Sumerian Origins of the Jaredites

Sumerian Origins of the Jaredites

You shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust; and your voice shall be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust. Isa. 29:4.

Archeology, and particularly the study of man's more ancient past as revealed in the excavations of long buried cities and villages, is by its very nature usually most articulate about his material culture; for archeological finds consist primarily of bricks and walls, tools and weapons, pots and vases, jewels and ornaments, statues and figurines ... His social life, his economic and administrative organization, and particularly his world view as revealed in his religious beliefs, ethical ideals, and spiritual yearnings-all these usually have to be inferred and surmised from the artifacts, architecture, and burial customs and then only in the form of vague and loose generalizations. The situation is quite different, however, in the case of Sumer, for here the excavators have unearthed tens of thousands of inscribed clay tablets … and these add … a dimension in depth to our understanding of its ancient culture (2147).  Samuel Kramer

In studying the Jaredite civilization it would be nice to have more information about their background since the abbreviated version of their history in the Book of Ether is so limited. Fortunately we do have additional background information. In the last 100-200 years archaeologists have uncovered thousands of cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia which contain much of the history of the Sumerian people.  These have been unearthed from the ruins of places like Babylon, Nineveh, and Ur. For many years these writings were unreadable, but then a Mesopotamian Rosetta Stone was discovered which made it possible for scholars to eventually decipher the cuneiform writings.  Thousands of these have now been translated and provide us with a window into the life of these ancient people.  However, the majority of the tablets have not been translated and still await the light of day.  Their translation would be a boon to the understanding of this ancient civilization.  

I believe that it is safe to assume that the Jaredites were part of this early Sumerian civilization.  This culture flourished in the lower valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (in what is now modern Iraq) from about 3000 BC to 1900 BC.  The Sumerians were the subjects of King Nimrod and his successors, were the neighbors and countrymen of Jared, and were those infamous builders of the Tower of Babel.  They were empire builders.  They developed (or inherited) an early system of writing.  Their philosophy dominated much of middle eastern thought for centuries.  Their science and discoveries were the forerunners of much of what we have today.   

Most of their writings, which have been discovered to date, are later than the Jaredite period, however, they still give us an insight into the culture, beliefs, and practices of the contemporaries of Jared.  

One of the foremost scholars to study and understand the Sumerian culture was Samuel Kramer (1897-1990).  He was instrumental in translating a number of the Sumerian tablets, and has written a number of outstanding books on the culture.  In this section I will quote extensively from his book The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character.  The numbers in parenthesis following the quotes are the reference location of the specific quotes in the Kindle edition of his book.  Some of the quotes will be duplicated where subject areas overlap.  

Where appropriate, I will try and compare and correlate Sumerian cultural practices and customs with those of the New World Jaredites.  

1.  People and Society

2.  Sumerian religion.

3.  The Geography of Sumer

4.  Sumerian Philosopy

5.  The Sumerian City

6.  Sumerian Money

7.  Sumerian Law

8.  Trade and Commerce

9.  Education

10.  Government

11.  The Military

12.  Trades and Occupations

13.  Tools

14.  Archaeology 

15.  The Arts

Sumerian Origins - Education

According to Kramer, the two most important innovations of the Sumerians were their educational system and cuneiform writing.  Both of these were represented in the Sumerian school or "edubba."  Although education was limited to wealthy and elite families, it was definitely advanced for its time.  In the edubba the student was instructed by stern teachers for many years,  sunup to sundown.  The most important subject was writing, followed by mathematics and science.  The students were expected to achieve perfection in their studies and any sloppiness or carelessness was severely punished.  Those who successfully completed their training could expect to be employed as scribes and clerks in government, the temple, or in private commerce.  The tablets mention thousands of such scribes employed in the palace, the temple, and in business in their various ranks and specialties.  

Over time the instructors developed "textbooks" which became somewhat standardized.  These included treatise on scientific subjects; myths and legends; complex lists of animals, plants, etc.; examples of model debates; essays on farming methods; and descriptions of medical practices and treatments. 

Kramer writes: "From the point of view of the history of civilization, Sumer's supreme achievements were the development of the cuneiform system of writing and the formal system of education which was its direct outgrowth (2910).  The Sumerian school was known as edubba, [or] 'tablet house' (2929).  It was first established for the purpose of training the scribes necessary to satisfy the economic and administrative needs of the land, primarily, of course, those of the temple and palace ... in the course of its growth and development it came to be the center of culture and learning in Sumer (2930).  The main school aim ... was to teach the scribe how to write the Sumerian language (2955).  Only the edubba graduate could read and write (2216)." 

Writing was done on moist clay tablets using a stylus with a wedge shaped tip.  Once dry, these tablets became a permanent  and enduring record.  Many of the Sumerian tablets which have been discovered are the exercises of the students from the edubbas - their school assignments copied from earlier histories and compositions. "[These exercises] consisted primarily of studying, copying, and imitating the large and diversified group of literary compositions (2967).  [They consisted of] whole compositions prepared by the ummia's, or professors, of the academy, which the student had to copy and recopy until he knew them by heart (1301)."

"The Sumerian school's curriculum consisted of two primary groups; the first may be described as semiscientific and scholarly and the second as literary and creative (2953)." 

In the school the scholar could study "whatever theological, botanical, zoological, geographical, mathematical, grammatical and linguistic knowledge [that] was current in his day (2830)."  The Sumerian school was also the center of creative writing.  There writings of the past were studied, copied and discussed.  

As mentioned, standardized "textbooks" were developed.  "In the course of the third millennium B.C., these textbooks became ever more complete and gradually grew to be more or less stereotyped and standard for all the schools of Sumer. Among them we find long lists of names of trees and reeds, of all sorts of animals (including insects and birds), of countries, cities, and villages, and of all sorts of stones and minerals (2958)."  

"Sumerian thinkers classified the natural world into the following categories: domestic animals, wild animals (from elephant to insect), birds (including some flying insects), fishes, trees, plants, vegetables, and stones. Lists of all possible items in these categories were compiled as textbooks for use in the edubba; these lists consist, however, of nothing but names, although the teachers no doubt added explanations-lectures, as it were-for the benefit of the students (1218)."

