have to find the time to put them to print.

Kostenki at Science Magazine - LexiLine Journal 494

I reported earlier on the archaeological site of Kostenki in my Principles of Historical Language Reconstruction.

The following abstracted report appeared in the Reports at Science Magazine in 2007 (Science, 12 January 2007: Vol. 315. no. 5809, pp. 223 - 226 DOI: 10.1126/science.1133376):

Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans

by M. V. Anikovich, A. A. Sinitsyn, John F. Hoffecker, Vance T. Holliday, V. V. Popov, S. N. Lisitsyn, Steven L. Forman, G. M. Levkovskaya, G. A. Pospelova, I. E. Kuz'mina, N. D. Burova, Paul Goldberg, Richard I. Macphail, Biagio Giaccio, N. D. Praslov

"Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and magnetic stratigraphy indicate Upper Paleolithic occupation—probably representing modern humans—at archaeological sites on the Don River in Russia 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. The oldest levels at Kostenki underlie a volcanic ash horizon identified as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 tephra that is dated elsewhere to about 40,000 years ago. The occupation layers contain bone and ivory artifacts, including possible figurative art, and fossil shells imported more than 500 kilometers. Thus, modern humans appeared on the central plain of Eastern Europe as early as anywhere else in northern Eurasia."

Read the Full Text (but note that a cost subscription is required)

Origins of the Name of Easter - LexiLine Journal 493

We hope, in view of all of the astronomy postings of the day, and seeing as Easter is very much an astronomically-based moveable feast, that you take the time to read the Wikipedia article on Easter, which writes among other things as follows about the origin of the name of Easter:

"The modern English term Easter developed from the Old English word Eastre, which itself developed prior to AD 899. The name refers to the Eostur-monath, a month of the Germanic calendar which may have been named for the goddess Eastre in Germanic paganism.

In his De temporum ratione, Bede, an 8th-century English Christian monk, wrote in Latin:

"Eostur-monath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae Eostre vocabatur et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit."

which translates as:

"Eostur-month, which is now interpreted as the paschal month, was formerly named after the goddess Eostre, and has given its name to the festival."

Some scholars have suggested that a lack of supporting documentation for this goddess might indicate that Bede assumed her existence based on the name of the month. Eostur-monath, and thus, according to Bede, from the Germanic goddess Eostre, though this etymology is sometimes disputed....

Jacob Grimm took up the question of Eostre in his 1835 work Deutsche Mythologie. Grimm notes that Ostara-manoth is etymologically related to Eostur-monath, and in writing of various landmarks and customs that he believed to be related to a putative goddess he named Ostara in Germany."

In a recent German-language publication at Efodon Synesis (see here for Der Bodenhimmel der Oesterholzer Mark um die Spitze der Externsteine, which is a much better quality color .pdf version from me), I have pointed out that Ostara as a German priestess was tied to the megalithic, astronomical sites that are found at the Externsteine (Extern Stones), Osterholz and Osnabrück.

The German name for Easter is Ostern. As written by Peter Weinfurth at Oesterholz and Karl Theodor Menke in Verehrung der Eostra an den Externsteinen, Kapitel IX, Geschichte der Externsteine, Ostara or Eostra as a star priestess is tied particularly by legend to the megalithic site of Oesterholz (Oester-holz) near the Extern Stones (see this .pdf of my article on the Externsteine, Sternensteine: Darstellungen frühgeschichtlicher Astronomie am Beispiel der Externsteine).

There is little doubt that Easter as a holiday of the Spring season goes back many, many millennia.

The Age of MUL.APIN According to Andis Kaulins analzying van der Waarden and Hunger & Pingree - LexiLine Journal 492

MUL.APIN according to Hunger & Pingree, An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform
(see LexiLine.com here and here) is commented here by Andis Kaulins

MUL.APIN, Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum

Hunger & Pingree, "MUL.APIN: An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform",
Archiv fuer Orientforschung, Beiheft 24, 1989, Verlag Ferdinand Berger & Soehne; Horn, Austria-3580.

Below: Comments to that article by Andis Kaulins

PART I

Other writers besides Papke on the MUL.APIN cuneiform tablets have been van der Waarden and Hunger & Pingree (H & P).

Hunger and Pingree did not know of Werner Papke's The Stars of Babylon published in that same year (1989), but do refer to his 1978 work, Werner Papke, Die Keilschriftserie MUL.APIN, Dokument wissenschaftlicher Astronomie im 3. Jahrtausend, Tuebingen, 1978.

HOW OLD IS THE ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEM USE IN MUL.APIN ?

Hunger and Pingree themselves note that it was van der Waarden who first proposed the theory that the MUL.APIN applied to a time period circa 1000 BC (which Hunger and Pingree accept, contrary to Papke), but then, based on Papke's observations and some new one's of his own, van der Waarden CHANGED his mind to a date of 2340 BC and accepted Papke's conclusions later (1984).

The writings by B.L. van der Waarden are :
1) Babylonian Astronomy II. The Thirty-Six Stars, JNES 8 (1949) 6-26 (JNES = Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Chicago).
2) Babylonian Astronomy III. Astronomical Computations, JNES 10 (1954), 20-34
3) Die Anfaenge der Astronomie, Groningen (1966)
4) Greek Astronomical Calendars I. The Parapegma of Euctemon, AHES 29 (1984) 101-114. (AHES = Archives for the History of the Exact Sciences)

Although the arguments of Hunger and Pingree are understandable, "their" date of ca. 1000 BC for MUL.APIN astronomy can be regarded as clearly erroneous and ca. one Sothic Year of 1460 years removed from the correct date. Indeed, the evidence shows that later changes were made by scribes for later Babylonian tablet copies. The copied tablets are younger, their astronomy far older.

Even Hunger and Pingree themselves admit that "two" sets of data seem to be combined in the known MUL.APIN tablets.

Moreover, one of their arguments - that cuneiform texts in 2300 BC like this are not known - is not persuasive. It begs the question - presuming the very thing to be proven.

More important is Papke's account that Kallisthenes, an officer of Alexander the Great, had sent astronomical data of the Babylonians back to his uncle Aristotle, stating they were exactly 1903 years old.

Such an exact historical date is already quite remarkable, probably pointing to some round number of calculation. Alexander the Great's life is today dated to 356-323 BC
(we here at LexiLine think there is an error here in chronology) but even the mainstream date plus 1903 years of age gives something close to 2300 BC. as the round number reference date and in fact Papke argues that the cuneiform tablets go back ca. 2340 BC.

Indeed, as Hunger and Pingree correctly note: "the composition of some of the relevant texts can be dated to earlier periods...the sources for certain sections of MUL.APIN can be considered earlier than extant exemplars of MUL.APIN".

Papke handles these matters in his book, Die Sterne von Babylon, in pages 237-276, pointing out that the crucial error was initially made by Epping, Kugler, and Fotheringham in their identification of KAK.SI.SA with Sirius (an identification which van der Waarden first followed, before changing his mind) - whereas the Seleucid texts state explicitly that KAK.SI.SA and BAN are separated by 20 days in rising - so that KAK.SI.SA can not originally have been Sirius.

As I have shown in previous postings, KAK.SI.SA the lance runs from Alphard in Hydra (where it sticks into Hydra) to the shaft Monoceros, so that ALL other writers have been wrong thus far on this score. Only Alphard and Monoceros are reconcilable with all of the mentions of KAK.SI.SA on MUL.APIN and this for a date of ca. 2300 BC. Moreover, I show other proofs in previous pages - especially the addition of later lines by the scribes relating to KAK.SI.SA - indicating that the tablets were copied ca. 720 BC.

PART II

These are notes concerning Sumerian and Akkadian astronomy and lexical terms which derive out of my examination of Hunger and Pingree's article, which is a masterpiece of immaculate scholarship for its reproduction of the texts (photos of the cuneiform tablets), for noting variant tablets and for giving the Akkadian comparables to the Sumerian words. The citation is:

Hunger & Pingree, MUL.APIN: An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform, Archiv fuer Orientforschung, Beiheft 24, 1989, Verlag Ferdinand Berger & Soehne; Horn, Austria-3580.

However, their conclusions and identifications are not all correct. Here are supplementary analytical comments by LexiLine.

1. The Sumerian term NU AT.TIL at the end of a tablet
The Sumerian NU AT.TIL "not finished" is identical to
Latvian NAU "not" plus ATTELots "described, portrayed, reproduced"

2. The Sumerian term at the beginning of a "continuation" tablet MUL.SAG.ME.GAR d.Shul-pa-e
The Sumerian MUL= Latvian MIRDZ "star, twinkle"
Sumerian SAG.ME.GAR = Latvian SEKAM GAR viz. SEKAMAJAIS "follows along".
Akkadian Shul-pa-e "continue" = Latvian SHURPU "here, hither"
Translated: MIRDZI SEKAM GARI SHURPU = "stars continue along here".

3. Sumerian MUL4 = Latvian MIRDZ "shine, sparkle"
(whereas the current Latvian term for "star" is ZVAIGZNE as rooted in Latvian ZIB- "shine, sparkle, be fiery, also light(ning)").
Hunger and Pingree note that a famous Babylonian scribe, Nabu-zuqup-kenu wrote many tablets of astronomical context.
In view of the similar ziqpu "uzkāpu" stars, Nabu-zuqup-kenu is correctly Deb-ess (=Neb-, "Heaven") Uzkāpu-Zinu i.e. Debess Uzkāpu Zinu
meaning "knower viz. knowledge of the ascents of stars (or) meridians" of heaven, viz. "astronomer".

4. The first "notch" symbol in each line of the MUL.APIN tablets is transcribed erroneously as DISH,
which is correctly Latvian DUOBS "notch" and homophonic to Latvian DEBESS or DEBESHA/DEBESHU "of the heavens".
This seems to precede the d to n shift as in Slavic NEBES or German NEBEL (English NEBULOUS) in Indo-European.
= Akkadian SHUMMA "of the heavens"
= Latvian JUMA/JUMTA "of the ceiling"
= Pharaonic Egyptian LjUMT (palatal L) which is the raised cobra hieroglyph

5. Sumerian DINGIR "deity"
is identical to Lithuanian DANGUS "heaven", Latvian DENDER or DANDAR "turning thing", whence Pharaonic Egyptian DENDERA

6. Line 1 Tablet 1 of MUL.APIN "The Plow Star"
[But perhaps more archaic the Hop Star] reads in Sumerian and Akkadian
DISH MUL GISH.APIN DINGIR.EN.LIL a-lik pa-ni (var. IGI) MUL.MESH shu-ut DINGIR.EN.LIL
and in Latvian
DEBESHU MIRDZA KOUKS APINU DANDZIS JANIS LIELS IELEC VIENI (IKI) MIRDZU MEZHA SHEIT DANDZU JANIS LIELS
Translation: Heaven's Shining (wooden) PLOW (-BIND, TIE) revolving, the region of JANIS in elevation, rises when (it is) in the FOREST of SHINERS (STARS) HERE at the REGION of JANU in ELEVATION.

