Episode V -- The Anunnaki

In our last Episode, there was the hint that we were about to welcome Man and his history in these Annals of Earth.  Moreover, Man's arrival on the scene, supposedly in a starring role, promised to be a dramatic event, complete with controversy and wonderment. It was a tense moment, mitigated only by the realization that there were a lot of unanswered questions still on the books. The good news is that it's now time -- in this very episode -- to welcome Man onto the scene, begin his history (and include a fair amount of herstory as well), and at the same time, answer all the piddling little questions.

In order to accomplish in one Episode all of these tasks, it is necessary to backtrack once again in our dating (but probably for the last time), in order to bring the relevant histories of the rest of the major characters into our drama. In doing this we will initially resort to an assortment of  Sumerian texts, coupled with just enough Biblical quotes to add spice to the arguments. We will also recall to the stage, a major character who has received little mention in the latest Episodes:  Nibiru.

For while life has been merrily evolving along on the planet Earth circa 1 million years B.C.E., back on the ranch on the planet Nibiru -- that currently distant member of our solar system -- evolution has marched and/or accelerated to the beat of a different (and possibly hyper) drummer. Nibiru has, according to the texts of Sumeria, not only developed an intelligent civilization, but has even managed to develop blood feuds and space flight, and inevitably to acquire imperialistic ambitions.

c. 485,000 B.C.E.  In a Hittite version of a Sumerian text entitled by modern scholars Kingship in Heaven, the story is told of the descendents of LAMA. The text, after elaborating on their ancestry, "the fathers and mothers of the gods," tells the tale of Anu and Alalu, "the mighty olden gods, the gods of the olden days."  When the time of succession had arrived on Nibiru, it was not Anshargal, Anu's father and the heir apparent, who had ascended the throne. Instead, a relative named Alalu (or Alalush in the Hittite version) became the ruler. Then in a gesture of reconciliation (or possibly by custom), Alalu appointed Anu to be his royal cup-bearer, an honored and trusted position. But after nine Nibiruan years (known as Sars, where 1 Sar = 3600 Earth years), Anu "gave battle to Alalu" and deposed him (so much for the honored and trusted bit).

"Once in the olden days, ALALU was king in Heaven, ALALU was seated on the throne; The mighty ANU, first among the gods, was standing before him: He would bow to his feet, set the drinking cup in his hand.

For nine counted periods [Sars], ALALU was king in Heaven.

In the ninth counted period, ANU gave battle to ALALU. ALALU was defeated, he fled before ANU -- Down he descended to the dark-hued Earth.

ANU took his seat upon the throne."

Noted the phrase:  "Descended to the dark-hued Earth."  Ah yes, the critical connection.

Mind you, the texts did not say that Alalu came from Nibiru, but rather from Heaven -- what we now recognize -- at least in these Annals -- as being periodically located in the environs of the asteroid belt. Was Alalu a fallen angel? By no means. Man, at the time, was only a gleam in the eye of Homo erectus. He was not ready for gods yet. And Alalu was not destined to be one of the major characters in our drama anyway. But his arrival on Earth began the process, the initiation of all the events that would be detailed within the Sumerian texts.

The House of Anu had put an end to the rival house by deposing its ruler Alalu, who in the best tradition of deposed rulers escaped the planet of his birth and chose exile. Nibiru, apparently, was not big enough for the both of them. Alalu was thus forced to find greener pastures (and what greener pastures can one find in the solar system, than Earth?). By descending to dark-hued (Nibiruan for greener pastures) Earth, one assumes that Alalu made the trip in a spaceship, probably with a retinue of aides and supporters, and thereafter found refuge on an unexplored planet.

c. 450,000 B.C.E.  After many, many moons, or roughly ten orbits of Nibiru, during which Alalu, et al made the best of it in their exile domicile, a momentous event occurred. According to the Sumerian texts, Alalu discovered gold, a commodity apparently in great demand on the planet Nibiru. Why the gold was so valuable to Nibiru's inhabitants is not made clear in the texts, but as the narrative continues we will soon realize that this was a discovery of immense importance. Furthermore, Alalu, even though deposed, was sufficiently concerned for Nibiru's need for gold, he advised Anu that he had found the precious metal in Earth's oceans. This momentous discovery apparently had a major impact, in that a reconciliation of sorts then ensued with Anu appointing KUMARBI, a grandson of Alalu, to be his royal cup-bearer. Alalu then, it is assumed, was allowed to return to Nibiru for a more genteel exile.

All the evidence suggests that at this juncture the Nibiruans launched into a space program of some magnitude [pardon the pun]. It was probably a crash program (or rather a hurried up program where it was hoped there would be no crash). But the process nevertheless took some 7,000 years. This may sound a trifle long, but keep in mind that it was two orbits of Nibiru, or only two of their years.

As will become apparent in reading this Episode, the inhabitants of Nibiru were extremely long-lived. If one is to take the Sumerian texts literally, one would have to suspect they had a Nibiruan-normal life-time in excess of some 500,000 Earth years, about 140-150 orbits of Nibiru. But they were not immortal! As time will tell, they were quite capable of dying young, having their life taken by dismemberment and other bloody deeds, and other forms of accidental or homicidal death. Of course, from the viewpoint of any human with a life expectancy of less than 100 years, such long-lived creatures would appear immortal.

A related and highly speculative corollary to their long lives is the question as to whether or not such creatures would progress at an equally slow rate. As we will see, different factions of the Nibiruans created and maintained a family feud worthy of the Hatfields and the McCoys, and one which lasted for more than 400,000 years. This would hardly be considered progress from any species' point of view, where the species had less tenure than a tenth the length of the feud.

Furthermore, all progress, improvements, or advances in the Nibiruan technology seem to also proceed at an incredibly  slow rate. The fact that it took them 7,000 Earth years to take advantage of Alalu's discovery would attest to this rather laid-back way of life. One could also speculate on whether or not their Earth-daily lives were quite leisurely by human standards, and whether or not a good night's sleep for them was on the order of Earth weeks or months. The Sumerian texts do not address this question (nor for that matter the personal traits of the Nibiruans which do not affect the human race), but one wonders if extreme longevity might be coupled with extremely slow transformational rates, both personal and cultural. And vice versa for the very short-lived species. E. g. not cleaning a toilet for a month might allow the bacteria therein to reach the state of a civilization advanced enough to be capable of achieving spaceflight. A thought to ponder.

But eventually, the Nibiruans began their imperialistic conquest of the Earth.

c. 443,000 B.C.E.  The Sumerians considered Nibiru to be a twelfth member of the solar system -- after the Sun, Moon, and the nine other planets that modern science recognizes. The texts also revealed that Nibiru's orbit took the planet to a "station" in the distant heavens, then brought it back to Earth's vicinity, crossing between Mars and Jupiter.

In the latter position, the planet obtained its name Nibiru ("crossing") and its symbol, the cross. The inhabitants of the planet, the "Righteous Ones," were known as the  Anunnaki ("Those Who From Heaven to Earth Came"). The inhabitants of Nibiru who stayed home (supposedly the overwhelming majority of the population) were still Nibiruans, but the astronaut-wing were known by a very specific name -- the one we will hereafter use. Keep in mind also that Heaven has been identified as the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter, the exact location of the "crossing" point, the perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) of Nibiru in its highly elliptical orbit. The Anunnaki of the planet Nibiru, then, quite literally came from Heaven.

