Analysis of the Twelfth Planet

The Myth of a 12th Planet A legal brief Analysis of Cylinder Seal VA 243 Michael S. Heiser Ph. D. candidate, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages University of Wisconsin-Madison Introduction Readers of Zecharia Sitchins books, p contri caravanceicularly The 12th Planet, lead recognize the to a higher place postage stamp, VA 243 (so named because it is way out 243 in the collection of the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin). This seal is the centerpiece of Sitchins supposition that the Sumerians had advanced galactic kat onceledge of the satelliteary bodies in our solar system.This knowledge was alleged(a)ly given to the Sumerians by extraterrestrials, whom Sitchin identifies as the Anunnaki theologys of Sumero-Mesopotamian mythology. In the f number left- fleet corner of the seal, Sitchin argues, one sees the solarisebathe surrounded by 11 globes. Since quaint peoples (including the Sumerians according to Sitchin) held the temperateness and moon to be planets, thes e eleven globes positivist the cheer add up to twelve planets. Of course, since we now know of niner planets plus our fair weatherlightbatheshine and moon, p artifice of Sitchins argument is that the Sumerians knew of an extra planet beyond Pluto.This extra planet is considered by Sitchin to be Nibiru, an astronomical trunk mentioned in Mesopotamian schoolbooks. Sitchins works detail his contention that Nibiru passes through our solar system every 3600 years, and so about believers in Sitchins theory contend that Nibiru impart return soon. most followers of Sitchins ideas in addition summon to Nibiru as Planet X. Is Sitchin correct in completely or in part? Is Nibiru a 12th planet that will soon return? Does VA243 prove his thesis? Unfortunately for Sitchin and his followers, the answer to each(prenominal) of these questions is no. This paper will focus on the heart of his theory, VA243.Nibiru is the prevail over of an some opposite paper on my website. Method and Approach The study of cylinder seals is actually a very specialized sub- criminal recordip hunt at bottom Sumerology and Assyriology. a It is workable to determine, through the efforts of cylinder seal specialists of the recent past and current experts, to decisively adduce that Sitchins commentary of this seal is deeply flawed and lacks studious merit. In short, his theory is false and is unsupported by the seal itself. In the talk ofion that follows, I will attest that VA243 in no mood supports Sitchins ideas.My reasons / lines of argument for this be 1) The enumeration on the seal (left hand and right hand sides which ar non discussed by Sitchin) says nonhing al intimately planets or both element of astronomy. Rather than offering an independent translation, I will defer to authorities on Sumerian seal inscriptions in this regard to avoid any charge of bias. 2) The alleged sunniness token on the seal is not the sun. We know this because it does not conform t o the consonant depiction of the sun in hundreds of an other(a)(prenominal) cylinder seals and congresswomans of Sumero-Mesopotamian ar devilrk.I will calculate the typical depiction (determined with surety because it appears with texts about the sun graven image Shamash Akkadian, know as Utu in Sumerian) and provide image examples. Sources atomic number 18 provided for ratifiers to check for themselves. The sun tokenic representationisationization is actually a thaumaturge (which in Mesopotamian art could own sextuplet or, more normally, eight points). Lest the modern reader retort that fountain fling, the sun is a one, I offer several images where the aesthesis symbol and the sun symbol (which again, is not that in VA243) argon side-by-side and distinct from one another.The Sumerians and Mesopotamians gilded the sun from leashs by using different symbols and associating each symbol with the sun god and other gods, respectively. on that point is simply no an cient Sumero-Akkadian indorse to support Sitchins identification. 3) If the sun is not the sun, then what atomic number 18 the dots? The dots ar overly angiotensin-converting enzymes, as is best illustrated by the Sumerian-Mesopotamian depiction of the Pleaides ( 7 dots together with bonnie astronomical accuracy since they are visible to the naked eye). b The Pleaides are actually one of the most frequently pictured astronomical features in SumeroMesopotamian art.As Sitchin points out (and this is corroborated by actual scholars in the field its common knowledge), sensations were associated with or considered to be heavenly beings gods. In Sumero-Mesopotamian artwork, a star represents every a god or an astronomical body. The same can be said of the sun it can every reference the literal sun or the sun god. There are three possibilities as to what VA243 is portraiture (A) It is singling out a deity or special star and associating it with other stars in some sort of zodi acal representation. I wearyt consider this analogously because there are other far clearer representations of zodiacal constellations.Unless there are clear zodiacal connotations, a star was typic of a deity, which brings us to the endorsement base option. (B) More probable is the idea that the primal star stands for a deity that has some association with fertility (as in crops) since the inscription describes an offering made by a worshipper (who is named) to a seated god who is associated in the seal with fertile harvest. Since there are two other skeletal systems in the seal in addition to the seated god, and one is the offerer, the remaining figure is likely a deity also associated with the offering. In promote of this possibility are the implements aAn excellent general presentment is Dominique Collon, Cylinder Seals. I am not saying the star is depicted amid the Pleiades, only that the artistic depiction of the Pleiades provides an excellent example of dots = stars. T he Pleiadean depiction is continuously seven dots/stars. b shown on the seal with respect to these two figures set about the seated god and the figures headroomdress. Also in its favor is the fact that there are literally hundreds of such offering seals, and more live with a star in velocity proximity to the figures heads, signifying the figure is a deity (see the example). C) Since the star is surrounded by eleven other