"These ... collections [of lists contained] literally thousands of words and phrases arranged according to meaning. Thus in the field of the 'natural sciences,' there were lists of the parts of the animal and human body, of wild and domestic animals, of birds and fishes, of trees and plants, of stones and stars. The lists of artifacts included wooden objects more than fifteen hundred items ranging from pieces of raw wood to boats and chariots; objects made of reed, skin, leather, and metal; assorted types of pottery, garments, foods, and beverages. A special group of these lists dealt with place names lands, cities, and hamlets as well as rivers, canals, and fields. A collection of the most common expressions used in administrative and legal documents was also included as well as a list of some eight hundred words denoting professions, kinship relations, deformities of the human body, etc. (2981)."
The curiculum also included mathematics of two types: tables and problems.  The tables included such advanced functions as multiplications, squares and square roots, cubes and cube roots, the sum of squares and cubes, exponential functions, coefficients, and calculations of areas.  
The problem texts included calculations using Pythagorean numbers, cubic roots, equations, and practice problems such as excavating canals, calculating the number of bricks, etc. (1241). 
The Sumerian originated the sexagesimal numbering system which was used in the mathematical calculations.  It was based on the number 60 (rather than on 10 in our present system).  Some aspects of this system are still in use today in the measurement of the angles of circles, geographic coordinates, and the measurement of time.  For a full explanation of this system see Wikipedia.

Kramer: "It is ... in the field of mathematics that the Sumerians made their major contribution to future generations by devising the sexagesimal system of place notation, which may have been the forerunner of the Hindu-Arabic decimal system now in use (3688)." 

"The student did not have an easy time of it. He attended school daily from sunrise to sunset; he must have had some vacation throughout the year, but we have no information on the point. He devoted many years to his school studies; he stayed in school from his early youth to the day when he became a young man (2992)."

"The competitive drive for superiority and pre eminence played a large role in Sumerian formal education, which entailed many years of school attendance and study. Together with the whip and the cane, it was consciously utilized by both parents and teachers to make the student exert himself to the utmost to master the complicated but far from exciting curriculum in order to become a successful scribe and a learned scholar (3391)."  

"If I am not mistaken, hatred played a rather dominant role in Sumerian behavior. As will be shown later, the Sumerian political, economic, and educational institutions were deeply colored by aggressive competition, by a drive for prestige and pre eminence, which must have inspired a high degree of hatred, scorn, and contempt (3320)."  

Who were these students of the Sumerian school?   One researcher "compiled a list of these data and found that the fathers of the scribes, that is, of the school graduates, were governors, 'city fathers,' ambassadors, temple administrators, military officers, sea captains, high tax officials, priests of various sorts, managers, supervisors, foremen, scribes, archivists, and accountants -- in short, all the wealthier citizens of an urban community (2942)."  Only one female was listed, so it is assumed that the edubba's student bodies were exclusively male.   

The school personnel consisted of the head master known as the ummia (expert or professor), also know as the "school father."  The student was called "school son."  The assistant professor was known as the "big brother", and his duties consisted of composing new material for the students to copy, examining their work, and hearing them recite their studies from memory.  There was also staff in charge of drawing, attendance, and discipline (2948).  

From the above information one gets the impression that knowledge in Sumer evolved over time.  This may be true for the cuneiform writing system, which seems to have developed from a more pictographic stage to a more phonetic one.  However it is likely that a knowledge of writing, history and science was available from the beginning of the post-flood world.  Noah and his immediate family kept records and passed on this knowledge.  This was undoubtedly taught to Abraham when he resided with them as a young man.   He later writes: "But I shall endeavor, hereafter, to delineate the chronology running back from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold unto this present time ... But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of the Priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands ; therefore a knowledge of the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the stars, as they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me (Abr. 1:28, 31).   Unfortunately we don't have any of the writings of Noah or Shem, and very little until we come to the time of Moses.  But they were undoubtedly educated and faithfully educated their children, posterity and followers.


Parallels among the Jaradites:  The Olmecs had a written language which is now called Epi-Olmec.  It was pictographic in nature, much like early Sumerian writing, and blocked out the sections with vertical and horizontal lines in the same manner as the Sumerian examples.  They did not have any of the more recent cuneiform style writing, which to me would mean they exited Sumer before the more advanced cuneiform was developed.  
The Neo-Jaradite peoples had educational systems in the which scribes were trained and prepared for public service.  These scribal candidates came from the elite families and spent many years in training.  They were required to learn their respective writing systems perfectly, and were required to memorize vast quantities of historical and religious material.  

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Sumerian Origins - Trade and Commerce

By 3000 BC the Sumerians were engaged in commerce with distant neighbors as far away as India and Ethiopia.  They exported their abundant agricultural produce and imported those things not available in Sumer such as gold and precious metals, jewels, stone and wood.  

Many scholars think that the Sumerian economy was not free and was dominated and controlled by the temple (1016).  But Kramer disagrees with this view and points out that the ordinary citizen was free to engage in trade, and feels that there was an active commerce with surrounding cities and nations.  

Kramer writes: "By the third millenium B.C., there is good reason to believe that Sumerian culture and civilization had penetrated, at least to some extent, as far east as India and as far west as the Mediterranean, as far south as ancient Ethiopia and as far north as the Caspian (93).  Sumerian influence, particularly at the religious and spiritual level, reached out for thousands of miles and in all directions (3611)."

"The Sumerians had accumulated no little information concerning foreign lands and alien peoples. Sumerian merchants roving far and wide by land and sea brought back with them reports of the strange places they visited and of the folk that inhabited them. So, too, no doubt, did the soldiers returning from successful military expeditions. Within the Sumerian cities themselves, there were considerable numbers of foreigners: soldiers captured in battle and brought back as slaves as well as freemen who had come to settle in the city for one reason or another. All in all, therefore, the Sumerian courtiers, administrators, priests, and teachers had considerable knowledge of foreign countries: their geographic location and physical features, their economic resources and political organization, their religious beliefs and practices, their social customs and moral tenets (3612)."