For reasons we will discuss in future Episodes, the Biblical  Deluge, the torrential covering of the Earth with water in ancient times, has been dated to circa 11,000 B.C.E. This date is not without controversy, but is well supported by evidence from several diverse sources. In any case, the date of the arrival of the Anunnaki on Earth is calculated by back dating from the Deluge. According to the Sumerian texts, the all-important arrival of the Anunnaki occurred 120 Sars, or -- inasmuch as one Sar equals 3,600 Earth years -- 432,000 years before the Deluge. 432,000 years! Hmmmmmm.

For those who were wondering where the Hindu traditions (Episode III) came up with their figure for the 432,000 year Yuga... Well, now you know! And even if you're not convinced about which came first, the Anunnaki or the Hindus, there nevertheless is a clear connection. And if you consider the fact that 432,000 years is a very long time for Hindu humans to keep track of, then perhaps the Anunnaki have the best claim to originating the dating. In any case...

Exactly one Yuga (432,000 years) prior to the Deluge, the DIN.GIR ("Righteous Ones of the Rocketships") came down to Earth from their own planet. ["Rocketships" might be pushing the translation a bit, but as  Zecharia Sitchin continues his interpretation of the Sumerian texts, the term makes more and more sense.]  The first major expedition of the Anunnaki was let by E.A ("Whose House is Water"). After landing and establishing a base at Eridu, located at the headwaters of the Persian Gulf, this eldest son of Anu, assumed the title: EN.KI ("Lord of Earth"). According to his first-person report:

"When I approached Earth, there was much flooding.

When I approached its green meadows, heaps and mounds were piled up at my command.

I built my house in a pure place... My house -- its shade stretches over the Snake Marsh."

Ea / Enki was well chosen for the mission. He was a brilliant scientist and engineer whose nickname was NU.DIM.MUD ("He Who Fashions Things"). His plan was to extract gold from the waters of the Persian Gulf and the adjoining shallow marshlands. In this regard Sumerian depictions showed Enki as the lord of flowing waters, sitting in a laboratory and surrounded by interconnected flasks. Enki was also destined to be one of the two major players in the history of our race. Keep him in mind. His place in the early parts of  Genesis are of the highest significance.

The extraction by Enki and his followers of gold is of critical importance. The whole purpose of the imperialistic intentions of the Anunnaki was to accumulate gold. But apparently, not for any vain purposes. It is noteworthy, for example, that at no time during the millennia that followed were the Anunnaki ever shown trading in gold or wearing golden jewelry. There was no hint of a monetary role either. The Anunnaki apparently had much higher purposes for the precious metal.   (There is, however, absolutely no evidence for the Anunnaki having higher porpoises.)

Gold may have been required for their space craft (as does our modern day space program), and as noted in Hindu texts, references to the celestial chariots of the gods refer to them being covered with gold. But there is little need for spacecraft except as a means to acquire gold from Earth, and thus this idea is probably not correct. Instead, there appears to be a much more important need of the metal, with its unique properties, possibly some vital need back home on Nibiru, a need conceivably affecting the very survival of life on Nibiru. One theory Sitchin seemed fond of was that the Nibiruans needed the precious metal in order to suspend gold particles in Nibiru's waning atmosphere and thus shield it from a critical dissipation. Sitchin, however, has not been willing to defend this idea to any great extent. The question must remain mute for a bit longer. But we shall return to this all important detail a bit later in the narrative.

Another factor worth mentioning is the genealogy of the leaders of the Anunnaki and their relationship to the planets. First of all there is the matriarch LAMA, who is responsible for both lineages of the warring houses of ANSHARGAL and ALALU. Anshargal is identified with Anshar (Saturn). His mate is KISHAR (Jupiter). Their son is ANU (Uranus). By NAMMU or ID, a concubine of Anu's, Anu "begot his twin and equal" NUDIMMUD, EA or ENKI (Neptune).

In the Sumerian traditions, Anu is generally considered the Sky God, the head of the Sumerian pantheon of gods and goddesses.   Enki is considered the God of  Wisdom and the God of Waters (Nammu, his mother, was the Goddess of the Watery Deep --"Deep Space"?). At the same time, Enki is Anu's "twin and equal," and Enki's planet Neptune is at the gateway to the solar system, such that the solar system is Ea's (Enki's) "abode."

As already mentioned, Enki will become one of the most important gods in the saga of Man. He is also the father of Marduk, the latter being Enki's first born son. This makes sense, inasmuch as it was Neptune's gravitational pull that first brought Nibiru (Marduk) into the solar system. Marduk also plays a very major part later on, particularly during the time of Babylon. Meanwhile, at this stage, Enki, the equal of Anu is on Earth, prospecting in the Persian Gulf waters for gold.

The Sumerian texts also note that Nibiru (or Marduk) made for himself two abodes: One in the "Firmament"; the other, "in the Deep" -- the latter being called the "Great Distant Abode," as well as E.SHARRA ("Abode/Home of the Ruler/Prince"). The abode in the Firmament is not entirely clear as to its exact name, location, address, and/or zip code, but there is a possibility this abode was on the planet Mars. This rather outrageous suggestion will be revisited more than once as we progress in these Annals.

The sea we today call the Arabian Sea, the body of water between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean was called in antiquity the Sea of Erythrea, from whence we derive the word, Earth. The first settlement of the Anunnaki on Earth was at a place called E.RI.DU ("Home In a Faraway place"). The Sumerian term for Earth's globe and its firm surface was KI. Note, for example, that the word, Anunnaki breaks down into ANU, N, NA, and KI. ANU is thought of as heaven and KI, Earth. In the same fashion, EA, after having established the first five of the seven original settlements on Earth, was given the title of EN.KI ("Lord of Earth"). KI also conveys the meaning "to cut off, to sever, to hollow out."  Its derivatives illustrate this. For example: KI.LA meant "excavation," KI.MAH "tomb," and KI.IN.DAR "crevice, fissure."  In Sumerian astronomical texts, the term KI was prefixed with the determinative MUL ("celestial body"). Thus MUL.KI meant "the celestial body that had been cleaved apart," a reference to the creation of Earth from Tiamat. Over the years, the pronunciation of KI change to GI, and ultimately to "geo" (as in geo-graphy, geo-metry, geo-logy, etcetera).

The cosmology of the Sumerian gods and their related planets has its counterpart in the Greek version. In the eighth century B.C.E., Hesiod began the divine tale of events that ultimately led to the supremacy of Zeus with:

"Verily, at first Chaos came to be, and next the wide-bosomed Gaia,

She who created all the immortal ones; Who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus:

Dim Tartarus, wide-pathed in the depths, and Eros, fairest among the divine immortals...

From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Nyx; and of Nyx were born Aether and Hemera."