7. Sumerian DISH MUL.UR.BAR.RA GISH.NINDA SHA MUL.APIN
is Latvian
DEBESHU MIRDZA URKU BARA KUOKS META sha MIRDZA APINI
Translation: Heaven's Star plow's - scatterer - wooden post - its binding(s)

8. Sumerian DISH MUL.SHU.GI DINGIR.En-Me-shar-ra
is Latvian DEBESHU MIRDZA SUGAS DAUDZIS JANU MEZHSARGS
Translation: Heaven's Star enclosure cluster (many), Anu's forester. Latvian MEZHSARGS or MEZHUSARGS means "forester, guarder of the forest of heaven", literally John's Forester, Forester of Anu.

It is clear that the particle En- in Sumerian means "Anu, of Anu" so that (en-) me-shar-ra in Akkadian does not mean "old one" but rather "forester".

SHUG- in view of Nr. 9 below is Latvian ZHUOGs "enclosure" synonymous also to Latvian GULKUOKU SETA "horizontal wooden fence".
This is the 4-star enclosure Auriga rising at CAPELLA, later assigned to the lower star KA(m)PLAM- - see below. Since the next line entry MUL.GAM (at 9. below) does not have a notch in front of it - this means that the lines are to be read together and hence this is "the crook" in the hand of the "forester".

9. Sumerian MUL GAM DINGIR GAM-LUM
is Latvian MIRDZU KAMPIS DAUDZIS KAMPLAM
Translation Heaven's Star Staff Cluster of the Staff
Latvian KAMpis KAMPLIS viz. KAPLIS means "crook, staff, rake".

10. At rising, the stars of Gemini lie nearly horizontal to the horizon
so that the legs of both and larger star at the upper leg of Castor (Cain)
rises before Pollux (Abel) and their "heads" rise last.
This star at the thigh or knee of Castor is LUGAL GIR.RA where LUGAL is again Latvian LEIKAULs "upper leg" so that, and here I elaborate my previous translation of GAL as meaning "end" by stating that GAL.GAL.LA is the same as Latvian CEL.GAL.LA "of the knee", i.e. the knee of Castor.

Hence GIR.RA here must also be similar in meaning to GAL.LA viz. Latvian CEL.LA "raise", the root term of "knee, joint" in Latvian.

Mes-lam-ta-e-a in Latvian is '*LIEL-AJAM TA EJA meaning "the large one, his foot (goer)" - an interpretation which is supported by the fact that MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR is given as Alamus = LAL "large" and Nin-EZEN-GUD is Latvian MA-ZIN-AIS "small".

11. Hunger and Pingree write that the Akkadian phrase Alluttu shubat Anim means "The Crab, seat of Anu"
but in Latvian shubat would be SHUPAT "to rock the cradle (of heaven), swing" - i.e. "lap" [rather than "seat"] and here perhaps applied to Ursa Major in this position.

12. As previously noted, the Sumerian UR.GU.LA means URKU GULA where GU.LA means "lying down, reclining".
This is supported by the additional Sumerian term LA.TA.RA.AK which is Latvian LAIDARIS or LAIDERIS "enclosure for animals, a place to sleep, especially for animals".
Hence this applies to the initial stars of Leo's head and the Akkadian Urgula Latarak is Latvian Ur-gulu laidaris "the (reclining) lion's lair".

13. Sumerian LUGAL = Latvian LIEKKAULs "upper leg" of the lion,
as Akkadian izzazzu is Latvian ir aiz, "is after, behind") the SHARRU "breast, heart" of the lion.

The full Sumerian reads as follows:
Sumerian DISH MUL SHA INA GABA MUL.UR.GU.LA GUB-zu MUL.LUGAL
Latvian DEBESHU MIRDZA SHA VINA KEPA MIRDZA URKU GULA KEPISHU MIRDZU LIEKAULs
Translation: Heaven's star, this the paw star of the reclining clawer's star upper thigh

14. Sumerian DISH MUL.MESH um-mu-lu-tum sha ina KUN MUL.UR.GU.LA GUB-zu sis-sin-nu DINGIR E4-RU6 DINGIR ZAR-PA-NI-TUM
is Latvian DEBESHU MIRDZU MEZHS iemirdzuotam sha vina KUNaste MIRDZA URKU GULA KEPAS SASIENU DAUDZIS CERU DAUDZIS ZARI VAINAGAM
Translation: Heavenly Star Forest, shining this its she-dog tail of the Reclining Clawer Grasping a Tied Bunch of Lilac a Bunch of Branches of the Flower Crown
(there is no DISH in front of GUB-zu, so that this means that the lines are to be read together)
MIRDZA MEZHS means "forest of stars, many stars, i.e a star cluster"
The Sumerian KUN seems to find its comparable in KUN-aste "she-dog tail" rooted in a variety of terms like KUNKULIS or KUNCIS "knot, clump"

Akkadian Zar-pa-ni-tum "bunch of the date palm" at the "tail" of the lion are together with the "tied" bunch of lilacs, correctly CERU viz. CERINI in Latvian in the GUB-zu "grasp" of CERES (ERUA).

Hunger/Pingree point out that in the Constellation Eru she is said to hold a date palm in her right hand.

15. Sumerian DISH MUL.SHU.PA DINGIR EN.LIL SHA shi-mat KUR i-shim-mu
is Latvian DEBESHU MIRDZA SHU.PA DAUDZIS JANU LIELAIS sha ZH/ZEMITes KURMU IESHUMU (IESHANU)
Translation: Heaven's star swing/axis cluster, the area where Anu in Elevation the land's/lowest point (reaches) and (starts the) climb (going) up the hill.
This is the star of Denebola, the lowest star shi-mat (Latvian zemit- means not only "land" but also "low, below") of the "land, hill" (i.e. what Leo is lying on). Denebola, as also in the Pharaonic pantheon, is a "swing" or "nub" of heaven to the Great Square and with respect to Draco, in which the Pole Star was located.
The transliteration of Hunger/Pingree "SHU.PA EN.LIL who decrees the fate of the land" is of course similar.

__________________

LATER ADDENDUM

Further evidence that my dating of the original MUL.APIN to ca. 2340 BC is correct and that the Hunger & Pingree dating to one Sothic period of 1460 years later is false is found at
14 LexiLine Newsletter 2006 Nebra Sky Disk Revisited Again

Sumerian Stars on the Path of the Moon - LexiLine Journal 491

MUL.APIN
The Stars on the Path of the Moon
(Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum, Column IV, Lines 31 through 39)

31./32.
The gods which stand on the Path of the Moon d.SIN, through which the Moon passes in the course of a month and which it touches are:

33.
The Star Cluster MUL.MUL
The Steer of Heaven GU4.AN.NA
The Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA
The Old One SHU.GI

34.
The Crooked Staff GAM [Camelopardalis runs down to Taurus]
The Great Twins MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL
The Crayfish AL.LUL
The Lion UR.GU.LA

35.
The Seed-Furrow AB.SIN
The Scales zibanitum
The Scorpion GIR.TAB
The Fire-Arrow-Sagittarian PA.BIL.SAG

36.
The Goat-Fish SUCHUR.MASH
The Great GU.LA
The "tail" of the Swallow SIM.MACH
[AK: As noted by Hinckley "a scholiast on Aratos ... said that the "Chaldeans" called the northernmost fish Chelidonias ichthus ...
shown with the head of a swallow.]

37.
Anunitum and the agrarian worker LU.CHUN.GA

38./39.
Those are the gods on the Path of the Moon, through which the Moon passes within a month, and which it touches.

AK:
Those were the lines of the MUL.APIN clay tablet Nr. 86378, scarcely larger than a wallet (6 cm x 8.4 cm). It is tablet which tells us more about ancient culture and civilization than most of the hundreds of thousands of pages written since then in ignorance of its contents. See in this connection also my posting at LexiLine.com about:
"Table of the Path of the Moon : Origin of the Names of the Months as determined by the cuneiform MUL.APIN tablet : Historical equivalence of the months by the MUL.APIN Path of the Moon for the Sumerians Akkadians Babylonians Pharaohs Hebrews Sanskrit Maya plus Sumerian Sons of God (Heliacal Star Risings) and City (Stellar) Reigns as well as The Twelve Tribes of Israel and their Monthly comparables."

Sumerian Ziqpu [correct is Uzkāpu] Stars - LexiLine Journal 490

Sumerian Ziqpu [correct is Uzkāpu] Stars

The Ziqpu "Uzkāpu" Stars
Culminating at Meridian for Heliacal Risings and Settings
(Tablet Nr. 86378 British Museum, Column IV, Lines 1 through 30)

Note that the system used here is that these are all constellations WITHIN the Ellipse of the Milky Way, En.Lil.

AK: These are the MUL.APIN "ziqpu" stars used for culmination at the meridian (zenith).
The transcription of Sumerian ziqpu is incorrect and should be uzqpu.
UZQPU is identical to Latvian UZ-KĀPU meaning "ascent, throne, mount, that climbed up to".
The Babylonian term for "culmination", as Papke writes, is INAQABAL SHAME which he transliterates
as "in the middle of heaven" so that Papke sees QABAL SHAME as "meridian".
But actually QAB- = Latvian KĀP- "ascended, mount" and GABAL- in Latvian means "section, line".
The uzkapu system uses the principle of a sextant.

1./2./3. The Ziqpu-Stars - which on the Path of Enlil culminate opposite the breast of the observer and with the help of which the rising and setting of stars can be determined - are:

4. SHU.PA, BAL.TESH.A, the standing gods DINGIR.GUB.BA.MESH, the sitting dog UR.KU

5. the Goat UZ, the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A, the Stag LU.LIM, the Old One SHU.GI, the Crooked Staff GAM

6. the Great Twins MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL, the Crayfish AL.LUL, the Lion UR.GU.LA, Erua and Chegalaju.

7./8./9. Those are all the Ziqpu-Stars on the Path of Enlil, which culminate opposite your breast, and with whose help you can determine the rising and setting of stars.

10./11. If you are observing the Ziqpu...