"Traveling merchants carried on a thriving trade from city to city and with surrounding states by land and sea ... The more industrious of the artisans and craftsmen sold their handmade products in the free town market, receiving payment either in kind or in 'money' (1012)." 

Sumerian bards and poets sang of the metals and stones of "Aratta, a far off city state probably situated ... near the Caspian Sea (342). The imports from [a land called] Dilmun consisted of gold, copper and copper utensils, lapis lazuli, tables inlaid with ivory, "fisheyes" (perhaps pearls), ivory and ivory objects (combs, breastplates, and boxes as well as human and animal shaped figurines and end pieces for furniture), beads of semiprecious stones, dates, and onions (3601)."  

"The animal commonly used for [transporting this commerce] was the donkey; the horse was apparently known in late Sumerian days but was never used extensively (1428)."

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Sumerian Origins - Law

Formalized law was an important part of Sumerian culture.  A number of examples of detailed legal codes have been found among the cuneiform tablets. Perhaps because of their contentious personalities they tended to emphasize the importance of legal limits and boundaries. The Sumerian records include examples of deeds of sale, sale of slaves, suits over debts, etc. 

From Kramer we learn: "The promulgation of laws and legal regulations by the rulers of the Sumerian states was a common phenomenon by 2400 B.C. and probably even considerably earlier (1128).    Written law played a large role in the Sumerian city. Beginning about 2700 B.C., we find actual deeds of sales, including sales of fields, houses, and slaves (1070)."

"The extraordinary importance which the Sumerians attached to law and legal controls is due, at least in part, to the contentious and aggressive behavioral pattern which characterized their culture (3399)."  

"In a lawsuit, Sumerian court procedure was as follows: A suit was initiated by one of the parties or if the state's interests were involved by the state administration. The testimony brought before the court might consist of statements made by witnesses, usually under oath, or by one of the parties under oath; or it might be in the form of written documents or statements made by 'experts' or important officials. The verdict was conditional and became operative only after an oath had been administered in the temple to the party of whom the court demanded it as proof of their claim (1178)."  The witnesses usually took the oath rather than the litigants.  The verdict was written as a terse decision granted to one of the parties.  

Sumerian law was not always fair.  For example: "Citizens were

Hammurabi Law Code
Wikipedia Commons

 thrown in jail on the slightest pretext: for debt, non payment of taxes, or trumped up charges of theft and murder (1087)."  

Kramer includes a summary of Sumerian court decisions in his appendix at location 4281.  He also reproduces a detailed copy of the Lipit-Ishtar Law Code at location 4295.  

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Sumerian Origins - Money

In many historical accounts we read that the concept and use of money was a late development – that the ancients didn't have any form of money and used bartering and trade as their means of exchange. However, the historical accounts of Sumer would seem to contradict this assumption.

In Sumer the concept of money to be used for purchases or payment seems to have been well developed and is described in their histories, laws and epics. From what I can learn, the Sumerian “coins” consisted of a ring or disk of silver of a standard weight. The lowest denomination was a “shekel”, then a “mina” and finally a “talent.” One mina equaled 60 shekels. One Talent was equal to 60 mina. These coins were used to pay for property, buy goods and services, pay fines, pay taxes, etc.

This coinage was arranged according to the sexagesimal numbering system which had been developed earlier by the Sumerians (ie 1, 60 [1x60], and 3600 [60x60]) where one talent is equivalent to 3600 shekels or 60 minas, and 60 shekels is equivalent to one mina. The mina weighted about 500 gms., and the talent about 30 kgs.

Some examples of the use of the shekel from one of the later law codes inscribed on the cuneiform tablets:

“The price of one gur of barley is one shekel of silver’.

“The price of 3 qas of pure oil is one shekel of silver”.

“The price one sut and 5 qas of sesame oil is one shekel of silver”.

“The price of 6 suts of wool is one shekel of silver”.

“The price of 2 gurs of salt is one shekel of silver”.

“The price of one hal seed is one shekel of silver”.

“The wage of a labourer is one shekel of silver and his food one ban of barley and he has to serve for this wage for one month”.

Kramer notes: “The more industrious of the artisans and craftsmen sold their handmade products in the free town market, receiving payment either in kind or in "money," which was normally a disk or ring of silver of standard weight (1012).”

The next quote gives us some information on the relative value of the coins and the wealth that each represented. The scribe is lauding the benevolent king for his protection of the poor. “He saw to it that ... the man of one shekel did not fall a prey to the man of one mina (sixty shekels) (1143).” 

The following is a comment from an essay by Bernard Lietaer.  "The oldest coin currency that we know is a Sumerian bronze piece dating from before 3000 BC. On one side of the coin is a representation of a sheaf of wheat, and on the other, Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. The Sumerians called it the 'Shekel' where 'She' meant wheat, 'Kel' was a measurement similar to a bushel, hence this coin was a symbol of a value of one bushel of wheat. (The word 'shekel' survives in modern Hebrew as Israel's monetary unit.) ... The temple, as well as being a ritual center, was the storage place for the reserves of wheat that supported the priesthood, and also the community in lean times. So farmers fulfilled their religious and social obligations by bringing their contributions of wheat to the temple, and receiving in exchange a shekel coin." http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/10.1/origins/origins.html  accessed 24 Apr. 2012.

In relation to the Jaredites, no specific monetary system is mentioned in their history, but they used “money” (Ether 9:11) and bought, sold and “traffic[ed] one with another” to get gain (Ether 10:23). It is therefore very likely they had some sort of monetary system.  It is my opinion that the monetary system used later by the  Nephites was actually copied from an earlier Jaredite one.  The Nephites used a coinage denominated in senine, seon, shum, limnah, amnor, ezrom and onti (Alma 11:4-20). These coins were composed of gold or silver and were used in trade, measurements, etc. This system was not patterned after the parent Jewish monetary system.  The Nephites may have borrowed it from Jaredite remnants as some of the coins bear Jaredite names 1.  Or, more likely, they may have adopted the system from the Mulekites who could have learned it during their time among the Jaredites. 