It seems apparent that Gaia was the Greek equivalent of Tiamat, and the divine pairs of Tartarus and Eros, Erebus and Nyx, Aether and Hemera were the Romans' Mars and Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, just as in the Sumerian version. At the same time, Ouranos ("Heaven") came about, according to Hesiod's Theogony, in a similar way as well:

"And Gaia then bare starry Ouranos -- equal to herself --

To envelop her on every side, to be an everlasting abode place for the gods."

Later on after the battle, Hesiod spoke of Gaia as being the half equivalent to Heaven:  on one side she bore Urea, who "brought forth long hills, graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs"; and on the other side "she bore Pontus, the fruitless deep with its raging swell."  The former would be on the side the firm lands had formed from the crust of Tiamat; while on the other side there was a hollow, an immense cleft into which the waters of the erstwhile Tiamat must have poured. In effect, the fruitless Pontus was the Pacific Ocean (where no fruit grows in the extensive salt water).  Apparently, the authors or compilers of the Book of Genesis were not the only ones accepting the Sumerian cosmogony (and also editing it to outline the derivation of their own gods and Olympic dynasties).

c. 429,000 B.C.E.  Four Sars later, more Anunnaki arrive on Earth, among them a Chief Medical Officer, Enki's half-sister Ninharsag, (also referred to as NINTI). The Anunnaki came in groups of fifty, as attested to by one of these groups led by Enki's firstborn son, MAR.DUK. Marduk describes to his father an "attack" on his spacecraft by one of the solar system's larger planets (possibly Jupiter):

"It has been created like a weapon;

It has charged forward like death...

The Anunnaki who are fifty it has smitten...

The flying, birdlike Supreme Orbiter it has smitten on the breast."

It's relevant that these "gods" were not exactly omnipotent... They could certainly get smitten, and space travel was not to the level of being routine. In  fact, as will become more and more apparent in these Annals, just getting from place to place on the Earth had a degree of adventure.

There is also the suggestion from the Sumerian artifacts that Marduk may have landed on Mars on the way to Earth, that Mars may have been a way station between Nibiru's crossing in the asteroid belt and Earth. This clue comes from a depiction on a Sumerian cylinder seal. It also makes sense in that Nibiru making its perihelion approach to the Solar System may have been a lot closer to Mars at the time in its orbit than to Earth (which might easily have been on the other side of the Sun at the time).

Other more indirect evidence includes photographs by the NASA's Mars probe, Mariner 9, which shows what has come to be called " The Face on Mars."  The photo includes the "Face" and what appears to be an extensive area of pyramids and other allegedly artificial structures, all faintly reminiscent of ancient cities and major religious areas on Earth. Any one of the latter might easily be attributed to the Anunnaki, at least in terms of their design and layout.

c. 414,000 B.C.E.  Four Sars later -- about 15,000 Earth years -- it finally becomes apparent to the Anunnaki that the gold production from seawater is failing to live up to expectations. More significantly, these primeval prospectors were now faced with a decision to either abandon the project -- essentially out of the question -- or try to obtain the gold by other means, for example, by mining. The Anunnaki had by this time become aware that gold was available in abundance in the AB.ZU, "The Primeval Source."  Scholars, such as Sitchin, interpret this to mean South Africa. But such deep mining in "the place of the shining lodes," would necessitate expanding the processing facilities and fabricating ore vessels (MA.GUR UR.NU AB.ZU -- "Ships for Ores of the Abzu"). It was major decision time!

And as in all major decision times, the ones on the front lines, Enki and the Gang, were not going to be allowed to make the decision. This was one for the Big Guy. And so, eight Sars and 28,800 Earth years after Enki's landing, the Supreme Anu arrived on Earth for a closer inspection. His gold train had been threatened! It was time to step in and act authoritative.

Anu arrived on the scene, however, with considerable baggage. His retinue included his heir apparent, ENLIL ("Lord of the Command"), and the young Kumarbi (the grandson of the same Alalu whom Anu had deposed). One can rationalize Anu's decision to include Kumarbi on the basis that it might have been unwise to have left the young contender back home, close to the throne. As for Enlil, Anu may already decided there needed to be a shake-up in the Earth bureaucracy. As heir apparent, Enlil was the son of Anu and his half-sister ANTUM (or KI or URASH, later considered an Earth goddess). Enlil was someone whom Anu could trust, while Enki was the disenfranchised son who just might have a grudge or genteel upset toward Anu and the powers that be.   Note in this regard that Enki was Anu's first-born son, but that Enlil was Anu's first-born son by his half-sister, and thus the legal heir apparent! This is the same situation on which is based the saga of Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, and Isaac. In some respects, the Ishmael/Isaac rivalry was just a rerun of the  Enki/Enlil one. But in the latter case, as we shall see, the stakes were much greater. It was the Earth that was up for grabs!

We might note in passing a fundamental factor in the succession code of the Anunnaki. The heir apparent is first and foremost the first-born son by a half-sister. Only if no such son exists do we drop down to the subsequent levels on which Enki found himself. Later on, we will see that Enki finds himself strongly attracted to Ninti, his half-sister, whose union could produce an heir that would have even more clout than Enlil's son by any other woman. The epic of this romantic interlude, we will return to in a later episode. For the moment, suffice it to say that the half-sister-wife rule of the Anunnaki surfaces in all of its glory with Abraham, who went to some lengths to emphasize Sarah's status as his half-sister and wife. From Genesis 20: 12:

"And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife."

Curiously, scientists in 1980 found that given a choice, female monkeys preferred to mate with half-brothers. These preferred half-brothers shared the same father, but had different mothers. Other reports [Discover, December 1988] showed that "male wasps ordinarily mate with their sisters, but preferentially mate with half-sisters, those with the same father but different mother."  One might wonder if the succession code of the Anunnaki is more than just whim. Or if these older and wiser gods have determined in their near omniscience that:  Incest really is best!

The importance of lineage and genealogy with the Anunnaki cannot be stressed enough, as it will be intimately involved in the struggles for succession and supremacy in the coming millennia. Much of the ferocity of these later wars stemmed from a code of sexual behavior based not on morality but on considerations of genetic purity;  that-is-to-say, sexual acts were judged not by their tenderness or violence, but by their purpose and outcome. Furthermore, while the code prohibited marriage (but not lovemaking) between full brother and sister, marriage with a half-sister was not only allowed, but the male progeny by a half-sister even had precedence in the hierarchical order. And while rape was condemned, sex -- even irregular and violent -- was condoned if done for the sake of succession to the throne. Finally, the same code which condemned rape did not prohibit extramarital affairs per se.

Meanwhile back at the gold-producing crisis, Anu took stock of the situation, showed why he was on the throne, and made the command decisions:  Enlil would take command of the Earth operations and organize the gold deliveries back to Nibiru. At the same time, Enki was to be demoted as Lord of Earth, and given a lesser command, the actual mining in the Abzu; and would be allowed to keep his abode in Eridu (housing prices, at the time being at an all time low). But the latter gesture wasn't sufficient to prevent heated arguments from Enki, who threatened to return to Nibiru. More than the loss of the command of Earth, there was the fact Enki had lost it to Enlil!

