How exactly did the ancient Sumerians develop such an advanced culture, far ahead of any other cultures at the time? Medicine, agriculture, writing, astronomy; the Sumerians developed all of them. Some alien researchers believe that the ancient Sumerians had contact with a race of aliens known as the Anunnaki, and that led to these enormous leaps in knowledge.
Who Were the Anunnaki?
The Anunnaki were revered by the Sumerians as gods who came down from heaven. They had extraordinarily long lifespans. What little we know of them, and any connection they may have had to ancient Sumer, are found on Cuneiform tablets that date to around 4,000 BC.
These tablets included a list of 140 kings. According to the tablets, one of the kings reigned for 36,000 years.
This leads to the belief that this particular king, at the very least, was Anunnaki, an alien that apparently had a very long life span. Further records in the tablets talk about the Anunnaki who ruled over the Sumerians. They were called gods and said to be from the heavens. Ancient alien theorists believe the Anunnaki were in fact aliens, who came to Earth to mine gold.
One Theory About the Anunnaki's Origins
The popular ancient alien theorist, the late Zecharia Sitchin, claimed to have decoded ancient Sumerian tablets that tell about the arrival of the Anunnaki from a 12th planet known as Nibiru. Scholars quickly condemned Sitchin's work as misinterpretations of the ancient Sumerian texts and noted many inaccuracies in his claims.
In spite of the scholarly ridicule, Sitchin found a vast audience for his theories. According to Sitchin, the monster-sized planet Nibiru, also known as Planet X, home of the Anunnaki, sits on the outer skirts of the solar system. Nibiru supposedly has a 3,600-year elliptical orbit of the sun. Sitchin believed whenever Nibiru neared the Earth's gravitational field it caused catastrophic events on Earth, possibly an extinction level cataclysm.
Sitchin also believed the disappearance of the Anunnaki was due to their planet leaving its near-Earth orbit. He believed that the Anunnaki would return to Earth when Nibiru once more came into orbit near Earth. In addition, he believed the return of Nibiru would herald disastrous earth changes.
Other Societies Who Worshipped the Anunnaki
The ancient Sumerians weren't the only ancient civilization who worshipped the Anunnaki. The Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hurrian, and Hittites all worshipped them in varying degrees as well.
However, they're not always depicted the same way. For example, the Akkadians portrayed them in their texts as gods of the underworld, and the Hurrians believed they were an older race of gods, banished by younger gods to the underworld to keep them out of the way.
Did the Anunnaki Create and Rule the Ancient Sumerians?
There are several theories and beliefs about the ancient Sumerians who many believe were created by aliens, who they worshipped as gods. It's one possible way to explain how they became so advanced, and the tablets that have been uncovered certainly lead to more questions about life in the ancient world.