1.  Hugh Nibley.  The Prophetic Book of Mormon. 1989.  p. 112.

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Sumerian Origins - The City

Sumerian civilization was urban in nature. It consisted of a number of city-states with populations of about 100,000 to 300,000 each. The inner city would be walled, surrounded by suburban villages and farmland. The focal point of each city was a massive staged tower or ziggurat. The populace consisted of a minority of elite nobility, soldiers and priests. The majority of the people were farmers and cattle breeders, fishermen and merchants, masons and carpenters, and tradesmen in general. There were also some professionals such as doctors, architects, and scribes. The population was also divided into classes: nobility, commoners, clients and slaves.

From Kramer we read: “Sumerian civilization was essentially urban in character, although it rested on an agricultural rather than an industrial base. The land Sumer, in the third millennium B.C., consisted of a dozen or so city-states, each having a large and usually walled city surrounded by suburban villages and hamlets. The outstanding feature of each city was the main temple situated on a high terrace, which gradually developed into a massive staged tower, a ziggurat, Sumer's most characteristic contribution to religious architecture (994). The temple was the largest, tallest, and most important building in the city, in accordance with the theory accepted by the Sumerian religious leaders and going back no doubt to very early times that the entire city belonged to its main god, to whom it had been assigned on the day the world was created. In practice, however, the temple corporation owned only some of the land, which it rented out to sharecroppers; the remainder was the private property of individual citizens (1002). Even the poor and lowly own houses, gardens, and fishery ponds (1025).”

“Priests, princes, and soldiers constituted ... only a small fraction of the city's population. The great majority were farmers and cattle breeders, boatmen and fishermen, merchants and scribes, doctors and architects, masons and carpenters, smiths, jewelers, and potters. There were of course a number of rich and powerful families who owned large estates; but even the poor managed to own farms and gardens, houses, and cattle. The more industrious of the artisans and craftsmen sold their handmade products in the free town market, receiving payment either in kind or in "money," which was normally a disk or ring of silver of standard weight. Traveling merchants carried on a thriving trade from city to city and with surrounding states by land and sea, and not a few of these merchants were probably private individuals rather than temple or palace representatives (1012).”

“The total area of the temple estates … would comprise a considerable fraction of the territory of the city-state, but only a fraction. This temple land, which could not be bought, sold, or alienated in any way, was divided into three categories: (1) nigenna-land that was reserved for the maintenance of the temple; (2) kurra-land allotted to the farmers working the nigenna land and also to artisans and some of the administrative personnel of the temple in payment for their services (this land could not be inherited and could be exchanged or taken away altogether by the temple administration whenever it decided to do so for one reason or another); and (3) urulal-land allotted in exchange for a share of the crop to different individuals, but especially to personnel of the temple to supplement their income. As for the land which did not belong to the temple and which comprised by far the larger part of the territory of the city-state, the documents show that much of it was owned by the 'nobility,' that is, the ruling princes and their families and palace administrators as well as the more important priests. These noble families often possessed huge estates measuring hundreds of acres, much of which they obtained by purchase from the less fortunate citizens. The labor on these estates was performed by clients or dependents, whose status resembled that of the dependents of the temple, who were clients of the more prosperous temple officials and administrators. The rest of the land-that is, the land not owned by the temple or the nobility-belonged to the ordinary citizens of the community, probably more than half of the population. These free citizens or commoners were organized in large patriarchal families and also in patriarchal clans and town communities. The hereditary land in the possession of the patriarchal families from the earliest days could be alienated and sold, but only by some member or members of the family-not necessarily the head-who acted as the chosen representative of the family community. Ordinarily, other members of the family participated in the transaction as witnesses, thus indicating their agreement and consent; these witnesses received a payment, just as the sellers themselves did, although it was usually more or less nominal. In many cases unpaid witnesses on the side of the buyer were also recorded, and sometimes representatives of the government took part in the transactions (1034).”

“The population consisted of four categories: nobles, commoners, clients, and slaves. The nobility owned large estates, partly as private individuals, partly in the form of family possessions, which were worked by free clients or dependents as well as slaves. It was the nobility, too, which controlled the temple land, although this land gradually came under the domination of the ruler and later even became his property. The upper house of the assembly, or "town meeting," probably consisted of the members of the nobility. The commoner owned his own plot of land in the city-state, but as a member of a family rather than as an individual (1049).”

“Turning from the socioeconomic structure of the Sumerian city to its more material aspects, we might start by trying to estimate the size of its population. This can hardly be done, however, with any reasonable degree of exactness since there was no official census; at least no traces of any have as yet been found. For Lagash, [the researcher] Diakanoff ... estimates a free population of about 100,000. For Ur, at about 2000 BC. C. L. Woolley ... estimates a population of some 360,000 souls (1198).” Kramer feels that Woolley's estimate is too high and cuts it to 200,000. In contrast, the Book of Jasher mentions that Nimrod mobilized a force of 600,000 men to work on the Tower of Babel (Jasher 7:23).

“Except for ... the sacred area of the city with its main temples and ziggurat, the Sumerian city was hardly an attractive site. To quote Woolley, 'If the residential quarters excavated at Ur give, as presumably they do, a fair sample of the city as a whole, we see something that has grown out of the conditions of the primitive village, not laid out on any system of town-planning. The unpaved streets were narrow and winding, sometimes mere blind alleys leading to houses hidden away in the middle of a great block of haphazard buildings; large houses and small are tumbled together, a few of them flat-roofed tenements one story high, most of them two stories, and a few, apparently of three. Lanes sheltered by awnings and lined with open booths correspond to the bazaars of the modern Middle Eastern town (1203).'”

The Sumerians themselves viewed their cities more positively. They had: “'lofty gates' and avenues for promenading as well as boulevards where feasts were celebrated. [Each] city had a public square (1209).”

“The average Sumerian house was a small one-story, mud-brick structure consisting of several rooms usually grouped around an open court. The well-to-do Sumerian, on the other hand, probably lived in a two-story house of about a dozen rooms, built of brick and plastered and whitewashed both inside and out. The ground floor of the two-story house consisted of a reception room, kitchen, lavatory, servants' quarters, and sometimes even a private chapel. For furniture there were low tables, high-backed chairs, and beds with wooden frames. Household vessels were made of clay, stone, copper, and bronze; there were also baskets and chests made of reeds and wood. Floors and walls were covered with reed mats, skin rugs, and woolen hangings. Below the house there was often a family mausoleum where the family dead were buried, although there also seem to have been special cemeteries for the dead outside the cities (1209).”