The choice of Enlil for command of the Earth mission might have been a necessary one, but it greatly sharpened the rivalry and jealously between the two half-brothers. Enki had already had to deal with being disenfranchised as heir apparent when Anu's half-sister wife Antum had bore Enlil. Anu, thus, had to deal with Enki's outrage at having to step down in favor of Enlil, as well as being chastised for the lack of gold-production. As the scientist-engineer in charge, Enki could easily have taken it as a professional insult to have his plans be universally acknowledged as failing to meet expectations. Ultimately, it was decided to draw lots; allow chance to determine how it would be.

"The gods clasped hands together, then cast lots and divided:  Anu to heaven went up; To Enlil the Earth was made subject; That which the sea as a loop encloses [South Africa?], They gave to the prince Enki.

To the Abzu Enki went down, assumed the rulership of the Abzu."

Unfortunately, for Anu, the drama was not yet over. Kumarbi had been left by Anu on the space platform orbiting the Earth. When Anu returned "up to heaven" (or at least, enroute), the two "gave battle" to one another. As Kumarbi momentarily bested Anu in the wrestling (the Anunnaki's preferred method for settling differences), "Anu struggled free from the hands of Kumarbi."  But then Kumarbi managed to grab Anu by his feet, and "bit between his knees," hurting Anu in his "manhood."  Ouch, that must have hurt. (This, if you can believe it, was a typical "hold" in Anunnaki wrestling.)  Anu then took off for Nibiru, disgraced and in pain, leaving Kumarbi behind with the IGIGI manning the space platform. Thus was delivered in the classic fashion of the Anunnaki the first blow that would ultimately pave the way for the "War of the Olden Gods."  In the interim...

c. 400,000 B.C.E.  The Anunnaki begin arriving on Earth in larger numbers. Ultimately as many as six or seven hundred resided at any one time somewhere on Earth. Some were assigned to the "Lower World" to help Enki mine the gold, some manned the ore ships between the Abzu and Mesopotamia, some remained on the space platform orbiting the Earth, and some stayed with Enlil in Mesopotamia -- the latter controlling the all important spaceport. According to the Sumerian texts, Enlil established settlements according to a master plan:

"He perfected the procedures, the divine ordinances; established five cities in perfect places, called them by name, laid them out as centers,

The first of these cities, Eridu, he granted to Nudimmud, the pioneer."

(Sounds like Enlil is doing a bit of revisionist history himself, claiming his generosity in "granting to Nudimmud" the city of Eridu, when Anu had already done it! Ah well, such is imperial life.)

Meanwhile, each city was given a specific function. E.RI.DU ("House in Faraway Built"), continued as the gold-extracting facility by the water's edge (and which for all time remained Enki's home away from home). The others included BAD.TIBIRA ("Bright Place Where the Ores Are Made Final"), the metallurgical center for smelting and refining; LA.RA.AK ("Seeing the Bright Glow"), a beacon-city to guide the landing shuttlecraft; SIPPAR ("Bird City"), the Landing Place; and SHU.RUP.PAK ("The Place of Utmost Well Being"). The latter was considered the medical center and was placed under the control of SUD / NINHARSAG / NINTI ("She Who Resuscitates"), a half-sister of both Enki and Enlil.

Later, other cities were established including LA.AR.SA ("Seeing the Red Light") and NIBIRU.KI -- Nippur in Akkadian -- ("The Earth-Place of Nibiru"), essentially the mission control center. As such, Nippur was complete with a DIR.GA ("Dark, Glowing Chamber") where space charts ("the emblems of the stars") were displayed and where the DUR.AN.KI ("Bond Heaven-Earth") was maintained. Finally, the IGI.GI ("Those Who See and Observe") remained on the space platform in constant Earth orbit. Refined metal from the smelters at Badtibira was sent aloft to the Igigi, until such time as the gold was transferred via spaceships periodically to Nibiru. Were these Anunnaki organized, or what!? Of course it took them 10,000 to 20,000 Earth years to get things running smoothly, but hey, it worked! But then, just when it looked as if things could become routine, things became very complicated again.

c. 380,000 B.C.E.  In the quintessential example of how the Anunnaki and Nibiruans take forever to progress in any meaningful way (at least in terms of Earth years), the lingering and bitter struggle between the House of Anu and the House of Alalu broke out in the "War of the Olden Gods."  This war, upon which the Greek "War of the Titans" is undoubtedly based, pitted "the gods who are in heaven" against the "gods who are upon dark-hued Earth."  (What was going on back on Nibiru is not addressed by the Sumerian texts -- the texts almost always restricting themselves to only those portions of the conflicts and events which directly affect the Earth.)

Gaining the support of the Igigi (who had been going around in circles in their space platforms and were probably bored, as well as possibly atrophying from the weightlessness), Alalu's grandson Kumarbi tossed aside his effectively tenured job as cup-bearer, and attempted to seize mastery over Earth. Kumarbi first attempted to enlist Enki in his cause -- thinking, obviously, that Enki just might still be a little bitter about the "recent" demotion. The Anunnaki do, after all, know how to carry a grudge... For millennia!

Subsequently, Kumarbi attempted to seek help from Lama, "mother of the two gods."  But as we all know, the plans of mice, men and Anunnaki oft times go astray, and Anu got wind of the activity. Deciding once and for all that enough was enough, Anu ordered Enlil's son to find Kumarbi and kill him. Ferocious battles then ensued between the terrestrial gods led by Enlil's son and the sky-borne gods led by Kumarbi. In one battle, no less than 70 gods participated, all riding in "celestial chariots."  It was Star Wars in the very neighborhood of Earth! In the end, the son of Enlil (and grandson of Anu) prevailed against Kumarbi.

There is some question as to which of Enlil's son was the avenging god. In the Hittite text entitled by modern scholars, The Kumarbi Cycle, the avenging god is identified as Enlil's youngest son, ADAD (also known as the Storm God Teshub and the principal Hittite deity). However, in the Sumerian version, in the tale known as The Myth of Zu, the hero is NINURTA, Enlil's first born son by his half-sister Ninharsag (and therefore the Heir Apparent to Enlil). Even in the Hittite version, though, Adad is assisted by his older brother.

For our purposes, it appears that the Sumerian version is more pertinent, in that it provides additional detail to the war, in particular to the attempts by Zu / Kumarbi to take control of Enlil's Mission Control Center in Nippur. For it was there in the DIR.GA room, the most restricted, holy-of-holies room, where the vital celestial charts and orbital data panels -- the "Tablets of Destinies" -- were installed and maintained. Control of this sacred chamber could conceivably be used to control the fate of the Anunnaki on Earth as well as on Nibiru. In getting there, Zu apparently had help from Enki (who was never loath to put a bee in Enlil's bonnet). Enki, aware of Zu's ancestry (the grandson of Alalu), suggested to Enlil that Zu be allowed into his service.

"Your service let him enter, in the sanctuary, to the innermost seat, Let him be the one to block  the way.

To the words that Enki spoke to him, the god [Enlil] consented. At the sanctuary Zu took up his position at the entrance to the chamber."

As Zu stayed by his post, he "constantly viewed Enlil, the father of the gods, the god of the Bond-Heaven-Earth [communications post?]... his celestial Tablet of Destinies Zu constantly viewed."  Soon a scheme took shape. "The removal of Enlilship he conceives."