12. and on the morning of the 20th of Nisannu prior to sunrise, you stand so that West is to your right and East is to your left and your Eye is toward the South...

13/14. then the KUMARU [jaw, at Vega, Lyra] of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cygnus] culminates opposite your breast and the Crooked Staff GAM [Camelopardalis] rises.
AK: Since this is 20th of Nissanu and not the first of Nisannu, it means that the 1st of Nisannu is at the Winter Solstice point of 2340 BC. It places the copying (but not the origin) of these cuneiform tablets at ca. 720 BC in the reign of Sargon II = Ashurbanipal.

15./16. On the 1st of Ajjaru the breast of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A culminates opposite your breast and the Star Cluster MUL.MUL rises.

17./18. On the 20th of Ajjaru the side/flank of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Deneb] culminates opposite your breast and the (wooden-) Tablet GISH.Le [Taurus] rises.

19./20. On the 10th of Simanu the end / hind of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cepheus] culminates opposite your breast and the Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] rises.

21. On the 15th of Du'uzu the brightly-shining star of the Old One SHU.GI [Shu.gi is in error, this is Perseus, Algol] culminates opposite your breast and the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] rises.

22./23. On the 15th of Abu the dimly-shining stars of the Old One SHU.GI [Auriga] culminate opposite your breast and the Bow BAN [nu-Hydra] rises.

24. On the 15th of Ululu the Great Twins MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL [Gemini] culminate opposite your breast and SHU.PA [Arcturus] and the Star of Eridu NUN.KI [False Cross] rise.

25. On the 15th of Tashritu the Lion UR.GU.LA [Leo] culminates opposite your breast and the Scales (zibanitum) [Libra] rise.

26. On the 15th of Arachsamna Erua [Ursa Major, Mizar] culminates opposite your breast and the He-Goat UZ [Hercules] rises.

27. On the 15th of Kislimu SHU.PA [Arcturus] culminates opposite your breast and the Leopard (UD.KA.DUCH.A) [Cygnus] rises.

28. On the 15h of Tebetu the standing gods DINGIR.GUB.BA.MESH [Dschubba] culminate opposite your breast and the swallow SIM.MACH [Delphinus] rises.

29. On the 15th of Shabatu the sitting dog UR.KU [Ophiuchus, Serpens Caput] culminates opposite your breast and the Great Square ASH.IKU [Pegasus] rises.

30. On the 15th of Addaru the He-Goat UZ [Hercules] culminates opposite your breast and the Fish KU6 [Pisces] rises.

Sumerian / Babylonian Day Differences Rising and Setting Stars - LexiLine Journal 489

Sumerian / Babylonian Day Differences Rising and Setting Stars

MUL.APIN
Day Differences in the Rising and Setting of 15 Stars
(Column III, Lines 34 through 50)
[ca. 2340 BC] [There are some errors in the days given].

34. From the rise of the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] to the rise of the Star of Eridu NUN.KI [False Cross] is 55 days

35. From the rise of the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] to the rise of SHU.PA [Arcturus] is 60 days

36. From the rise of SHU.PA [Arcturus] to the rise of the Seed-Furrow AB.SIN [Spica] is 10 days

37. From the rise of the Seed-Furrow AB.SIN [Spica] to the rise of the Scales (zibanitum) is 20 days

38. From the rise of the Scales (zibanitum) to the rise of the Goat UZ [Hercules] is 30 days

39. From the rise of the Goat UZ [Hercules] to the rise of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cygnus] is 30 days

40. From the rise of the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cygnus] to the rise of the swallow SIM.MACH [Delphinus] is 30 days

41. From the rise of the Swallow SIM.MACH [Delphinus] to the rise of the Great Square ASH.IKU [Pegasus, Enif] is 20 days

42. From the rise of the Great Square ASH.IKU [Pegasus] to the rise of the Fish KU6 [Pisces] is 40 days

43. From the rise of the Fish KU6 to the rise of the Crooked Staff GAM [Camelopardalis] is 35 days

44. From the rise of the Crooked Staff GAM [Camelopardalis] to the rise of the Star Cluster MUL.MUL [Pleiades] is 10 days

45. From the rise of the Star Cluster MUL.MUL [Pleidades] to the rise of the Steer of Heaven GU4.AN.NA [Taurus] is 20 days

46. From the rise of the Steer of Heaven GU4.AN.NA [Taurus] to the rise of the Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] is 20 days

47. From the rise of the Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] to the rise of the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] is 35 days

48. From the rise of the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] to the rise of the Bow BAN [nu, Stars of Hydra] is 20 days

Column III, Lines 49 and 50 relate to the daily "shift" of the time of rising and setting of stars by four minutes per day.

49. Daily the stars in the morning go four minutes into the night
Papke explains: the stars set four minutes earlier daily

50. Daily the stars in the evening go four minutes into the day
Papke explains: the stars rise four minutes earlier daily

Sumerian / Babylonian Heliacal Node Stars Rising and Setting - LexiLine Journal 488

Sumerian / Babylonian Heliacal Node Stars Rising and Setting

Lines are given in sequence according to
Cuneiform Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum.

MUL.APIN
Heliacal Node Stars Rising and Setting
(Column III, Lines 13 through 33)
Through these Node Stars one can set the origin of this MUL.APIN tablet at ca. 2340 BC since it is the best fit for the node stars shown below. Star identifications are by Andis Kaulins and vary somewhat from Werner Papke. I have the advantage of using a precessional planisphere.

13. The Star Cluster (MUL.MUL) [Pleiades] rises and the Scorpion (GIR.TAB) [head of Scorpio] sets.

14. The Scorpion GIR.TAB rises and the star cluster MUL.MUL sets.

15. The Steer of Heaven GU4.AN.NA [Taurus] rises and SHU.PA [Arcturus] sets.

16. The Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] rises and the fire-arrow-Sagittarius PA.BIL.SAG sets.

17./18. The Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard to Monoceros], the Snake MUSH [Hydra] and the Lion UR.GU.LA [Regulus] rise and the Great GU.LA [Capricorn] and the Eagle TI8.MUSHEN [Aquila] set.

19. The Bow BAN [Alphard] and the Star of Kings LUGAL [Duhr, Zosma] rise and the Goat UZ [Hercules] sets.

20. The Star of Eridu NUN.KI [False Cross, Chinese Tseen Ke for psi-Vela, Heaven's Record] and the Raven UGA.MUSHEN [Corvus] rise and the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Deneb, Cygnus] sets.

21. SHU.PA [Arcturus] d.Enlil rises and the Great Square ASH.IKU [Pegasus] sets.

22. NIN.MACH [Centaurus, in Chinese NAN MUN] rises and Anunitum [Andromeda] sets.

23./24. The Scales (zibanitum) [Libra], the Wolf UR.IDIM [Lupus] and the Wild Boar EN.TE.NA.BAR.CHUM [Centaurus] rise and the agrarian worker LU.CHUN.GA [Perseus] sets.

25. The Scorpion GIR.TAB [Graffias, Scorpio] and the Sitting Dog UR.KU [Serpens Caput] rise and the Star of Eridu NUN.KI [False Cross] and the Star Cluster MUL.MUL [Pleiades] set.

26. GAB.GIR.TAB [Scorpio] and the Goat UZ [Hercules] rise and the Old One SHU.GI [Auriga] and the Loyal Shepherd of Heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] set.

27./28. The fire-arrow-Sagittarius PA.BIL.SAG, ZA.BA4.BA4 and the sitting gods DINGIR.TUSH.A.MESH [stinger of Scorpio] rise and the Lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard to Monoceros], the Bow BAN [nu-Hydra] and the Crooked Staff GAM [Camelopardalis] set.
AK: Note that Papke states that the original tablet has DINGIR.GUB.BA.(MESH), the standing gods and not the sitting gods - which Papke has "corrected".

29./30. The Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cygnus] and the Eagle TI8.(MUSHEN) [Aquila] rise and the Great Twins MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL [Gemini] and the Small Twins MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR [Gemini] set .

31./32. The Great Square ASH.IKU [Pegasus], the Great GU.LA [Capricorn] and the Stag LU.LIM [Cassiopeia] rise and the Lion UR.GU.LA [Leo], the Snake MUSH [Hydra] and the Wild Boar EN.TE.NA.BAR.CHUM [Centaurus] set.

33. The Fish KU6 [Pisces] and the Old One SHU.GI [Auriga] rise and the Seed-Furrow AB.SIN [Virgo] and the Wolf UR.IDIM [Lupus] set.

Sumerian / Babylonian Heliacal Star Risings - LexiLine Journal 487

Lines for the Sumerian / Babylonian Heliacal Star Risings are given in sequence according to Cuneiform Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum.

MUL.APIN
The Heliacal Risings of 34 Stars by Month
(Column II, Lines 36 through 47,
Column III, Lines 1 through 12)

36. On the 1st of Nisannu the agrarian worker LU.CHUN.GA [Perseus] is visible.

37. On the 20th of Nisannu the crooked staff GAM [here Camelopardalis] is visible.

38. On the 1st of Ajjaru the star cluster MUL.MUL [Pleiades] is visible.

39. On the 20th of Ajjaru the (wooden-) tablet GISH.Le [Taurus] is visible

40. On the 10th of Simanu the loyal shepherd of heaven SIPA.ZI.AN.NA [Orion] and the great twins [Gemini] MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL are visible.

41. On the 5th of Du'uzu the small twins MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR [here apparently Procyon] and the Crayfish AL.LUL [Cancer] are visible.

42./43. On the 15th of Du'uzu the lance KAK.SI.SA [Monoceros], the snake MUSH [head of Hydra] and the lion UR.GU.LA [Regulus] are visible.

44. On the 5th of Abu the bow BAN [Alphard] an and star of kings LUGAL [Zosma, Chort] are visible.

45. On the 10th of Ululu the star of Eridu NUN.KI [False Cross] and the raven UGA.MUSHEN [Corvus] are visible.

46. On the 15th of Ululu SHU.PA [Arcuturs] d. Enlil is visible.

47. On the 25th of Ululu the seed-furrow AB.SIN [Spica] is visible.

Column III
1./2. On the 15th of Tashritu the scales (zibanitum) [Libra], the wolf UR.IDIM [Lupus], the wild boar EN.TE.NA.BAR.CHUM [Centaurus] and the sitting dog UR.KU [Serpens Caput] are visible.

3. On the 5th of Arachsamma the scorpion GIR.TAB [Scorpio] is visible.

4. On the 15th of Arachsamma the goat UZ [Hercules] and GAB.GIR.TAB [Antares] are visible.

5./6. On the 15th of Kislimu the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A [Cygnus confused with Aquarius] the eagle TI8.MUSHEN [Aquila] and the fire-arrow-Sagittarius PA.BIL.SAG are visible.