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Sumerian Origins - Philosophy and Attitudes

Samuel Kramer explains: “On the level of ethics and morals, the documents reveal that the Sumerians cherished ... goodness and truth, law and order, justice and freedom, wisdom and learning, courage and loyalty in short, all of man's most desirable virtues and qualities (3356). “The Sumerians, according to their own records, cherished goodness and truth, law and order, justice and freedom, righteousness and straightforwardness, mercy and compassion, and naturally abhorred their opposites, evil and falsehood, lawlessness and disorder, injustice and oppression, sinfulness and perversity, cruelty and pitilessness (1596). Mercy and compassion were treasured and practiced to judge from the numerous references to the special protective treatment accorded to widows, orphans, and refugees as well as to the poor and oppressed (3358).”

One attitude, that can give us an insight into the motivations of the Jaredites, is the Sumerian drive for prestige and superiority. This seems to have been a major motivating force in the Sumerian culture, with its accompanying stress on competition and success. 

Kramer observes: “While all peoples and cultures cherish life and value it dearly, the Sumerians clung to it with particular tenacity because of their theological conviction that after death the emasculated spirit descended to the dark and dreary nether world, where life was at best but a dismal, wretched reflection of life on earth (3341). Closely allied to the love of life was the value put on material prosperity and well being. The Sumerians prized highly wealth and possessions, rich harvests, well stocked granaries, folds and stalls filled with cattle large and small, successful hunting on the plain and good fishing in the sea (3344).”The S

"One of the major motivating forces of Sumerian behavior [was] the drive for superiority and pre eminence with its great stress on competition and success (3180). The pursuit of wealth, no doubt, played an important role in Sumerian life (3356).”

“The Sumerians could never have come as far or achieved as much either materially or spiritually, had it not been for one very special psychological drive which motivated much of their behavior and deeply colored their way of life the ambitious, competitive, aggressive, and seemingly far from ethical drive for pre eminence and prestige, for victory and success (3366). [This] drive for superiority and prestige deeply colored the Sumerian outlook on life and played an important role in their education, politics, and economics (3408). The aggressive penchant for controversy and the ambitious drive for pre eminence provided no little of the psychological motivation which sparked and sustained the material and cultural advances for which the Sumerians are not unjustly noted: irrigation expansion, technological invention, monumental building, the development of a system of writing and education (3410).”

Another important aspect “of Sumerian culture, [was] the emphasis on law and legality, the penchant for compiling law codes and writing legal documents. [This] has long been recognized to have been a predominant feature of Sumerian economic and social life (3396). The extraordinary importance which the Sumerians attached to law and legal controls is due, at least in part, to the contentious and aggressive behavioral pattern which characterized their culture (3399).”

We can observe these same characteristics repeatedly in the Book of Ether – the competing factions, the lust for power, the rivalry, the greed. Normally this is only described in terms of the rulers, but it was probably a characteristic of the commoner as well.

In comparison with other groups “The Sumerians considered themselves a kind of 'chosen people,' 'the salt of the earth,' as it were (3641).” On the other hand, in line with their religious beliefs, they didn't have much hope for an after life and their expectations of this one were bleak. “The Sumerian thinkers, in line with their world view, had no exaggerated confidence in man and his destiny. They were firmly convinced that man was fashioned of clay and created for one purpose only: to serve the gods by supplying them with food, drink, and shelter so that they might have full leisure for their divine activities (1589).  

"When [the Sumerian] died, his emasculated spirit descended to the dark, dreary nether world where life was but a dismal and wretched reflection of its earthly counterpart (1591)”

"What would the Sumerian do in the face of adversity? “The proper course for a Sumerian Job to pursue was not to argue and complain in face of seemingly unjustifiable misfortune, but to plead and wail, lament and confess, his inevitable sins and failings (1623).”

Stefan Maul, a prominent German Assyriologist, gives us an interesting insight into the Sumerian psyche.  He observes: "-- it is clear that from the perspective of a Babylonian [that] the past lay before him or 'faced him,' while the future was conceived as lying behind him. In our own modern conceptual world, the opposite seems to be self-evident: we look into the future, while the past lies behind us. Continuing with this line of thought, we might say that while we proceed along a temporal axis 'headed towards the future,' the Mesopotamians, although they also moved on a temporal axis in the direction of the future, did so with their gaze directed towards the past. The Mesopotamians proceeded, so to speak, 'with their backs forward,' that is, facing backwards into the future. Without wanting to overburden this image, one could say that the attention of Mesopotamian culture was directed towards the past and thus ultimately towards the origins of all existence."

http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/maul/ancientcapitals.html
Such a philosophy seems to be evident among the Jaredite people.  From their desire to be ruled by a king, to the daughter of Jared's reference to ancient traditions to solve her father's desire for power, we find many examples of such a world view among them.  Other examples might be the return to building ziggurats to be used in their religious rites, human sacrifice to placate the gods, return to the pagan practices of Nimrod, the concept of "axis mundi," the pattern of youngest son as king, carving stone stelae, etc.

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Sumerian Origins - The Geography

We begin our discussion of the geography of Sumer with the brief references from the Bible. In Genesis we read:

"And it came to pass, as they [they probably referring to the descendants of Cush] journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there (Gen. 11:2)."  Shinar is the Hebrew word for the lower Tigris-Euphrates plain and is basically equivalent to Sumer.  It is also at times referred to in the Hebrew as Senaar.

Referring to Nimrod, the account in Genesis tells us of the first cities established there: "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10)."

Babel would have been the city which contained the Tower of Babel, and would not have been Babylon, which is north near modern Bagdad. It may have been equivalent to Ur, as Ur was the Sumarian capitol. Ur, west of the Euphrates River, was the most southern Sumerian city.

Erech, (or Uruk), was north of Ur and on the east side of the Euphrates. Accad (Akkad) is the designation of a land as well as a city. It was farther north between the rivers, and may have been the ancient site of Kish, as this is where the first kingdom was established.