"I will take the celestial Tablet of Destinies; The decrees of the gods I will govern;

I will establish my throne, be master of the Heavenly Decrees; The IGIGI in their space I will command!"

"His heart having thus plotted aggression," Zu saw his chance one day as Enlil went to take a cooling swim. "He seized the Tablet of Destinies in his hands" and in his Bird "took off and flew to safety in the HUR.SAG.MU ("Mountain of the Sky-Chambers"). No sooner had this happened than everything came to a standstill:

"Suspended were the divine formulas; The lighted brightness petered out; silence prevailed.

In space, the IGIGI were confounded; The sanctuary's brilliance was taken off."

At first, "father Enlil was speechless," the latter a possible reference to communications being cut. But when Anu on Nibiru was informed of the coup, the order to capture Zu was clear. (It was a Zu coup!)  There were, however, few volunteers to go chasing after Zu. The apparent reason was that Zu had also taken "Enlil's brilliance," a powerful weapon. It's not altogether clear what the weapon was, but one must suspect it was a bit more than a polished sling shot, something that the average Anunnaki might be loath to challenge.

But then, in the true spirit of a futuristic Hollywood script, the young hero, Ninurta stepped forward, ready to do battle for god Anu, country Earth, and Mom. Of course, he was given the slightest of motivations by his mother who pointed out Enlil's loss of the throne was ultimately Ninurta's loss! Mom armed Ninurta with weapons equal to Zu's stolen weapons, including a few of her own design. (There's nothing like having a mother who keeps a lethal arsenal in her broom closet!)

The ensuing battle had all the earmarks of nuclear weapons, guided missiles, and fighter aircraft. Had Homo erectus occasioned to look up, he would undoubtedly have been impressed -- even if he hadn't had the slightest idea of what was going on. Ultimately, Ninurta defeated Zu, and in a subsequent trial was given the right to cut Zu's throat -- which he did. Forthwith.

However... As a condition for his volunteering to go after Zu, wily old Ninurta had extracted from the other Anunnaki, a promise to ensure that the vanquisher of Zu was appropriately rewarded:

"Thy name shall be the greatest in the Assembly of the Great Gods;

Among the gods, thy brothers, thou shall have no equal;

Glorified before the gods and potent shall be thy name."

While this is all well and good for the war hero, it had an unintended, undesirable effect. It planted the seed for future conflict by establishing Ninurta higher in the hierarchical order than even Enki. And while Ninurta was indeed Enlil's Legal Heir on Nibiru, having been born there, he was not necessarily the next in line on Earth! Thus the son of Enlil and a son of Enki were ultimately destined in the future to battle for control of the Earth. But such is still in the future. Try to be patient.

Meanwhile, back at the zoo, Zu (Kumarbi?), prior to his demise, had managed to impregnate a goddess of the mountain. It's the old soldier-off-to-the-war trick -- works almost every time. And in typical fashion, this dalliance led to the birth of a possible avenger, the "Stone God ULLIKUMMI.

Ullikummi grew up in secret, but eventually, the Sumerian Sun God UTU, a grandson of both Enki and Enlil, saw Ullikummi roaming the skies one day and informed Ninurta. Enlil's son promptly attacked Ullikummi, but at first to no avail. Even when his brother Adad joining the battle, Ninurta continued to be unsuccessful. The two then went to Enki in the Abzu, to seek an oracle according to "the old tablets with the words of fate."  (Essentially they wanted some advice from the uncle known as the God of Wisdom.)

Enki realized that Zu / Kumarbi had created a monster, and Enki, himself, went to Enlil to warn him of the danger. Enki also brought  a solution: "let them bring out the Olden Metal Cutter, and cut under the feet of Ullikummi the Stone God."  Crippled, the Stone God was still defiant, even to the end when Ninurta caught up with him at sea and engaged him in a final battle. Ultimately, the Enlilites won this final phase of the War of the Olden Gods, what the Greeks called the Battle of the Titans. The meaning of the Greek word "Titan," incidentally, may appear obvious, but it is worth noting that the word, TI.TA.AN, in Sumerian means "Those Who in Heaven Live."  This is rather precisely the designation of the Igigi led by Zu / Kumarbi.

************************************

Up to this point, other than references to Anunnaki colonies in the Tigris-Euphrates valley and South Africa, much of these Sumerian tales could apply to any number of locales. There is, for example, only minimal mention of any activity that might definitely connect the Anunnaki antics to the Annals of Earth. However, that is about to change. Suddenly the lives of Anunnaki and mankind are about to become irrevocably entwined. Suddenly, our very concept of what it means to be human and from whence we came, is about to be severely challenged. It all began with a mutiny. Not on the Bounty, mind you, but at the source of all the activity, the gold mines.

c. 270,000 B.C.E.  Something on the order of 30 Sars (110,000 years) later, or about 40 Sars (144,000 years or 40 "counted periods") after the mining of the Abzu began, the Anunnaki toiling the minds did something quite extraordinary:  They mutinied! From The Alta-Hasis Epic, we find:

"Inside the mountains, in the deeply cut shafts, the Anunnaki suffered the toil; excessive was their toil for forty counted periods.

[The Anunnaki] suffered the toil day and night, they were complaining, backbiting, grumbling in the excavations."

The Sumerian texts go on to relate in vivid detail the fact that the miners mutinied, and marched on Enlil's quarters in the middle of the night (apparently receiving night visitors being one of the joys of being Top Gun on Earth). Taking Enlil prisoner, the mutineers then demanded that Anu be sent a message and asked to come to Earth to negotiate. Enlil quickly obliged them, but upon Anu's arrival, Enlil called for a court-martial before the Great Anunnaki to be convened. Enlil, rather clearly, was not one of those diplomatic facilitators with consummate skills of negotiation and compromise.

At the court-martial, according to the texts, "Enki, Ruler of the Abzu, was also present."  Enlil took this opportunity to accuse Enki of being the instigator of the mutiny. This didn't fly with the Great Anunnaki, even though it was certainly not beyond Enki to have planted a few seeds of discontent in order to get Enlil's goat (Enlil's goat being an award-winning goat, one that all the Anunnaki coveted). But then, not getting the support of Anu, Enlil offered his resignation: "Noble one, take away the office, take away the power; to Heaven will I ascend with you."

Anu, however, did not bite. Instead, he calmed Enlil, while at the same time expressed his understanding of the miner's hardships. Anu was, of course, playing the role of ruler/diplomat, attempting to offend no one and managing to take both sides at the same time. Not unexpectedly, he thus created a situation with little or no hope of a solution: Someone had to mine the gold, it was really tough on the Anunnaki miners, the mining process was indeed arduous, and yet, still, someone had to mine the gold. Ye olde vicious circle. The problem would simply not go away.   Then, into this quandary, rushed Enki.

Enki "opened his mouth and addressed the gods."  He and his Chief Medical Officer, his half- sister Ninti, had a plan: a brilliant, and simultaneously, brazen and outrageous plan:

"Let her create a Primitive Worker; and let him bear the yoke...