7./8./9. On the 15th of Tebetu the swallow SIM.MACH [Delphinus, mistakenly so named for a fish in the air, the SMON of Cicero as the stars of Delphinus]
(added later: shinunutum, IM.SHESH [Latvian SHESH - the six] in the East) is visible
(added later: and the lance KAK.SI.SA [Alphard] is visible in the evening).
AK: IMPORTANT : The later added phrases to the MUL.APIN series are not found on the original tablets but on copies of such tablets, proving such tablets WERE copied from more ancient sources. Moreover, since we know that the lance of Monoceros extended to Alphard, it is only in ca. 720 BC, due to precession, that Delphinus rises and Alphard is the star on the other side of the heavens, proving these tablets were copied ca. 720 BC by Sargon II, Ashurbanipal.

10. On the 5th of Shabatu the Great GU.LA [Capricorn] the Great Square ((ASH).IKU) [Pegasus] and the stag (LU.LIM) [Cassiopeia] are visible.

11. On the 25th of Shabatu Anunitum [Andromeda] is visible.

12. On the 15th of Addaru the fish (KU6) [Pisces] and the old one (SHU.GI) [Auriga] are visible.

The Path of Ea : Jāņu Leja : Lower Path of Anu - Below the Ecliptic - - LexiLine Journal 486

Lines are given in sequence according to
Cuneiform Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum.

MUL.APIN
The 15 Stars on the Path of Ea
(Column II, Lines 19 through 35)

19. The Fish (KU6) d.Ea, the lead star of the stars of Ea.
AK: This is Cancer, the Crab, not the Fish. The perhaps erroneously transcribed Sumerian KU6 is so short and unclear that there is no certainty here.

20. The Great God Ea (GU.LA d.Ea) the Star of Eridu (NUN.(KI)), d.Ea
AK: Leo. GU.LA (not to be confused with GULA across the way) here is Leo whence UR.GU.LA, Regulus" and NUN.KI is the False Cross in Argo Navis (Vela and Carina). d.Ea is pictured above another heavenly "reclining" lion - both as symbols for "earth" - and in the roll-seal of Adda (British Museum Nr. 89115), it has rivers springing forth from both sides. The reason for this is that this the only spot in the Milky Way - the False Cross - where there is a full break in the Milky Way so that the Milky Way extends both ways from this point.

21. The star to his right: NIN.MACH
MACH may be the same as Arabic MUHLIF applied to the bright star(s) next to the False Cross.

22. The wild boar (EN.TE.NA.BAR.CHUM), d.NIN.GIR.SU
AK: The Latvian term for boar is MEZHU (forest) KUILIS (boar) and Sumerian GIR.SU = Latvian KUIL.IS. The ancients seem to have put this figure between Libra and Virgo, perhaps as Centaurus? Above the ecliptic the Syrians call Ursa Major the Wild Boar, but it must have originally been the now unused stars along the ecliptic below it. EN.TE.NA.BAR.CHUM has its comparable in the Euphratean ENTENA-MAS-LUV, a star at the end of the tail of Hydra, which fits well. The Chinese TIEN CHING is a similar name as the celestial balance.

23./24. The star to its side: The Harrow (GISH).GAN.UR, the weapon of d.A.E - in which one sees the Apsu
AK: The First star of Libra. The Apsu, Sumerian AB.ZU. Latvian APSU "hole" is the "entry" to the underworld at the first star of Libra.

25. Two stars, which are behind him: d.Shullat and d.Chanish, d. UD and d.Adad
AK: These are the two stars behind the lead star of Libra. d. Shullat is the same as sha-Iltanu, the 22nd ecliptic constellation of Babylon at Libra

26./27. The star behind them, as d.Ea rises (and) as d.Ea sets: the swarm (NU.MUSH.DA), d. Adad
AK: Latvian EJA "the path, gait" is EA. This rising and setting of EA - i.e. start and end of the path of EA here - thus marks the Vernal Equinox at ca. 2340 BC.

28. The star to the left of the scorpion: The Wolf (UR.IDIM), d.Kusu
AK: The wolf here is LUPUS which is originally Latvian LAPSA "fox".

29. The Scorpion (GIR.TAB), d.Ishchara, Governess of all Lands
AK: Scorpio, the star Graffias.

30. GAB.GIR.TAB, d.Lisi, d.Nabu
AK: Dschubba in Scorpio (?). d.Lisi may be the manzil Iclil or Las'ah, a star applied to the Sting, but according to Hinckley, maybe this was an error of assignment.

31./32. Two stars on the stinger of the Scorpion: d.Sharur and d.Shargaz
AK: Shaula, Al Shaulah, the stinger. Sargs in Latvian is "protector" and equals d.Shargaz. It was the "Scorpion King" who started the reigns of the Pharaohs of Egypt and Sargon of Akkad who was the first king of Akkad. Scorpio marked the Vernal Equinox 3117 BC.

33. The star behind them: The Fire-Arrow-Sagittarian (PA.BIL.SAG)AK:
AK: "Sag" is still Sagittarius for short in our moder day.

34. The Cargo-Boat (MA.GUR8) and the Goat-Fish (SUCHUR.MASH.KU6)
AK: This is Capricorn - GULA = MA.GUR8. This is a fishing boat and not cargo boat. Latvian MAKSH-KER "fisher".

The Path of Anu (Jāņu Path, Path of Jānis) - LexiLine Journal 485

Lines are given in sequence according to
Cuneiform Tablet Nr. 86378, British Museum.

MUL.APIN
The 23 Stars on the Path of Anu
(Column I, Lines 40 through 44,
Column II, Lines 1 through 18)

40. The Great Square (ASH).IKU [Pegasus]. Domicile of d.Ea, which leads the stars of d.Anu.

41. The star at the Great Square: The Swan (shi-nu-nu-tum).
AK: This is actually the star SCHEAT = shi-nu-nu-tim in Pegasus.

42. The star behind the Great Square: Anunitum
AK: This is the constellation Andromeda (Latvian Andru-meita,
daughter of Andru, Anu-nitum = i.e. Latvian Janu-meita or Janu-meitene viz. *Anu-meita viz. *Anu-meitene (daughter of Anu). Scholars have incorrectly reversed meiten into nitum.

43. The star behind it: the agrarian worker
(LU).CHUN.GA), d.Dumuzi
AK: This is Perseus whose feet run to Aries. As Papke notes, Sumerian Dumuzi (Tammuz), Akkadian Enkidu, in the most ancient scripts was the lover and husband of Inana "queen of heaven", Sumerian E.AN.NA, and here he is found together with her in the heavens in the path of Anu.
Philon of Byblos reporting the 14th century BC works of the Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon states that Tammuz-Adon in Byblos was also Hebrew Adon sade "King of the Fields"
Sumerian CHUN.GA = Latvian KUNGA (dative) "sir, Mr." KUNDZE "lady, Mrs."

44. The star cluster (MUL.MUL), the seven-fold deity, the great gods
AK: Papke states that these are the Pleiades.

Column II
1. The heavenly steer (GU4.AN.NA), the god of the (wooden)-tablet (GISH)Le, the Crown of Anu.
AK: According to Papke, this is Taurus, the steer.
Sumerian GU4.AN.NA "steer" = Latvian GUOV-INA dim. "steer, cow".
Sumerian GISH.LE "wooden" is Latvian KOKLE or KOCELE ("wooden, of wood") which are the stars around alpha-Tauri, i.e.Aldebaran and the Hyades.
Sumerian GU4 (one of at least four GU- symbols in Sumerian) is differentiated in Sumerian from other GU- symbols, since a correct transcription is GOUV-.

2. The Loyal Shepherd of Heaven (SIPA.ZI.AN.NA), d.Papsukkal, the messenger of d.Anu and d.Ishtar
AK: Papke states that this is the constellation Orion. According to Papke,
SIPA.ZI.AN.NA = GilgaMESH, where d.MASH is a name of Gilgamesh-Mercury, also as a name for Ninurta - thus showing clearly that
MASH in MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAl and MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR does NOT mean "twin", rather the Sumerian MASH = Latvian MAS, MEDZ- meaning "relative, born of, originating from" and hence GILGAMESH means "born of GILGA".

3./4. The Twins (MASH.TAB.BA) who are near the loyal shepherd of heaven: d.LU.LAL [Pollux] and d.LaTARAK [Al Dhira'an]
AK: This is Gemini, the twins, i.e. TAB.BA , Latvian DIVA "DOUBle, twins"

5. The star behind him: the rooster (DAR.LUGAL) [DAR = Arabic al SHIRA, Euphratean Paldara]
AK: This is Procyon in Canis Minor.

6. The Lance (KAK.SI.SA), the spear of the great hero Ninurta
AK: According to Papke, this is Procyon, and most scholars say Sirius,
but according to the MUL.APIN table of heliacal risings, this can only be Alphard to Monoceros as the lance, Alphard being the spot at which it strikes Hydra.

7. The Bow (BAN), the elamite d.Ishtar, the daughter of d.Enlil
AK: Sumerian BAN "bow". As Richard Hinckley Allen writes in Star Names, under Hydra, p. 248, the ninth sieu of Hydra was a bow in ancient days.

8. The Snake (MUSH), d.NIN.GISH.ZI.DA, lord of the underworld
AK: Papke states that this is Hydra.

9. The Raven UGA.(MUSHEN), the star of d.Adad
AK: Papke' states that this is the constellation of Corvus.

10. The Seed-Furrow (AB.SIN), d.Shala (with the) sheaf of grain
AK: SHU.PA is Arcturus and AB.SIN is Spica. According to the MUL.APIN table of heliacal risings, AB.SIN rises 10 days after SHU.PA and SHU.PA rises 60
days after KAK.SI.SA. This can only mean that the lance Monoceros ran to Alphard, at which point it hits and kills the snake.

11. The Scales (ZI.BA.AN.NA), the "horn" of the scorpion
AK: This is Libra. The Akkadian term is zibanitum, described as MUL d.Shamash d.UD "constellation of the sun" and applied to the star alpha-Librae in Libra,
which in Arabic is Uz Zubana viz. Zubenelgenubi. The term Sumerian ZI.BA.AN.NA could be Latvian SPAINI "pails", i.e. the two contra-weights of the scale, and similar to how water was carried in ancient days on a crossbar with two pails on one's back, but it might also mean "sharp" as the Latvian term ZIBENA "like lightning, lightning, sharp" but also "prong, claw" in view of Latvian ZHUBURA "prong, fork," - which might also be related to Nr. 12 below, i.e. the "clawed" bird.)