The location of Calneh is not known, but some have suggested that it is equivalent to the site of Nippur. It should be located near the other Sumerian sites.

Shinar is the Hebrew rendering of the the name. In the Greek Septuagint it is rendered Senaar. Wikipedia suggests that Shinar may be a corruption of the words Shene nahar (two rivers), or Shene or (two cities), or Sumer (land of the civilized lords or native land). Kramer indicates that it is a compound of the two words Sumer-Akkad (3786).

Sumer was located in the lower delta plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Originally it was much closer to the Persian Gulf, but in the intervening years the rivers have silted in the gulf so that the Sumerian sites are now over a hundred miles inland. The land was very fertile, but dry, but except for the rivers and marshes. This can be assumed as they had to use irrigation for their farm crops.

Comparing the climate and geography with modern Basra, which is in the same area, we can get some idea of the environment in ancient Sumer. Today the land is hot, dry and humid. Irrigation is required for farming. The area is interspersed with canals and marshes. There is a lot of wildlife in the marshes and wetlands, with a heavy reed growth in the marshes. The ancient Sumerians utilized these reeds for many things such as boats, homes and fuel.

Because the land was basically a large river delta, there was very little stone to be found. Most mineral and metals had to be imported, as well as precious gems and semiprecious stones. To compensate for the lack of stone, the Sumerians learned to work with the abundant clay and could fire it to make various implements as well as brick for construction. There were apparently abundant oil seeps, and the resultant bitumen, which they used for such things as waterproofing their boats and cementing the bricks for the infamous tower.

The Sumerians were widely traveled through their trade networks and military campaigns, and were aware of their geographical surroundings. They were familiar with India to the east, to the Mediterranean on the west. From the Caspian Sea to the north to areas in Africa in the south.

Kramer comments:

“By the third millenium B.C., there is good reason to believe that Sumerian culture and civilization had penetrated, at least to some extent, as far east as India and as far west as the Mediterranean, as far south as ancient Ethiopia and as far north as the Caspian (93).”

“The imports from Dilmun consisted of gold, copper and copper utensils, lapis lazuli, tables inlaid with ivory, "fisheyes" (perhaps pearls), ivory and ivory objects (combs, breastplates, and boxes as well as human  and animal shaped figurines and end pieces for furniture), beads of semiprecious stones, dates, and onions (3601).”

“Sumerian influence, particularly at the religious and spiritual level, reached out for thousands of miles and in all directions (3611).”  

“The Sumerians had accumulated no little information concerning foreign lands and alien peoples. Sumerian merchants roving far and wide by land and sea brought back with them reports of the strange places they visited and of the folk that inhabited them. So, too, no doubt, did the soldiers returning from successful military expeditions. Within the Sumerian cities themselves, there were considerable numbers of foreigners: soldiers captured in battle and brought back as slaves as well as freemen who had come to settle in the city for one reason or another. All in all, therefore, the Sumerian courtiers, administrators, priests, and teachers had considerable knowledge of foreign countries: their geographic location and physical features, their economic resources and political organization, their religious beliefs and practices, their social customs and moral tenets (3612).”

“The Sumerians themselves divided the world into four ubda's, that is, four regions or districts, which seem to correspond roughly to the four points of the compass (3621).” According to the Sumerian thinkers, the boundaries of these districts and of the lands in them were marked off by the gods at the time of the creation of the universe (3631).”

“Ur was one of the most important cities of ancient Sumer; in fact, it was the capital of Sumer (3721).”

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Sumerian Origins - Religion

I will begin my review of the Sumerian religion with the following assumptions: that the Bible is a correct and true record of the history of man; that the posterity of Noah formed the first civilization following the flood; that the land of Shinar mentioned in the Bible is equivalent to the land of Sumer; and that Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, was the first king following the flood, and the first king of the Sumerians.

Sumerian Votive Statues

If the above assumptions are correct, then the original and true religion, passed down through Noah after the flood, was taught in its purity to his posterity, and any deviation from these principles was a result of apostasy and false doctrines.

The religion of the Sumerians, as we find it recorded in their writings, was an apostate version of the earlier teachings of Noah. Nimrod, in his complete apostasy and rebellion against God, changed the doctrine, introduced pagan ideologies, and completely turned his people away from the true knowledge of the living God, to a religion of fables, idols, and false gods. He was the originator of the world's pagan religions that have proliferated in the earth to the present day.

The Jaredites would have been exposed to these religious practices, and may have even participated in them to a certain extent (although I personally doubt that this was so, at least in the case of Mahonri Moriancumer). We can see the results of this influence over time when we see many of these false practices and traditions spring up among the Jaredite cultures in the New World (I will discuss this in more detail later). These practices and traditions must have been perpetuated either directly through members of the original party, or  second hand from the original records that the people brought with them (see Ether 8:9).

Nimrod-Wikipedia Commons

Nimrod used his position of power and influence to turn the people away from the religion of the patriarchs, to one which met his needs and goals of dominion. The historian Josephus tells us: He [Nimrod] also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power.1

The Jerusalem Targum (a Hebrew translation of the writings of Moses into the Aramaic language) has some interesting information regarding Nimrod's influence on the Sumerians: “He [Nimrod] was powerful in hunting and wickedness before the Lord, for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said unto them, ‘Depart from the judgment of the Lord, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!’ therefore it is said: ‘As Nimrod [is] the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the Lord.’” 2  Again it quotes him as teaching: “Depart from the religion of Shem, and cleave to the institutes of Nimrod."

As mentioned earlier, I assume that following the flood the people were instructed in the gospel as taught by Noah and his followers. But within four hundred years (by 2000 BC) the Sumerians, under the influence of Nimrod, had apostatized and become polytheistic believers in a multitude of gods of varying rank and importance. There was a hierarchy of the gods, with a triumvirate of three being the most important. Each natural phenomenon, such as the creation, mountains, sea, etc was represented by an individual deity. There were gods specifically assigned to things such as love, fertility, war, and the various trades.

Each city had its own founding god which was supposed to prosper and protect the community, except in the cases where the people had offended their deity and had to suffer his wrath.