Let the Worker carry the toil of the gods, let him bear the yoke!

In the following one hundred lines of the Alta-Hasis text, and in several other "Creation of Man" texts that have been discovered in various states of preservation, the tale of the genetic engineering of Homo Sapiens has been told in amazing detail.  Man, Homo sapiens sapiens, was to be created through the wonders of genetic engineering for the sole purpose of mining gold for the Anunnaki. The yoke was on Man!  (Somehow, we always suspected something like this.)

To achieve this feat, Enki suggested that a "Being that already exists" -- Apewoman -- be used to create the Lulu Amelu ("The Mixed Worker"). This would be done by "binding" upon the less evolved beings, "the mold of the gods."  It was time to mold the mitochondrial and nucleic DNA of Homo erectus (or possibly Archaic Homo sapiens) to evolve the Ape-man into a gold miner, complete, no doubt, with a jaw full of chewing tobacco and a pickax.

Where have we heard of this scenario before?

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." [Genesis 1:26, 27]

If you've ever wondered why God said, Let "us" make man in "our" image... Now you know. Suddenly, the verse which makes absolutely no sense, becomes crystal clear. The "us" was Enki and Ninti, while the "our" was that of the Anunnaki. The Biblical version, therefore agrees with the Sumerian. And on the scientific front, the agreement is similarly precise. The Sumerian timing, for example, was perfect, the evolution of mankind beginning some 270,000 years ago. This, of course, is an agreeable compromise date between the different geneticists and paleoanthropologists immersed in the mtDNA debate.

Sumerian, Biblical, and Scientific sources agree on the beginning of mankind! 

But before you identify the God of Genesis with Enki (whose "abode" is our solar system), note that it was the goddess Ninti who purified the "essence" of a young male Anunnaki and mixed it into the egg of an Apewoman."  It was the goddess that implanted the fertilized egg into the womb of a female Anunnaki, and then when the "mixed creature" was born, it was Ninti who lifted him up and shouted:  "I have created it! My hands have made it!"  Not surprisingly, Enki and Ninti called their creation, Adapa, similar to the biblical, Adama. Eve, apparently, was the female Anunnaki! Maybe.

Irregardless of the exact identity of Adam and Eve, the "primitive worker" -- Homo sapiens -- had come onto the scene through a feat of genetic engineering and embryo-implant techniques. In effect the Anunnaki had taken a hand in the long process of evolution, jump-starting it and "creating" Man sooner than he might otherwise have evolved on his own. In effect the "missing link" in man's evolution turns out to be a feat of genetic engineering performed in an ancient laboratory of the Anunnaki ("Those who from heaven to earth came"). Suddenly we can explain why the progenitor of both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man (Homo sapiens sapiens) appeared so soon on the scene, a mere million years after Homo erectus' initial foray into the wilds of Africa, Asia, and Australia.

It is, of course, worth mentioning that the creation of the "primitive worker" was easily 100,000 years before Neanderthal Man. As for Cro-Magnon Man's appearance, circa 90,000 B.C.E., the time frame is even later. The mitochondrial DNA dating is right on target, but the fossil remains of both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man simply do not go back that far.

This variance, however, does not imply a serious problem, in that the "primitive worker," potentially the first in the Neanderthal-line, would not have left a lot of fossil remains for the benefit of paleoanthropologists in a later era, in that they would have been working (and probably dying) in the deep mines of South Africa. Furthermore their remains might have been disposed of by the Anunnaki in a fashion not conducive to becoming fossils later on. For these reasons, it is reasonable to assume that the "quantum leap" from Homo erectus to Neanderthal may have been due to the intervention of Enki, Ninti, and the Anunnaki.

One should also keep in mind that it is unlikely that God-Enki-Ninti would get it right on the first try. The first experiments in producing the "primitive worker" may very well have failed, but yielded enough information to continue the process, improving on each new attempt. According to the Sumerian texts, several kinks did in fact occur in the process. But  then, after considerable trial and error, a mass-production process was launched, with fourteen at-a-time "birth goddesses" (female Anunnaki) being implanted with the genetically manipulated eggs of the Apewoman. Eventually, the process provided sufficient workers in the mines for the Anunnaki to retire (except for supervisory roles), and then later to work the land in Sumeria, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

At the time, the "primitive workers" were still pretty crude:  "When Mankind was first created, they knew not the eating of bread, knew not the dressing of garments, ate plants with their mouth like sheep, drank water from the ditch..."  (Reminds me of some people I know in New York City.)  The workers were good enough for the purposes of the mines, but they were not a thing of beauty and joy forever. They still lacked the all-essential style and grace of later years.

But Enki was not yet finished. It was clear to him and Ninti that the use of young female Anunnaki to perform the roles of "birth goddesses" was not a long term solution. The Anunnaki were not eager to work in the mines, but giving birth in an assembly line fashion did not have a great deal more glory or desirability. Accordingly, unbeknownst to Enlil, and with the connivance of Ninti, Enki contrived to improve upon the "primitive worker," and give the new creature one more genetic twist: granting to the hybrid beings -- incapable of procreating, as all hybrids are (mules, e.g.) -- the ability to have offspring, the sexual "Knowing" for having children. And while the original Sumerian text of this tale has not yet been found, a number of Sumerian depictions of the event were discovered.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it..." [Genesis 1:28]

There is the suspicion that Enki continued the work of improving (i.e. evolving) the primitive worker over a long period of time. It is entirely conceivable that his and Ninti's first efforts produced mule-like Neanderthals (hybrids who were not procreating without the aid of the Anunnaki laboratory workers and female birth goddesses), then Neanderthals with the capability of procreating, and then in a second quantum leap, Cro-Magnon Man. The superior model might have then caused the first industrial lay off in human history with the Cro-Magnon Man replacing the Neanderthals in the mines, and with the early version of Homo sapiens sapiens discovering the distinct lack of unemployment benefits in the archaic world.

The Neanderthals (and later the Cro-Magnons) might also have occasionally left the mines of their own accord. In any case, the Neanderthals were soon roaming free in Africa, migrating, and then popping up all over in the fossil records, as they proceeded to "conquer" the rest of the world. And with their infusion of Anunnaki talents, skills, and genes (and quite possibly, tools), they probably had a much longer life expectancy than the other Homo erectus. The tools could easily have brought them into the Upper Paleolithic (blades, etc.), or just the Middle Paleolithic (when the newly freed workers would be aware of blades, and attempt to fashion a substitute). The paleontological evidence of Homo sapiens sapiens "outliving" and outperforming Homo erectus thus becomes clear.

It is also clear that the issue of "no intermixing" between the conquering Neanderthal (and later the Cro-Magnon invaders) -- with their superior genes, tools, etcetera -- and the conquered Homo erectus is quickly resolved as well. The Anunnaki had caused in the evolution of mankind a quantum leap, a clear distinction between what had gone before and a new breed. And this distinct difference was sufficient to keep any sexual intermixing to a minimum -- conceivably, even zero. Let's face it:  How many humans develop a sexual yearning for chimpanzees?