12. d.ZA.BA4.BA4, the Eagle TI8.(MUSHEN) and the Corpse (LU).USH
AK: The eagle is Aquila and the corpse is Ophiuchus, associated with the corpse of Aesculapius.
Sumerian LU.USH "corpse, dead body" = Latvian LIKIS "corpse, dead body". [That has brought us back to Enif.]

13. Venus (DIL.BAD), changes its location continuously and crosses the heaven
Sumerian DIL.BAD = Latvian DILBAT "quick, fast moving", perhaps from *DIL-BAT, where BAT is now Latvian VED- "move, carry, escort", so that DIL- must at some time have meant "quick" but perhaps DZIL- "inner". We find the same term in principle as a determinative for Mars (LUgal.BAnDa), and for Saturn and Mercury as LU.BAD,
where LU might be Latvian ARU i.e. ARU.VADis i.e. "slow moving star" but more likely "outer moving star".

14. Mars (salbatanu), changes its location continuously and crosses the heaven
AK: salbatanu is the Akkadian name for Mars, allegedly meaning "fiery one"
(but see DILBAT above, i.e. salbat- < dilbat ?) and this has its "fiery"
Sumerian comparable as MUL.DIR = Latvian DZIRk- "burn, spout fire, spark"

15. Saturn (LU.BAD).SAG.USH, changes location continuously and crosses heaven
AK: The actual Sumerian name of Saturn is only d.SAG.USH d.UD and is also found as KUSCH, according to Papke also as Meskiag-Kasch(er) - which is nearly the transcription which results from the last hieroglyph on Column I of the Turin Canon/Papyrus = Saturn. Similarly, Jupiter is the "father" (Papke says "son" of Saturn) of the heavenly family of planets, in Sumerian EN.MER.KAR or SAG.ME.GAR (this is the second to last line of
Column I of the Turin Papyrus).

16./17. Mercury (LU.BAD).GU4.UD, called d.MASH is visible before or after sunrise within any month and disappears within any month
AK: The determinative DIL.BAD viz. LU.BAD (transcription??) means "moving star", so that the actual Sumerian name of Mercury is d.GU4.d.UD i.e."steer of the sun", perhaps in the sense of "child of the sun" since as in Latvian GUOV = DZIV "life". This is line 2 of Column I of the Turin Canon (Turin Papyrus).
Sumerian MASH = Latvian MAZ "small" as in the Dainas "last born of the planets".

18. (Those are) the 23 Stars of d. Anu.

The Path of Enlil (Jāņu Lielais) - LexiLine Journal 484

MUL.APIN 1 The 33 Stars on the Path of Enlil Within the ellipse of the
Milky Way (Latvian Jāņu Lielais, EN.LIL = Jāņu LIELais)
from the MUL.APIN Tablet Nr. 86378 British Museum

DECIPHERMENT

The MUL.APIN (mul + apin) series of astronomical cuneiform tablets has
been deciphered by Werner Papke in Die Sterne von Babylon (The Stars of
Babylon), Gustav Luebbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, 1989.

Papke uses the tablets to interpret the epic of Gilgamesh. But they are
far more useful than that - thanks to Papke. English translations of
relevant texts are by LexiLine. LexiLine comments are prefaced with the
initials AK. We make substantial changes to Papke's decipherment, which
remains superb for the most part. The MUL.APIN tablet lists
constellations, stars and planets.

METHODOLOGICAL COMMENTS

We use Baltic to help understand Sumerian and Akkadian (see links):

Small letter "d." is used as the abbreviation for the Sumerian
determinative DINGIR "god", which is identical to Lithuanian DANGUS
"heaven", as also Polynesian Ta-TANGA ("arch of heaven"), Latvian
DENDERis and Pharaonic DENDERA. Dangus became the (d)ANKH of heaven and
is the origin of the ANKH hieroglyph, which marked the immovable
northern pole and thus symbolized eternal life.

Other Sumerian determinatives relevant to MUL.APIN are:

Sumerian MUL "constellation, star" = Latvian MIRDZ "sparkle"
and MURG- "fantasy picture, spirit, northern lights" i.e. R//L shift
Sumerian GISH "wood" = Latvian KUOKS
Sumerian LU "man" = Latvian LAU.DIS "folk, people", German LAIE, LEUte
Sumerian ID "river" = Latvian UDens "water", ID-/IG- "marrow, water"
Sumerian ITI "month" = Latvian IETI "passage (of time)", marked by
symbol of a sheep "AITA"
Old Indic TITH, Pharaonic THOTH Latvian TAUTA "folk, people"
Sumerian KI "earth, place" = Latvian KUr "where" EKA "hall, place"
Sumerian MUSHEN "bird" = Latvian MUSHINA "fly"

The Sumerian term for a star "rising" is KUR-ma = Latvian KURMS "hill"
and KURMA "on(to) the hill".
The Sumerian term for a star going down, setting is SHU-bi = Latvian
SHUPI "swinging (down), German SCHUB.

MUL.APIN -The 33 Stars on the Path of Enlil [AK: En.Lil refers to the
stars WITHIN the ellipse of the Milky Way.].
(Column I, Lines 1 through 39, AK: = Comments by Andis Kaulins)

Lines are given in sequence according to Cuneiform Tablet Nr. 86378,
British Museum.

1. The Plow (GISH.APIN), d.Enlil, the lead star of the stars of d.Enlil
AK: Perseus. Latvian APIJA/APPIN-ITS is "the part of the ancient plow
around which the cords were tied/wound, - the source, as everywhere here
on the MUL.APIN pages, is Muehlenbachs-Endzelins, Latvian-German
Historical Dictionary. This is what the Arabs later called Risha, the
Cord of the Fish, Mesopotamian APIN "channel".

2. The Wolf (UR.BAR.RA) [Perseus], seed-funnel of the plow
AK: The seed are the Pleiades.

3. The Man, Old One (SHU.GI), d.Enmesharra
AK: Auriga, Arabic SAIK al Thurayya.

4. The Crook Staff (GAM), god of the crook staff (d.Gamlum)
AK: Latvian KEMburs, KEMME - palatalized K - "crooked branch", as the
KIMAH of Aben Ezra for Taurus. This is the staff in the hand of Orion,
Camelopardalis.

5. The Large [correct is "End"] Twins (MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL),
d.Lugalgirra and d.Meslamtaea
AK: These are the BOTTOM stars of Gemini.The TAB.BA is Latvian DIVI
"two, DUBUlt, English DOUBle". MASH is incorrectly seen to mean "twin"
in Sumerian - but MASH also applies to Ninurta (a single being). MASH
actually = Latvian MAS- "relative, sister, (brother)", so here "the
brothers (sisters) two". GAL = Latvian GAL- "end, bottom" of this
constellation. Sumerian symbols doubled mean "dual" or "plural".

6. The Small Twins (MASH.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR),
d.LAL and d.NIN.EZENxGU4
AK: This is Pollux, Arabic al Dhira. Dhira = TUR.

7. The River Crayfish (AL.LUL), domicile (shu-bat d.Anim) of d.Anu
AK: This is Cancer.

8. The Lion (UR.GU.LA), d.Latarak
AK: Ur.Gu.La = Regulus in Leo.

9. The Breast-Star of Leo, the "king-star" (MUL).LUGAL
AK: The translation "breast-star" is incorrect. LUGAL is similar to
Latvian LIEKKAULs "the large upper bone of the leg", and if UR.GU.LA is
the star Regulus, then this can only be the upper star of the back leg,
DUHR also called ZOSMA.

10/11.The weaker stars of Leo's tail: the date-palm panicle (sissinnu)
of d.Erua, d.Zarpanitum [Coma Berenices?]
AK: This is Denebola with Coma Berenices above it. The precise text
description is "kakkabani ummulutu sha ina zibbat (MUL).UR.GU.LA izzazu
sissinnu d.Erua" which equals = Latvian"schvaka-vieni mirdzuoti sha
vieni zibeta
(MUL).UR.GU.LA ir aiz sasienu Cerinaini". SISSINNU is Latvian SASIENU
"tied together, i.e. the tied "date bouquet" in the hands of Erua (=
VIRgo, related to cERes, goddess of the harvest, where Latvian CERES =
hope, and CERI = "bush, shrub, tuft". Sumerian-Akkadian IRNINI = Latvian
CERINI "lilac" - and indeed, the Gilgamesh epos here speaks of the
"fragrance" of this bush, up to now incorrectly identified with cedar.

12. SHU.PA, d.Enlil which determines the "aptitude" of the mountain KUR
[Corona Borealis ?]
AK: SHU.PA is Arcturus.

13. The star before him: Chegalaju, the messenger of d.Ninlil [Argo
Navis, Vela]
AK: Cheguius in the Almagest for Arcturus, but applies to the star
before it.

14. The star after him: BAL.TESH.A, messenger of d.Tishpak [eta in
Carina, Chinese Tseen She, Heaven's Altars, to the right of Crux]
AK: BALT.TESH.A is the star ALPH.ECCA in Corona Borealis, a brilliant
white star, Latvian Baltiesha means "whitish, true white". Hinckley
notes that Brown associated the name Bilat "the lady" (Phoenician
Ba-a-La-T") or Beltis with Libra.

15. The (great) Wagon (MAR.GID.DA), d.Ninlil
AK: Although this appears at first glance to be The Great Bear (Big
Dipper), this is Libra.

16/17. The star at the shaft of the (great) Wagon: the Fox (KA5.A)
d.Erra, the strong one among the gods
AK: The star Graffias at the head of Scorpio and Lupus as the Fox,
Latvian LAPSA "fox".

18. The star to the front of the (great) Wagon: the Mother Sheep (U8),
d.Aja.
AK: The star Antares = d.Aja

19. The Yoked Yoke (MU.BU.KESH.DA) d.Anu, the great one of the heavens
AK: The star theta in Ophiuchus, Kash-Shud in Babylonian according to
R.H. Allen.

20. The (small) Wagon of Heaven (MAR.GID.DA.AN.NA), d.Damkianna
AK: The middle stars of Scorpio, Persian KhezDUM = Damkianna.

21/22. The star on its Cable: Inheritor of the Great Temple
(IBILA.E.MACH), the first, highest son of d.Anu
AK: We have the similar Euphratean BILU-SHA-ZIRI "Lord of the Seed", but
applied to Antares.