Samuel Kramer, one of the prominent authorities on the Sumerian culture, gives us a more positive view of the Sumerian religion. He presents his material from a humanistic viewpoint in which religion is only a cultural phenomena, and all religions are of equal value in their own right. His opinion is that the Sumerians predated the Jewish scriptures, and are therefore the source for Biblical stories such as the creation and the flood. This position is prevalent among most near eastern scholars. We, of course, counter that Noah predated the Sumerians, and taught the same religion that was later revealed through Moses.

However, Kramer does present extensive factual information about the Sumerian religion, which is of value in our study of the Jaredites. The following quotes are from his book The Sumerians.  The numbers following the quotes refer to the specific locations in the Kindle edition of that book.

“The Sumerians developed religious ideas and spiritual concepts which have left and indelible impress on the modern world … On the intellectual level Sumerian thinkers and sages … evolved a cosmology and theology which carried such high conviction that they became the basic creed and dogma of much of the ancient Near East (1449).”

“The Sumerian priests and holy men developed a colorful and variegated complex of rites, rituals and ceremonies which served to please and placate the gods as well as provide an emotional valve for man' love of pageantry and spectacle. [They] created … the richest mythology of the ancient Near East, which cut the gods down to human size, but did so with understanding, reverence … originality and imagination (1449).”

The Sumerians envisioned their gods as living, powerful, immortal beings embodied in human form. Each was assigned specific duties from the grandiose creation of the universe, down to the mundane supervision of irrigation canals.

“The Sumerian gods, as illustrated graphically by the Sumerian myths, were entirely anthropomorphic; even the most powerful and most knowing among them were conceived as human in form, thought, and deed. Like man, they plan and act, eat and drink, marry and raise families, support large households, and are addicted to human passions and weaknesses. By and large they prefer truth and justice to falsehood and oppression, but their motives are by no means clear, and man is often at a loss to understand them (1510). Though invisible to the mortal eye, [they] guided and controlled the cosmos in accordance with well laid plans and duly prescribed laws. The great realms of heaven, earth, sea, and air; the major astral bodies, sun, moon, and planets; such atmospheric forces as wind, storm, and tempest; and finally, on earth, such natural entities as river, mountain, and plain, such cultural entities as city and state, dike and ditch, field and farm, and even such implements as the pickax, brick mold, and plow each was deemed to be under the charge of one or another anthropomorphic, but superhuman, being who guided its activities in accordance with established rules and regulations (1465). By the middle of the third millennium B.C. at the latest, we find that hundreds of deities ... existed among the Sumerians (1524). An, the heaven god, was at one time conceived by the Sumerians to be the supreme ruler of the pantheon, although in our available sources reaching to about 2500 B.C. it is the air god, Enlil, who seems to have taken his place (1531).”

“The Sumerian pantheon 6 was … conceived as functioning as an assembly with a king at its head; the most important groups in this assembly consisted of seven gods who 'decree the fates' and fifty deities known as 'the great gods.' But a more significant division set up by the Sumerian theologians within their pantheon is that between creative and non creative deities, a notion arrived at as a result of their cosmological views. According to these views, the basic components of the cosmos are heaven and earth, sea and atmosphere; every other cosmic phenomenon exists only within one or another of these realms. Hence, it seemed reasonable to infer that the deities in control of heaven, earth, sea, and air were the creative gods and that one or another of these four deities created every other cosmic entity in accordance with plans originated by them (1481).”

Man's duty was to serve the pleasure of the gods, being constantly a victim of their capricious whims and desires. After death his outlook was bleak being exiled to a dark, dreary netherworld.

“The Sumerian thinkers ... had no exaggerated confidence in man and his destiny. They were firmly convinced that man was fashioned of clay and created for one purpose only: to serve the gods by supplying them with food, drink, and shelter so that they might have full leisure for their divine activities (1589). When he died, his emasculated spirit descended to the dark, dreary nether world where life was but a dismal and wretched reflection of its earthly counterpart (1591).”

“The major components of the universe … were heaven and earth; indeed, their term for universe was an ki, a compound word meaning 'heaven earth.' The earth was a flat disk surmounted by a vast hollow space, completely enclosed by a solid surface in the shape of a vault 1454.”

The first thing created was a primeval sea.

“In this primeval sea was somehow engendered the universe (that is, 'heaven earth'), consisting of a vaulted heaven superimposed over a flat earth and united with it. Between them, however, came the moving and expanding 'atmosphere' which separated heaven from earth. Out of this atmosphere were fashioned the luminous bodies, the moon, sun, planets, and stars (1463).”

They felt that the gods were not likely to pay attention to a lowly mortal or give heed to his pleas. So an intermediary was necessary. A personal god who could approach the principle gods on his behalf and present his petitions for assistance.

Kramer tells us: “So, as in the case of kings, man must have an intermediary to intercede in his behalf, one whom the gods would be willing to hear and favor (1626).  [They] contrived and evolved the notion of a personal god, a kind of good angel to each particular individual and family head (1627). It was to him, to his personal deity, that the individual sufferer bared his heart in prayer and supplication, and it was through him that he found his salvation (1628). All that the Sumerian expected of his personal god was that he speak in his behalf and intercede for him in the assembly of the gods whenever the occasion demanded and thus insure for him a long life and good health. In return, he glorified his god with special prayers, supplications, and sacrifices, although at the same time he continued to worship the other deities of the Sumerian pantheon (3751).”

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One interesting pagan invention of the Sumerians was the idea of the votive statue. One could create a statute of oneself in the attitude of worship and prayer.  This would be placed in the temple and it would supposedly be accepted by the gods as if one were actually there praying in person. This of course would save a lot of time and effort. The wealthy could easily afford such luxuries while the poor generally could not.

“The Sumerian theologians ... conceived of the idea that the statue represented the ruler, or even some other high official, standing before his god in unceasing prayer (3697). On the votive inscriptions, the husband not infrequently includes his wife and children, that is, he dedicates the object to the deity not only for his own life but also for that of his wife and children (3254).”

These statutes often appear in the nude as the Sumerians thought nudity symbolized innocence and purity. Similar statutes have been found in the New World suggesting the transfer of this cultural trait.