The differences could, at least in the eyes of the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, have been as great. Furthermore, the lack of evidence of warfare between the species also makes sense, in that the vast superiority of the invaders made it clear to them that there was no competition, no fear of the Homo erectus as competitors, and thus no need for warfare. Moving onto an island prolific with monkeys is not likely to motivate a modern human inhabitant to declare war on the monkey population, i.e. no monkey holocaust. But the monkey population will just as surely go into serious decline as the human development of the island proceeds.

As this theory of an Enki/Ninti/Anunnaki genetic manipulation of the human species begins to register in your mind, you might take note of how many questions it answers. For example, in the twelve questions proposed at the end of the last Episode, note that virtually all are answered! (1) The Sumerians could have known about the cosmology of our solar system, because at some later date, the Anunnaki told their miners their history. Simple. (2) The concept that Nibiru somehow planted the "seed of life" on Earth is not as clear, but one at least recognizes that Nibiru did have life on it at the time. (There is also the realization that the Anunnaki may have had no motivation -- and there's no record that they ever did -- to confide in the Sumerians as to their thinking and private lives). Had the Nibiruans deliberately planted the seed of life on Earth, they may have chosen not to say why.

(3) The unusually slow mtDNA mutation rate of humans (as compared to other related species) could come from an infusion of Anunnaki genes. Furthermore, we have already commented on the longevity-implying-slow-progress theory as directly affecting the Anunnaki, and this would suggest a slow mtDNA mutation rate for the Anunnaki. It all falls together rather well. One can even quickly visualize the meaning of the phrase in Genesis 6:2: "the sons of God."  In effect, this is a literal statement! And, as we will soon discover, most of Genesis becomes literal in this way!

(4) The question of the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon "outliving" the Homo erectus they replaced is answered (see above). (5) Homo sapiens sapiens migrating Out of Africa (sounds like a movie title) and "denying their ancestry" becomes clear. One can easily visualize a "primitive worker" visiting the local career counselor and learning that mining is just not his bag -- no real chance for advancement or meeting his innermost needs. And at the same time, dashing off to become a big-game hunter, a prolific gatherer, or real estate tycoon, such a creature might have been embarrassed at his ancestry and former employment. Small wonder he or she kept it a secret (even from the fossil hunters of a later era).

(6) The no-intermixing issue has also been resolved (see above), and (7) one can even give credence to man evolving the ability to speak. Certainly, the genes for the physical equipment to be able to speak could have come from the Anunnaki, and there is also the possibility that speech would be encouraged in the mines (at least, discussions on the conduct of work, and the dire need for the development of the world's first employee suggestion box).

(8) The Anunnaki creating Man for work in the South African mines clearly locates mtDNA Eve in southern Africa (Botswana, for example), and allows for any subsequent migration from this central point. Shortly, we will point out that a secondary, and on a time scale, later, focal point will be generated in the Middle East -- just as the modern scientists of such topics would find evidence for. (9) There is even the possibility that Becky Cann's statement that the migrating Homo sapiens sapiens in leaving on a jet plane for Australia "knew exactly where they were going," can be explained. The Anunnaki could easily have told them.

The question (10) on races has not quite been answered, but there is the possibility that the different models of "primitive worker" created by Man may have resulted in significant variations, which later became type cast. There is also the possibility that some races did not make it (not to mention the fact that many offshoots might have been eliminated by the  Deluge -- the latter subject to be discussed in great detail in a subsequent Episode). There is, finally, the "Tower of Babel" biblical episode which may account for a great deal of linguistic variations.

(11) Also, the potential for Cro-Magnon having superior evolutionary staying power over the Neanderthal may easily have derived from their acquiring such superiority from Enki and Ninti's tweaking of the "primitive worker."  As to exactly what happened some 40,000 to 35,000 years ago to account for the rather abrupt disappearance of Neanderthal Man... Well, we can't give all the answers away. Besides, it's still in the future. There much more of a story to tell.

(12) But before we proceed, let us not forget that the half-sister rule of Abraham and Sarah's era clearly derives directly from the Anunnaki's rules of succession. As to the why of such rules, the Anunnaki were not into explaining themselves to their slaves.

Meanwhile, back at the mines, the Anunnaki who had been laid off from their work, were a bit at loose ends. Enlil, recognizing that an idle Anunnaki mind is an authority-questioning Anunnaki mind, took immediate action. Inviting the unemployed Anunnaki back to Mesopotamia, a virtual vacation paradise after the Abzu, Enlil thoughtfully put them to work digging ditches, raising dikes, and deepening canals. Theoretically, this was a fast improvement over their lot in Africa. However,  it didn't take the Anunnaki long to yearn for another version of "undocumented workers" for whom they could assign all the dirty jobs (and at the same time, avoid paying social security taxes). Enlil (no longer a fan of house arrest) was quick to agree with the Mesopotamian Anunnaki that the creatures with the thick black hair (man) were sorely needed in Mesopotamia as well as in the Abzu.

Naturally, Enlil was not allowed to just take the "primitive workers" from Enki's mines without a fight from the ruler of the Abzu. But eventually Enlil did his own version of a pre-emptive strike, and took many of the workers back to his place in Mesopotamia. You'll never guess what Enlil (and the Sumerian texts) called their little paradise-away-from-home! You guessed E.DIN? Okay, so you're beginning to catch onto the strange logic of all of this. But!!! If you're so smart...

Did you ever wonder why there are two creation of man epics in the Bible? If not, why not? Obviously, in addition to the latter verses of the first chapter of Genesis, there follows another version in the second chapter of Genesis, after God had taken to resting on the seventh day. It would appear that the first creation was for the miners of the Abzu, those created by Enki and Ninti in the image of the Anunnaki. The second creation of man was based on another motivation:

"And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth [apparently spending all his time irrigating where it didn't rain], and there was not a man to till the ground." [Genesis 2: 5]

Rather precisely, the Bible makes it clear in this verse that Enlil's E.DIN did not have the slave labor for which the Anunnaki craved. The solution? A little raiding party, a man-rustling foray into the Abzu, to acquire someone other than the Anunnaki to "till the ground" of E.DIN.

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed [i.e. stolen from Enki's camp]. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight [with man tilling the soil, obviously it takes man and God to make a tree], and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." [Genesis 2:8-9]

This raises one of the most important aspects of the  Sumerian and  Genesis versions of the earliest times of man.  In the Sumerian version, it was the Lord God, Enki (with help from his half-sister Ninti), who created man and woman in their image, and it was the Lord God, Enlil, who planted a garden eastward in Eden! There are, as a minimum, two gods, whose adventures are described in Genesis. The Hebrews, in their quest to attribute all creation to a single god, condensed the activities of the GODS into the character of a single deity.

As will become even more apparent in the continuing of these Annals, there are really TWO gods of Genesis. Only by understanding this can one hope to understand the early chapters of Genesis. The simple truth is that if one demands that there be only one god of Genesis, then one is faced with a picture of that same god, who is continually reversing himself.