23. The Standing Gods DINGIR.GUB.BA.(MESH) of E.KUR [Scorpio]
The Sitting Gods DINGIR.TUSH.A.(MESH) of E.KUR [front stars of
Sagittarius]
AK: GUBBA - the manzil Jabhah or Jabbah are the stars at the end
(stinger of) Scorpio
TUSH are the stars of Sagittarius, Indic TAUKSHIKA. All rise at ca. the
same time.

24. The Goat (UZ) [Hercules], d.GU.LA
AK: UZ GU.LA and GULA are two different constellations. GULA is
CAPRICORN the boat, not the goat UZ GU.LA which is Hercules.

25. The star before the goat: the Sitting Dog (UR.KU)
AK: This is Serpens Caput.

26. The bright star of the Goat
d.LAMMA, the messeger of d.Baba
AK: Rasalhague, this sky area called Ramus, Rameau = Lamma.

27. Two stars, behind her: d.NIN.SAR and d.ER.RA.GAL
Lyra = ER.RA is known as SHELiak or SHILiak or SULafat by the Arabs =
SAR.

28. The Leopard (UD.KA.DUCH.A), d.U.GUR
AK: UD.KA.DUCHA.A has its "head of the Milky Way" at Cygnus and the tail
at Cepheus. d.U.Gur is similar to the 23rd sieu Goei or Gui. It forms a
line down to Aquarius, with which it is confused. The Persian lunar
station here was called Khatsar = Ka.duch.a

29. The star to his right: the swine (SHACH), d.Damu
AK: This is SAGITTA, Sham or Schaham in Arabic (see Hinckley, Star
Names).

30. The star to his left: the horse (ANSHE.KUR.RA)
AK: LA CERTA. This is later confused with EQUULEUS. Ricioli wrote AL
CHERAS for Equuleus = KUR.RA = but correct is LA CERTA.

31. The star behind him: the stag (LU.LIM), messenger of the Pleiades
(MUL.MUL)
AK: This star "behind" Cygnus as LU.LIM is Cassiopeia, Latin SO.LIUM
which precedes the setting of the Pleiades on the horizon. Cassiopeia is
seen here as the stag's antlers. The Sumerian LU.LIM = Latvian ALNis
"elk".

32/33. The weak stars at the breast of the stag: d.Charriru, god of the
rainbow (d.TIR.AN.NA)
AK: This is Andromeda. The Sumerian-Akkadian d.TIR.AN.NA is Alpheratz as
SIRRAH = TIR
= Latvian S.TIRNA "doe".

34/35. The bright red star at the kidney of the stag, the Destroyer
(KA.MUSH.I.KU.E)
AK: This is Algol in Perseus = I.KU.E (earlier red-colored)

36/37. "When the stars of Enlil are finished, a large star of matted
light divides the heavens there: the star of d.AMAR.UD (d.Marduk), of
the pass-over. Lines 36/37 were added to later MUL.APIN copies, and are
not found on the original tablet . - so Werner Papke -
AK: This is the red star Hamal = AMAR in Aries.

38. Jupiter (SAG.ME.GAR) changes its position continuously, crossing the
heavens

The Stars of Bablyon : The MUL.APIN Cuneiform Tablets and the Epic of Gilgamesh - LexiLine Journal 483

The MUL.APIN series of astronomical tablets - now found in the British Museum - describe a UNIQUE heaven which occurred at ca. 2340 BC, plus or minus 20 years. See Werner Papke, Die Sterne von Babylon, "The Stars of Babylon". See Tablet 1 - The path of EnLil - of MUL.APIN.

At that time, MUL.MUL (eta-Tauri,the Pleiades) and GIR.TAB (beta-Scorpii) were visible at the East and West points of the horizon and also defined the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. The equator, ecliptic and horizon cut the Equinoxes exactly, with alpha-Leonis and iota-Aquarii at the Solstices. It was a "heavenly fit" for ancient astronomers.

More than that, delta-Ursae maioris was not only at the lower culmination on the meridian in the northern sky (2360 BC) but also exactly on a line connecting the celestial north pole with the Solstices - an "absolute" position irrespective of the position of the observer on earth.

THE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS OF HEAVEN WERE FIXED
Hebrew QEVI'A = KHUFU, CHEOPS (Hebrew Qevi'a means "calendric fixing") [= Kochab ?]

Using a gnomon as described in the Old Indic Katyayana-Sulbasutra the ecliptic could be "fixed" in ca. 2340 BC point for point relative to the fixed stars and cardinal directions.

This was the beginning of formal astronomy.

1. The Path of EnLil
is the "upper" heavenly path of the rotating stars, north of +16.69 degrees declination

2. The Path of Anu
is the middle "normal" heavenly path along the ecliptic, which is the path of the Sun

3. The Path of Ea
is the "lower" path. Papke calls it the path of the water, the path of stars below the ecliptic

Linguistically, in terms of Indo-European

EnLil = Latvian JANU LIELais "upper elevated, great path of Anu"

Anu = Latvian JANU or JUMU "(of the) Heaven, Ceiling", viz. JANIS, the path of Anu

Ea (E.AN.NA) = Latvian JANU LEJINA "lower path of Anu"

Subsequent postings show these paths and the stars in them.

Star Realms of the Patriarchs, Ur and Ebla - LexiLine Journal 482

At Lexiline http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi154.htm, I present the ages of the Biblical partriarchs as reigns which were calculated and recorded by astronomy, what I call star realms.

William Walker III calculated that the star data applies only at a location around 42.5°N, i.e. supporting the idea that the Biblical Patriarchs came from the Black Sea Flood submergence. Our cardinal date for that calculation was 3117 BC, using a location at 42.5°N.

We have since recalculated the starting location of the Biblical Patriarch stellar data with the Starry Night Pro software and have discovered that the start of the data at the rising and setting of the star Arcturus, given the starting date of the Hebrew Calendar at 3761 B.C., would be in a geographic area at about 37° to 38° N, and we now think that to be the more accurate location for the astronomical start of the reigns of the Biblical Patriarchs as calculated by astronomy.

Our previous position was that the Biblical data related to a starting date of ca. 3117 B.C. In that era at ca. 3117 BC, according to Starry Night Pro, at the latitude 42°30" N, as one can see in the graphic below, Arcturus, at which the reigns of the Biblical Patriarchs begin with Adam, is more or less right at the horizon and ready in a few years to lose its circumpolar status at that latitude.


42°30" N 3117 BC


Already one degree below that at 41°30" N in 3117 B.C., Arcturus is no longer a circumpolar star in that epoch and is definitely subject to description as a rising and setting star, as in our star realms of the Biblical Patriarchs.

In terms of chronological time, Arcturus also reaches this same position at 42°30" N in ca. 2950 BC.

We thought and still think Arcturus was used as the first star of this Biblical Patriarch series because at this time in history - at the right latitude (which still remains to be fixed) - Arcturus goes from being a circumpolar star to being a star that also dips below the horizon due to the 25920 year cycle of the wobble of the earth, which leads to precession and a change in the position of the celestial equator, which then of course changes the position of Arcturus in the sky. In this epoch, Arcturus was slowly dropping.


41°30" N 3117 BC
Arcturus at the horizon is also what one would see ca. 38°N to 37°N in 3761 B.C.

Accordingly, what we wrote previously at LexiLine at http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi154.htm was in the general ball park of accuracy as far as the rising and setting of Arcturus is concerned for 3117 B.C., using the reference point of 42°30" N, which William Walker calculated.

However, if our theory of the "star ages" or "star realms" of the Biblical Patriarchs is true, which we think it is, it only holds true if their reigns were recorded for posterity for a starting date of ca. 3117 BC, but using the positions of the stars at 42°30" N. But this is highly unlikely, since in 3117 BC the Black Sea was already submerged.

Accordingly, a change in the point of reference in terms of time and location is necessary.

We ourselves have never been happy with the 42°30" N latitude theory (but saw no choice but to adopt it due to the data given to us) and have always thought that the star eras of the Biblical Patriarchs must apply to a more southerly location, where the data was actually calculated and recorded by the Hebrew scholars in a later epoch.

Accordingly, instead of the 3117 B.C. cardinal date, we recently took the starting date of the Hebrew Calendar for our astronomical calculations.

We now assume that these star realms of the Biblical Patriarchs were in fact recorded taking a starting date as 3761 BC, which is the start of the Hebrew calendar.

At what latitude in that epoch would Arcturus then start its non-circumpolar status? i.e. at what latitude does Arcturus start to dip minimally below the horizon during the daily rotation of the stars in 3761 B.C.?

In the year 3761 B.C., according to Starry Night Pro, Arcturus begins its non-circumpolar status somewhere around latitude 38° N to 37°N. Above that latitude in that epoch it still remains circumpolar and would not and could not be used as a rising or setting star to calculate the star realms of the Biblical Pharaohs.

This brings us new observations. A location of 38° N to 37°N as the location for calculating the data with a starting reference date of 3761 B.C. is very interesting indeed.

According to the legends of the MIddle East, the city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, is not the Babylonian Ur, but the city of Urfa (ca. 37° N.), ancient Anatolia, in today's southeastern Turkey, just above the Syrian border.

The Wikipedia writes:

"The city has been known by many names: Ուռհա, Urhai in Armenian, ܐܘܪܗܝ, Urhay in Syriac, Riha in Kurdish, الروها,Ar-Ruha in Arabic, Ορρα, Orrha in Greek (also Ορροα, Orrhoa). For awhile it was named Callirrhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe (Greek: α`ντιόχεια η επί Καλλιρρόης). During Byzantine rule it was named Justinopolis. Although it is often best known by the name given it by the Seleucids, Εδεσσα, Edessa.

'Sanli' means great, glorious, dignified in Turkish and Urfa was officially re-named Sanliurfa (Urfa the Glorious) by the Turkish GrandNational Assembly in 1984....

Urfa is a city in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Sanliurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain under big open skies, about eighty kilometres east of the Euphrates River. The climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The urban population of Urfa is mainly Kurdish while the outlying regions are mixed Turkish and to a lesser degree Arabian.... It was one of several cities in the Euphrates-Tigris basin, the cradle of the Mesopotamian civilization. According to Turkish Muslim traditions Urfa (its name since Byzantine days) is the biblical city of Ur, due to its proximity to the biblical village of Harran. However, the Iraqis also claim the city of Ur in southern Iraq, as do many historians and archaeologists. Urfa is also known as the birthplace of Abraham, commemorated by a mosque in the city and the birthplace of Job."