Regarding the Sumerian temples or ziggurats Kramer observes:

“The outstanding feature of each city was the main temple situated on a high terrace, which gradually developed into a massive staged tower, a ziggurat, Sumer's most characteristic contribution to religious architecture (994).”

“The temple was the largest, tallest, and most important building in the city, in accordance with the theory accepted by the Sumerian religious leaders and going back no doubt to very early times that the entire city belonged to its main god, to whom it had been assigned on the day the world was created (1002).”

“The temple ... played practically no role in the administration of justice, except as the place where oaths were administered (1166).”

The temples atop the ziggurats were the domain of the elite and the priestly class. The general populance were not allowed there but had to observe the rites from below. The priests often wielded great power and influence that at times rivaled that of the royalty. The temples were assigned a portion of the community lands which were controlled by the priests and used for their support and the upkeep of the temples.

Archaeological evidence indicates that “The early rulers of Sumer were customarily accompanied to the grave not only by some of their most precious personal possessions but by a considerable human retinue as well (1669).” A poem relating the death of the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh refers to “all [those] who "lay with him" in his "purified palace" [ie his place in the netherworld following death] ... his wife, son, concubine, musician, entertainer, chief valet, and household attendants (1677).” All these unfortunate individuals had apparently been slain and buried with him so he could have company in the world of the dead. We see a carryover of this practice in some of the royal tombs in the Americas.

But why was this pagan religion so popular that it became the template for numerous copy cat ideologies around the world?  Cleon Skousen, in his book The First 2000 Years, gives us some interesting insights into this religion instituted by Nimrod.  He is speaking of a later period, but the pagan traditions had been practiced over many hundreds of years and relied on the same inducements.

"The amazing popularity of heathen idolatry can never be understood unless a study is made of the ritual which was practiced. Heathen ritual was frequently devoted almost exclusively to the stimulating and satisfying of human passion. The words adultery and idolatry both come from the same derivation." The heathen re­ligions institutionalized immorality.  As one authority points out: 'Sacramental fornication was a regular fea­ture of (heathen) religious life.'"

"Some Bible students find it difficult to understand why ancient Israel would continually fall for the snare of idolatry as practiced by neighboring nations. The scrip­ture says they would plant 'groves' and set up images in spite of everything God had said against it from the beginning. But this takes on greater significance when we learn that the groves were the convenient centers for the deification of sensual practices. Sexual gratification was not only condoned but under heathen influence it was also given sanctified sublimation as part of the religious rites. Here was the secret snare of idolatry to ancient Israel. It was not so much the worship of images that tempted Israel, for that was nothing; rather it was the temptation of riotous indulgences which were sensually alluring once they had been tried."4

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Babylonians (who likely adopted an earlier practice of the Sumerians) required all women to serve one day as a prostitute in the temple of Aphrodite.5  In Sumerian religion this goddess was known as Inanna or Ishtar.

Quoting Skousen again: "In addition to immoral practices, the heathen priests almost universally adopted sadistic devices to satisfy the morbid appetites of their worshipers. This included the sacrifice of human beings by burning or slaughter ... [such] practices included the binding of a human being to an altar [refer to the Book of Abraham for an example]. The priest began his devilish chant which ended in the stroke of a razor-sharp knife which dis­emboweled the victim. As the thoracic cavity was opened the priest pulled the beating heart from its roots and held it up before the blood-spattered image."4

Do we find evidence of any of these Sumerian traditions among the Jaredites in the Americas? 

The Jaredites, and neo-Jaredites, built a multitude of massive stepped pyramids of adobe and stone which were used for religious purposes.  

These pyramids may have been used as the site for human sacrifice.  We have evidence of this in later pre-conquest times.  

The Jaredites were idolatrous as depicted in their art work and sculptures.  

The formative peoples of the Americas were apparently polytheistic having a variety of different gods.

There are instances of elite individuals being accompanied in their graves by other victims.  

There are examples of votive statutes among the art work of the formative era peoples of the Americas.  Some of these appear in the nude as do some of the Sumerian ones.  They are also bearded as were the Sumerian men.  
We don't have many references to Jaredite religion, however there are clues that they may have reverted back to earlier Sumerian practices.  For example we find a reference to a "high priest" who murders the king and assumes the crown.  Such an official reminds us of the priesthood among the Sumerians.  

1.  Flavius Josephus. The Antiquiities of the Jews. Ch. 6:2.
2.  http://rcg.org/questions/p187.a.html accessed 4-10-12
3.  Clark's bible commentary ch. 10 http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkegen10.htm
4. Skousen, Cleon. The First 2000 Years. p. 244.
5.  Herodotus Histories. 1.199, translation by A.D. Godley (1920).
6.  The pantheon, the Annunaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_mythology)
The majority of Sumerian deities belonged to a classification called the Anunna (“[offspring] of An”), whereas seven deities, including Enlil and Inanna, belonged to a group of “underworld judges" known as the Anunnaki (“[offspring] of An” + Ki). During the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Sumerian pantheon was said to include sixty times sixty (3600) deities.
The main Sumerian deities were:
Anu: god of heaven, the firmament
Enlil: god of the air (from Lil = Air); patron deity of Nippur
Enki: god of freshwater, male fertility, and knowledge; patron deity of Eridu
Ereshkigal: goddess of the underworld, Kigal or Irkalla
Inanna: goddess of warfare, female fertility, and sexual love; matron deity of Uruk
Nammu was the primeval sea (Engur), who gave birth to An (heaven) and Ki (earth) and the first deities; eventually became known as the goddess Tiamat
Ninhursag: goddess of the earth
Nanna: god of the moon; one of the patron deities of Ur
Ningal: wife of Nanna
Ninlil: an air goddess and wife of Enlil; one of the matron deities of Nippur; she was believed to reside in the same temple as Enlil
Ninurta: god of war, agriculture, one of the Sumerian wind gods; patron deity of Girsu, and one of the patron deities of Lagash
Utu: god of the sun at the E'barbara temple of Sippar
A good depiction (in Spanish) of the relationship of the Sumerian gods can be found at http://compendiodite.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/panteonsumerio1.png

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