For example, according to the Bible, God made man and placed him in Eden. Then he threw him and his spouse out for no good reason (more on this later). Then God repented "that he had made man" [Genesis 6:6] and determined to destroy him and his progeny. Then God changed his mind and decided to let Noah and his brood survive. Then God became upset with Noah's descendants and felt compelled to confuse his language. And so forth. As one progresses through the Bible, one is forced to question if the Biblical god has a multiple personality. Or is just psychotic. For the described Biblical god flips back and forth, is notorious for taking sides, and is radically unpredictable.

BUT! If there is more than one god in the proceedings, then things begin to make sense. Different peoples might choose one god as their favorite deity, and then defend his alleged superiority to the death. Which is precisely what the Hebrews did. They picked one God (as we shall see, Enlil and his heirs), attributed all of the good deeds of other gods to their god (in effect, ignoring the contributions of Enlil's rival, Enki et al), and then even went to the extreme to deny that any other gods ever existed.

The single-god hypothesis proposed by Genesis just doesn't make it!  Once we let go of this artifact of a life-long brain-washing by the single-god fanatics, we find ourselves able to derive from the Biblical accounts a wealth of information. There's nothing like a basic truth to lighten our load.

Keep in mind one thing, however:  A belief in a single deity, a supreme, divine being who created the universe, is NOT being questioned here. What is being questioned is that the "God of Genesis" is a single god. In fact, what is being strongly suggested (as a means of understanding the Book of Genesis) is that the God of Genesis is really an edited condensation of the "gods": Enki, Enlil, and possibly Ninti. Other Anunnaki also occasionally play a role, but primarily, it is the rival camps of  Enki and Enlil that get all of the press in Genesis and the later books of the Bible.

Before we press on, we might note that nestled between Genesis 2:9 (when God made Eden) and Genesis 2:15 (when God "took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.") there is the following very important and puzzling group of verses:

"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden: and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;  And the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates." [Genesis 2:10-14]

Let's see if we've got this right:

God created the Heaven and the Earth, created the flowers and the herbs, established night and day, created the creatures, formed man "of the dust of the ground," planted a garden in Eden, and then announced with great fanfare:  "There's gold in them thar hills!"

Does this strike you as God having a strange sense of priorities? Does the God of creation seem overly concerned with the yellow metal? Is mentioning the rivers a means by which God suggests that Man pan for gold? Why is it that gold seems to play such an important part in the Annals of Man?

Of course, it all makes sense if one buys into the Sumerian texts and recalls that the "Prime Cause" for the Anunnaki to be on the Earth in the first place was for the location, mining, processing and shipping to Nibiru of gold in large quantities. What exactly "bdellium" constitutes is not clear from the text, but I would suggest it is the Elixir of Life, while the onyx stone is the Philosopher's Stone (the most sought-after elements of the  Alchemists' trade). Bdellium" might also include the " rare earth elements" closely associated with gold in the Periodic Table of Chemistry, i.e. Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Silver, Osmium, Iridium, and Platinum. It is these seven additional elements, found in the same ores as gold, which may constitute the all important quest for gold. This is the same "gold fever" initiated by the Anunnaki, and carried on down through the ages by Man.

Stop and think about it:  Why is gold so incredibly important to Man and his history? No other precious metal has the appeal, even though elements such as silver may have improved industrial uses. The fact remains that gold is the premier substance on which most of history revolves. The Sumerian texts do not explain why the Anunnaki were so gold hungry, but the evidence is prolific that they were after it in spades (the preferred means of mining gold). Furthermore, the Abzu was the place to get it, and the current residents of South Africa were not the first to work the mines.

In fact, realizing that sites of abandoned ancient mines might indicate where gold could be found, the Anglo-American Corporation, South Africa's leading mining corporation, in the 1970s (of the current era, C.E.) engaged archaeologists to look for such mines. Discoveries in Swaziland and other sites in South Africa indicated extensive mining areas with shafts to depths of fifty feet. Stone objects and charcoal remains established dates of 35,000, 46,000, and 60,000 B.C.E. for these sites!  The archaeologists and anthropologists who joined in dating the finds came to the conclusion that mining technology was used in southern Africa "during much of the period subsequent to 100,000 B.C.E.!"  In September 1988, a team of international physicists came to South Africa to verify the age of human habitats in Swaziland and Zululand.  The most modern dating techniques indicated an age of 80,000 to 115,000 years for those areas with evidence of ancient mining.

If this doesn't fortify your resolve in believing the Anunnaki and their gold quest were for real, consider the fact that Zulu legends of the most ancient gold mines of Monotapa in southern Zimbabwe claim these mines were worked by "artificially produced flesh and blood slaves created by the First People."  These slaves, the Zulu legends recount, "went into battle with the Ape-Man" when "the great war star appeared in the sky."  [Indaba My Children, by the Zulu medicine man Credo Vusamazulu Mutwa.]

It doesn't take a creative or imaginative rocket scientist to conjecture Nibiru to be "the great war star," that the "artificially produced flesh and blood slaves" were the jump-started Homo erectus, or that "the First People" were the Anunnaki. Everything just fits!

There are, however, despite our honest endeavor to answer all of the questions prompted by the first four Episodes of these Annals, additional questions arising from our newly found knowledge:

1.         What happened some 40,000 to 35,000 years ago to account for the demise of the Neanderthals and the unchallenged ascendency of the Cro-Magnons? Were the Neanderthals part of an Anunnaki factory recall? Is there any possibility of another recall in our own immediate future?

2.         Will the black haired humans enjoy their sojourn in E.DIN? Will they pine away for the mines back home in Swaziland? Will they find farming and the glories of dressing and keeping E.DIN to their taste? Will they freely eat of every tree of the garden, save one? Will they get their forest merit badge?

3.         Will Enlil find out that his newly acquired slaves, the advanced models of Homo sapiens sapiens, have the ability to create little sapiens of their own? Can Enlil possibly miss the fact that there are all these little sapiens running about? Will Enlil insist on being called their Godfather? Will the art of puns be introduced in time for the reader to understand the last joke? (*)

4.         Will Enki and Ninti get into trouble for their creativity creating creative creatures such as man and woman? Will Anu ground them? Will Enlil have a cat? Will the female get blamed for everything?

5.         Why is it Man and Woman can eat of every tree of the garden save two, "the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil"? Why are the trees with the most intriguing names, off-limits to the gardeners who are maintaining them? And why is it, immediately after mentioning for the first time these wondrous trees, that the Book of Genesis then launches off into a discussion of rivers and the fact that "thar's gold in them thar hills!"? Is there a connection here? Or are we barking up the wrong tree?

6.         Why was gold so important to the Anunnaki? Could mankind similarly benefit by wise use of the gold? Are the Anunnaki likely to share it with us?

7.         And in looking ahead to the next exciting Episode, who in the world are the Nefilim of Genesis 6:4? Giants!? What about the Yankees? Don't they deserve some mention as well? What in the world am I talking about!?

8.         Will there be no end to these questions?

For the answers to these and other exciting possibilities, stay tuned for the next thrill-packed Episode. Rest assured that if you thought the above was intriguing, the next Episodes will be even more astounding! To paraphrase John Paul Jones, "We have not yet begun to rattle the cages of outrageous fortune!"

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(*)  "Hanging is too good for anyone who makes puns. They should be drawn and quoted." [Fred Allen]