Burak Sansal writes:

"This is an Anatolian city which has figured in all the religions of the book. Old Testament prophets such as Jethro (Hz. Suayp), Job (Hz. Eyup), Elijah (Hz. Elyasa) and Abraham (Hz. Ibrahim) lived in this city, which in ancient times was known as Edessa, and Moses (Hz. Musa) lived in the region for seven years working as a shepherd before returning to Egypt with his staff. It was in Sanliurfa that early Christians were first permitted to worship freely, and where the first churches were constructed openly. Pagan temples were converted to synagogues, synagogues to churches and churches to mosques, resulting in a uniquely eclectic architecture."

As can be read at the site of the Sanliurfa Museum, the region is marked by numerous tumuli, many now destroyed by dams:

"A testament to the rich past of the region of Sanliurfa is the large number of tumuli and old settlements. Harran, located 44 kilometers south of Sanliurfa, is one of the most notable of these settlements and was continuously inhabited from 3000 BC to the 13th century. It was especially noted for its peculiar civilian architecture.

Salvage excavations are being conducted in the settlements threatened by the dams of Ataturk, Birecik and Kargamis. Starting from 1978, foreign teams conducted excavations in the Lidar and Hassek tumuli which were to be submerged under Ataturk Dam Lake, while the museum directorate was involved in the excavation of Cavi Field and Nevala Cori. Salvage excavations have been taking place since 1996 in Tilbes Tumulus which will disappear under the waters of Birecik Dam; Apamea, a Hellenistic city threatened by the same dam, has been excavated since 1998....

In Sanliurfa museum, pieces obtained from Harran and other cultural assets recovered from other tumuli and ancient settlements are exhibited in different cases in alphabetical order. Pieces from the time of the Assyrians, Babylonians and the Hittites are exhibited in the entrance hall.

The second and third halls of the archaeology section have cutting and piercing devices made of flintstone (8000-5000 BC), stone idols and vessels, plain and painted ceramics with geometric designs made of baked soil belonging to the period 5000-3000 BC, seals, pithoi, necklaces, pieces of imprinted cubes made of baked soil dating back to the Early Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC), animal figures, metal artifacts, and ornaments."

A good distance southwest of Urfa and Harran and 55 km SW of Aleppo in Syria we find the ancient city of Ebla (Tell Mardikh. In view of the name of Ebla's most illustrious king, Ebrium or Ibrium (in my opinion this could be a reference to Abraham), Ebla most certainly was Ebra and the "land of the Hebrews" at that time. Ebla has become increasingly important in archaeological assessments of the Ancient Near East (text misspellings corrected in the following quotations):

"c. 3.0 tya BCE :
Semitic people called the Canaanites inhabit ancient Palestine and Phoenicia. "Phoenicia" is the Greek translation of "Canaan--the land of purple merchants" referring to the dye they used to color cloth. Indeed, it is from the time of Canaan that Bethlehem is believed to have derived its name, Bethlehem - 'BeitLahem' in Arabic ("The house of Lahman" - a Canaanite God). The term 'Semitic' is generally synonymous with 'Jewish' but is said to include the related group of people who spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Amharic. These languages are all classified by linguists as a group of tongues constituting the Afro-Asiatic Language Family.

More recent archaeological discoveries which tend to promote the importance of the civilization centered in the city of Ebla...(as opposed to Mesopotamia)... indicate that it may be useful to name some of the levantine discoveries as "Pre-Eblaic, Elbaic or Post-Eblaic", ... the cause of the decline of this culture is not yet well elucidated."

The Eblaites, because of their writings, might be considered the descendants of the Sumerians, who were the Indo-European people of the Black Sea Flood:

"In 1964, Italian archaeologists from the University of Rome La Sapienza directed by Paolo Matthiae began excavating at Tell Mardikh. In 1968 they recovered a statue dedicated to the goddess Ishtar bearing the name of Ibbit-Lim, a king of Ebla [after whom Bethlehem was named?]. That identified the city, long known from Egyptian and Akkadian inscriptions. In the next decade the team discovered a palace dating approximately from 2500-2000 BC. About 15,000 well-preserved cuneiform tablets were discovered in the ruins. About 80% of the tablets are written in Sumerian, the others in a previously unknown Semitic language that is being called 'Eblaite.' Pettinato and Dahood believe the Eblaite language is West Semitic, however Gelb and others believe it is an East Semitic dialect, closer to Akkadian. Ebla's close link to southern Mesopotamia, where the script had developed, establishes further the links between the Sumerians and Semitic cultures that certainly already existed before the first texts appear in Sumer in 3000 BC. Vocabulary lists were found with the tablets, allowing them to be translated." [emphasis added]

Clifford Wilson writes about the many thousands of Ebla Tablets found at Ebla:

"When the first tablets were found, it was soon realized that this city used a very ancient language in the North West Semitic group which was previously unknown. Professor Pettinato labeled this "Paleo-Canaanite." In layman's terms, this means "ancient Canaanite." At the close of this article in Biblical Archaeologist Professor Pettinato tells us,

The pronominal and verbal systems, in particular, are so clearly defined that one can properly speak of a Paleo-Canaanite language closely akin to Hebrew and Phoenician.

These Ebla tablets are written in a Sumerian script, with Sumerian logograms adapted to represent Akkadian words and syllables. About 1,000 words were recovered initially (hundreds more later) in vocabulary lists. The words are written out in both Sumerian logograms and Eblaic syllable-type writing. These offered an invaluable key to the interpretation of many of the Ebla texts. The vocabularies at Ebla were distinctively Semitic: the word "to write" is k-t-b (as in Hebrew), while that for "king" is "malikum," and that for "man" is "adamu." The closeness to Hebrew is surprising.""

The Ebla tablets mention Ur (Urfa).

Yes, and there is a Pharaonic connection as well:

"Most of its trade seems to have been directed towards Mesopotamia (chiefly Kish), and contacts with Egypt are attested by gifts from pharaohs Khafra and Pepi I."

Now, why would the Pharaohs be giving gifts to Ebla unless there was a close blood relationship between them?

Principles of Historical Language Reconstruction and the Lexical and Other Errors of Modern Linguistic Method - LexiLine Journal 481

Principles of Historical Language Reconstruction
(P-Hi-Lang-Recon, to be cited as "PHILANGRECON in the meaning of phil-lang-recon")

by Andis Kaulins
(Copyright © 2008 by Andis Kaulins, fair use permissible, copyrighted materials of others are used here pursuant to the "fair use" copyright exception.)

Principle Number One:
Human Language is Genetic and Arose Suddenly with the Dawn of Modern Humans
This contradicts the theory of some modern linguists that human language arose gradually and not from one specific place.

Science Daily reports about a Letter in Nature (19 July 2007) about which Dr. Andrea Manica of the University of Cambridge has stated:

"We have combined our genetic data with new measurements of a large sample of skulls to show definitively that modern humans originated from a single area in Sub-saharan Africa."

Juan Uriagereka writes at Seed Magazine in The Evolution of Language as follows:

"What we are beginning to see is that a set of disparate cognitive traits lends credence to the fact that language is genetic, and arose suddenly... we have specific linguistic behaviors that seem to have appeared only within the past 200,000 years—an eye-blink of evolution."

That point ca 200,000 years ago was in Africa, and from that point mankind ultimately spread.


(Download high resolution map at National Geographic)
Principle Number Two:
Human Language arose in Africa and - in the Case of Europe and Indo-European Languages - that Original "Out of Africa" Language Followed Human Migration Northward, via Central Europe and the Baltic Sea, from where it spread East and West



As can be seen from the above map from the National Geographic Genographic Project, the "genetic path" of migration into Europe (the yellow arrows) - a path otherwise blocked by mountains - proceeded on a path out of Africa across the Western Middle East, then between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea (the Black Sea may have been much smaller then) and via Central Asia to the what is now the Baltic Sea. This path of migration, in our opinion, explains why Latvian and Lithuanian are the most archaic still-spoken Indo-European tongues, as they are near the northernmost point of the migration at that time, stopped by the Baltic Sea, and thus reflect an early stage of human language spoken by mankind at this time of the migration out of Africa. One thus finds great lexical similarity between Latvian and Lithuanian languages and the ancient languages of the Middle East as well as the Bantu languages in Africa.

The genetic path of migration contradicts the practice of linguists in favoring, for example, Latin and Greek etymological roots for Indo-European and Proto-Indo-European terms. The genetically estimated "Out of Africa" date is about 55000-50000 BP. The oldest tool artifacts from that period (45,000 BP) in Europe have been found at Kostenki, in Russia, (see the Venus Figurine with braids) somewhat North of the passage between the Black and Caspian Seas, i.e. right where we would expect them. Kostenki (SW of Voronezh) is right at the center of the area from which the Indo-European language is proposed to have emanated by the Kurgan hypothesis. This is surely no coincidence but indicates that this is in fact the area from which the human migration may have spread.

The Kurgan hypothesis of Indo-European language migration errs in its dating because it mistakes technology transfer with language spread. The Urheimat (Original Homeland) is much older than later technology transfers, utilizing similar routes. A Wikipedia map of the Kurgan hypothesis of the spread of Indo-European language is shown below and it closely matches the "Out of Africa" routes of migration, which occurred much earlier.


Other archaeological and anthropological evidence suggest a somewhat later date of "Out of Africa" migration and the Kostenki date could be more like 40,000 BP- supported by the Hofmeyr Skull 36,000 BP in South Africa, by the Cioclovina 1 neurocranium from ca. 33,000 BP found in Romania, which might be a Neanderthal hybrid, by the Oase 2 skull from Romania (35,000 BP), and by the ochred skeleton of a child at Lagar Velho, Portugal (24,500 BP). Very few human skulls or skeletons have been found in Europe for the period prior to 28,000 BP.)

Principle Number Three:
Not Only Modern DNA Genetic Studies but also Blood-Group Studies as far back as 50 Years Ago Show a Similar Pattern of Human Migration and Language Spread
(This contradicts the idea of some linguists that modern DNA genetics is still a young science and still has no directly applicable relevance to historical linguistics. As the graphic shows, genetic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence is supported by blood-group studies. Compare the 1957 world blood-group dendrite below with the 2007 mtDNA map above. It is a match.)

(Above is a mathematically produced dendrite of the world distribution of blood groups, adapted from A. Kelus and J. Lukaszewicz (authors of Taksonomia wroclawska w zastosowaniu do zagadnien seroantropologii, Archiwum Immunol. terap. Doswiadizalnej, 1, 245-254 , 1953), as presented in Ludwig Hirszfeld (also Hirschfeld or Hirsfeld), Probleme der Blutgruppenforschung (book review here)).

