Sumerians. Or, as they named themselves, the black-headed people. 

Archaeological evidence suggests this civilization was humanity’s first. Records like the Sumerian King List (AKA the Chronicle of the One Monarchy) show that the Sumerians on some level agreed. Setting aside the cynical distinction between monarchs and peasants, leaders and led, etc., there is evidence that they viewed themselves as the first people, created and placed on Earth by the god Enki.

But, you might say, most cultures have similar origin stories. To that, I offer a very definite “maybe.”

In part, what makes the “Sumerian explanation for humanity” interesting to me is—without making judgements about what it all might mean—how closely it often parallels the Hebrew beliefs baked into the foundation of western civilization. Both cultures wrote of a great flood, both had a concept like Eden, and both traced their origins to one point. For Indiana Jones fans (or more serious-minded people, too, I guess), this stirs the imagination profoundly. 

For someone like the author (that is—or who is? …who knows—me), how the Sumerians imagined and described the “second life” only fuels the fire. Death was a transition to a literally lower and dustier plane beneath this one we’re in now. All souls entered the realm of Kur, located deep underground, where they served the gods and ate dry dirt. 

Not exactly heaven, right? Only through help from the living (ensuring a good burial, providing offerings of libations, etc.) could this second life be… livable.

These Sumerian ideas hugely influenced how the Darktouched world took shape in Light’s Shadow. From Eresh and Ninazu to the Abzu and Tiamat to the Abzu Complex’s favorite drinking establishment (note: the Deadman’s Straw references a custom of offering libations to one’s dead ancestors by pouring libations into their graves through a pipe). 

Along with all of that, the Sumerians also believed that all knowledge and technology existed long ago. So, in their worldview, nothing was ever really new or discovered. Only reinvented or rediscovered. I believe this truly connects us with people who lived five-or-more-thousand years ago. As we look back through the hazy image projected by piecemeal texts and records, we see the people of our world’s most ancient civilization searching their own past for answers.

In the Raiders of Light series, I hope to tap into at least some of the mystery and wisdom that the old world left lying around.

Until next time…