Principle Number Four:
Along the Early Migration Route, A Lexical Comparison of Indo-European Languages - especially on the evidence of Latvian, which we speak as a native and thus use for accurate comparison - Shows Unmistakable Common Roots With Ancient Languages of the Middle East as well with Bantu Languages in Africa
The current division of languages into various allegedly separate groups in terms of language origins is false. All languages have a common origin. The expanded Nostratic theory is correct but does not go far enough, since it incorrectly excludes some groups of human languages from its ambit.). Here is a map of world languages after Joseph Greenberg, retired Stanford linguist:

(View this map in high resolution at The Tower of Babel (ToB), which "is an international, Web-based project on historical and comparative linguistics - so far, the biggest and most comprehensive of its kind to be found on the Internet", that began life in 1998 as the personal homepage of Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin (1953-2005), who, until his untimely demise on 09.30.2005, had been Russia's leading specialist in diachronical studies and unofficial head of the so-called "Moscow school of comparative linguistics".)

Principle Number Five:
The isolated comparison of single words picked out of various language dictionaries is undesirable for etymological study. To obtain valid etymologies, words must be examined in the broader context of the place of a word in the entire language as a whole and only then can valid conclusions be made.

We take here the example of the word "hand" in English, for which various false etymologies have been developed over the years, with the result that no known etymology is accepted, especially since "hand" only exists in Germanic languages - English, German, Swedish. How can that be?

The Online Etymological Dictionary repeats the mainstream linguistic etymology:
"O.E. hond, from P.Gmc. *khanduz (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du., Ger. hand, O.N. hönd, Goth. handus)." Linguists have not been able to follow this etymology any further because "hand" as a word only exists in the German languages.

The Eatonhand.com page correctly not only lists "hand" in its etymology, but also wisely refers to the broader conceptual context including finger, thumb, nail, palm, hand, wrist and elbow.

But the "broader conceptual context" of etymology for "hand" should also include the concept of "arm", because, as every modern linguist should know - and almost none do - in the Latvian language, together with Lithuanian the most archaic still-spoken Indo-European tongues, the word for "hand" and "arm" is the SAME word, namely:

Latvian roka "arm, hand"
Lithuanian ranka "arm, hand"
but also Finnish ranka "long, straight branch"

Given that knowledge, a "scientifically"-oriented world of linguists should immediately have concluded that if Latvian had only one term for both "arm" and "hand", that this might in fact reflect the Urzustand (original state) of the Indo-European language. But none, except us, have done so, because mainstream linguistics and their etymologies are faulty to the core, thinking that Latvian roka applies only to the hand and showing that they have not done their homework.

Since the mainstream linguists have little clue as to how language developed CONCEPTUALLY, they have of course not sought to find the etymology of English, German and Scandinavian "hand" in ancient words for "arm", because had they done so, they would have found the correct etymology, an etymology reaching clear back to Africa. Here are the Bantu words for "arm" as taken from the Bantu Language Database at the University of Auckland in New Zealand:

01758.	Asu G.22	mÌ€	kónò	N	3
01354.	Basaa A.43a	hì-/dì-	kéÅ‹éé	N	19, 13
00941.	Bemba M.42	úkù	ßókó	N
00478.	Bukusu E.31c	kú- mù-	xònò	N	3, 4
00006.	Kinyamwezi F22	mÌ€ / mà	kÉ"Ì€nÉ"Ì�	N	5, 6		arm = hand
02252.	Koyo C.24	ɛ̀	bÉ"Ì�gÉ"Ì€	N	7-6
03072.	Lega D.25	kÊŠÌ€-	bókò	N	15, 6
02638.	Rumanyo (Gciriku) K.38	lì	ßÉ"Ì‚kÉ"Ì€	N	5, 6
03443.	Tswana S.30	lÉ©Ì€-	bÉ"Ì�χÉ"Ì�	N	5
03863.	Yao P.21	Å‹Ì€-	kónó	N	3

Those words correspond to the Latvian sani "side (of the body)" in diminutive form as sanīte, found in German as kante "edge" and Dutch kant "side", and that constellation of three words sanīte (side) : kante, kant (edge, side) : hand show us the true etymology of hand quite clearly in a well-known s>k>h consonantal shift similar to Grimm's law. At some point the weak "n" in Indo-European sanite was lost or otherwise n//t was dentalized, giving the following words for side (as the left or right half):

Latvian sanīte "side" (diminutive form)
German Seite "side"
English side
French côté
Norwegian side
Swedish sida
Finnish sanka ("side of an object")
Chinese shÇ'ubi (shÇ'u-bì)

But the arm is also an element with the shoulder, which modern medicine recognizes when it talks about "shoulder arm syndrome". Hence, when we combine the concepts of arm and shoulder in our etymology, we get that "eureka" effect that only comes with good science, because the methodology we are using is the correct methodology, contrary to current methods:
Widely disparate terms in various languages suddenly then show similar origin:

Thai แขน (kaen) "arm"
Vietnamese c�nh tay "arm"
Syriac: ܟܬܦܐ (kathpa, kathpo) "shoulder"
Hebrew: כתפא (kathpa, kathpo) "shoulder"

IN Chinese, Japanese and Korean the Han character 肩 "shoulder"
(radical 130 肉+4, 8 strokes, cangjie input 竹尸月 (HSB), 戈尸月 (ISB), four-corner 3022₇)
is read as follows

Cantonese
Hanzi 肩 (Yale gin1) "shoulder"

Japanese
肩 (hiragana かた, romaji kata) "shoulder"
Kanji 肩 (common kanji) "shoulder"
Readings On: �`�" (ken) Kun: か た (kata)

Korean
Hanja 肩 (hangeul 견, revised gyeon, McCune-Reischauer kyon, Yale kyen) "shoulder"

Mandarin
Hanzi 肩 (pinyin jian (jian1), Wade-Giles chien¹) "shoulder"

As can clearly be seen, the languages of the world relate back etymologically to a hand-arm-shoulder concept at inception, which then became dissimilated in the various human groupings as humanity migrated to different part of the globe.

Indeed, this knowledge provides us with a new tool to determine the date as to when languages separated from each other.

An average mainstream linguist trying to understand the relationships which exist between all the languages of the world is hopelessly lost - as mainstream linguistics is - if words are not understood conceptually to include broader original concepts in the early stages of language which later become more differentiated among various language groups.

This posting is the first in a series of postings establishing new principles for the comparative reconstruction of languages in historical linguistics. These principles are important because modern views of ancient history and language, often erroneous, greatly influence current events.

In the light of modern genetic findings concerning the direction of human migration out of Africa - and we refer here to the National Geographic Genographic Project and the map above from that website dating to ca. 55000-50000 BC - it becomes crystal clear that the methodology currently used by mainstream linguists to reconstruct ancient languages, especially the proto-Indo-European language of interest to Western civilization, is in need of a total overhaul.

In fact, based on modern genetic evidence of human migration out of Africa, many of the past "peer-reviewed" writings of Western linguists (the blind leading the blind) can probably be thrown straight into the wastebasket as reflecting a bygone age of a totally false focus by gullible classical scholars on what are essentially colonialist remnants of Latin and Greek sources. Then as now - the classical scholars foolishly thought and generally still think that European language was based on those two ancient tongues, an assumption taken simply because those languages were the most ancient written languages known in Europe at that time.

Of course, whether a language is put into writing or not has absolutely nothing do with how archaic that language is nor what stage of language development such a language represents.

Indeed, Latin and Greek have been used to reconstruct the proto-Indo-European language, even for areas of Europe where no Greek or Roman ever set foot, and European languages are treated historically as if there had been no language at all in those regions, prior to the advent of the Greeks and Romans. It is an amazingly absurd and closed-minded approach to science and one reason that we hold little of modern linguistics, a pedantic language study which has resulted in the establishment of far-fetched etymologies (origins) for European words and which has greatly skewed the accurate reconstruction of true proto-Indo-European.

Modern comparative historical linguistics started late in the 18th century when Sir William Jones, an Englishman who studied law and who was at that time living India, observed as follows the year 1782:

"The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists. There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick and the Celtick, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanskrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family." (Jones 1786, quoted in Lehman 1967 and Szemerényi 1996:4)."

As written at the Wikipedia:

"Although as early as the mid-17th century Dutchman Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn (1612–1653) and others had been aware that Ancient Persian belonged to the same language group as the European languages, and, publishing in 1787, American colonist Jonathan Edwards Jr. demonstrated, with supporting data (which Jones lacked), that Algonquian and Iroquoian language families (families, not merely languages) were related, it was Jones' discovery that caught the imagination of later scholars and became the semi-mythical origin of modern historical comparative linguistics."

Since then, modern linguistics has become a playground for scholars who abide by the principle voiced by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his first series of essays on Self-Reliance, where he stated that: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.". Linguistics has in fact developed into a pseudo-science where the scholars spend their time trying to devise artificial and highly subjective abstruse rules for the development of language, rather than looking at the available evidence to actually discover how language developed. Most scholarly publications on language no longer have anything to do with language at all but revolve around the application of obscure symbols which are their own self-serving end, and which are the focal point of discussion, with erroneous conclusions derived from erroneous etymologies, so that the allegedly discovered rules are next to worthless in language reconstruction.

Modern linguistics suffers from a peer group pressure syndrome discussed at Conformity, Compliance and Obedience, which is marked by the following characteristics:

* conformity occurs in response to social norms
* social norms are pervasive and powerful
* compliance occurs in response to a direct request
* obedience occurs in response to an authority figure

Major weapons of peer group pressure are:

1. Reciprocity
2. The demand for commitment and consistency, which "taps our strong desire to be consistent over time"

That describes perfectly how modern linguistics works. The fact of scholarly publication is a matter of reciprocity to theories published by other peers - not a matter of the truth or falsity of what is being published. That is combined in scholary writings by the demand for foolish consistency under the motto that some rule, however erroneous, is better than no rule at all.

This "linguistic method", and it is the major linguistic method in vogue in that science today, has led to a house of cards which is being swept away by modern genetics, and rightly so.

In light of modern knowledge and the above maps, any linguist seriously preferring linguistic explanations giving preference to Western etymological explanations rather than to Eastern ones, is simply deluding himself and others. We have long claimed that Latvian language is much more archaic than Western tongues and we are right, without question, based on genetic evidence. Any linguist who defends old outdated Western-centric Indo-European etymologies and theories with a straight face does not belong in the true scientific field, by which we mean that group of persons, whose theories will withstand the march of time. That demand excludes much of mainstream linguistics.