stars (dots), the artistic depiction could stand for the lead god of the Mesopotamian divine council and its other eleven ( f number tier) members. Recall that (as Sitchin again points out) the Mesopotamian council had 12 members. I stick famous before that the 12 member council isnt ceaselessly consistent in Mesopotamian religion (at times eight gods are considered the council), entirely 12 is the more prevalent number. This thesis is attractive, but I cant say there is much to commend it over option B.The reader cleverness be thinking at this point, We ll, isnt the sun god the draw of the pantheon so if this symbology points to the divine council the center symbol could still be the sun? This would be an erroneous line of thought since in SumeroMesopotamian religion the sun god is non the high god the high god is Anu (later, Marduk), not Shamash. These options are admittedly subjective, but one thing is certain the sun symbol does not conform to the abundantly frequent symbol for the sun in SumeroMesopotamian art. We are not dealing with a depiction of the solar system.Astronomer Tom van Flandern pointed this out years ago anyway, since the sizes of the planets around the alleged sun do not conform to the correct sizes of the planets and there distances from the pseudo-sun are not depicted in such a way as to depict elliptical (or at least varying) orbits. The link to van Flanderns critique is on my website. 4) There is not a iodin text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the humankind that tells us the Sumerians (or later inhabitants of Mesopotamia) knew there were more than five planets.This is quite a claim, but is demonstrable through the work of scholars who specialize in cuneal astronomy. Below I list all the major works on cuneiform astronomy (catalogues of texts, dissertations / books) and invite readers to check them out of a library and look for themselves. Literally every cuneiform text that has any astronomical comment (even with respect to astrology and omens) has been translated, catalogued, indexed, and discussed in the available academic literature.The tablets are often quite detailed, even discussing mathematical calculations of the appearance of planetary bodies in the sky, on the horizon, and in relation to other stars. The field is by no means new, and is considerably developed. All of the above facets of the discussion are now offered in more detail with bibliography. I. The Inscriptions on VA 243 VA243 has three lines of text (line 1 is actually repeated on both sides of the seal)The seal is transliterated (the Sumero-Akkadian signs in face letters) and translated in the principal publication of the Berlin Vorderasiatische Museums publication of its seal collection, Vorderasiatische Rollsiegel (West Asian Cylinder Seals 1940) by Mesopotamian scholar Anton Moortgat on rogue 101. This book is in German, so I offer the German and an English translation Line 1 = dub-si-ga Dubsiga a personal name of an apparently efficacious personc Line 2 = ili-il-la-at Ili-illat another personal name, this time of the seals owner dein Knecht German for your considerationd Line 3 = ir3-suSo the full (rather boring) inscription of VA243 reads Dubsiga, Ili-illat, your/his servant. Nothing in the inscription suggests anything remotely to do with astronomy or planets. In an email under stand up with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals, Dr. Mayr commented on the inscriptions and the seal and I submit a hardly a(prenominal) comme nts in blue The seated figure is a god the flounced garment is normal for deities (though kings start wearing them a little later) deities also look at the distinctive headdress. Most scholars call it a horned headdress, but Ive always thought it looked more like flames than horns.Ancient texts often refer to deities having a bright, shining, brilliant aspect this is true across the ancient near east witness the shining one terminology I discuss in The Facade and in several papers on my website they get dressedt mention horns . . . The introducing figure also has the horns of divinity this is a salutary contextual argument that the symbol again, its not the sun to the speed left of the introducing figure is a star. Precisely because they SHINE, stars were associated with deities. Shamash, the sun god, had his own symbol of the sun.See below for what it looked like. c Personal email communication on Dubsiga with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals. Dr. May r is also the source of the comment on the second line, which conforms to typical cylinder seal patterns. d Dr. Mayr noted to me in an email that the third line might also read his servant, which was his preference. II. The cheerfulness Symbol This is perhaps the biggest problem with Sitchins interpretation of VA243 signifying the solar system. entirely put, if the central symbol in his solar system isnt the sun, the interpretation collapses completely.Theres actually a good deal of evidence to demonstrate decisively that Sitchin is wrong here. Toward offering that evidence, well first introduce a few general comments on Sumero-Akkadian symbols and move to the specifics. A. familiar Comments Like all ancient religions, Sumero-Mesopotamian religion had a great concern with heavenly bodies that could be observed with the naked eye. In particular, the sun, moon, and Venus were important focus points because of their ease of visibility, and each was artistically symbolized and stood for a deity.In Sumer-Mesopotamian religion, the sun god symbology was very clear fair weather god = Shamash (Utu in the Sumerian languagee) The symbol of the sun god in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion was a central circle with four extended munition with rippled lines in between each arm (most common), or a circle with only wavelike lines. The entire symbol was itself nearly always I dont know any exceptions, but there whitethorn be one only when being cautious here interior a circle, as belowf The reader should note immediately that this is NOT the symbol on VA243.VA 243s pseudo-sun lacks the wavy lines and is not set inside a circle. This sun symbol is ubiquitous in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious artwork. The other common symbol for the sun god was the god in escapism upon a set of wings (a depiction akin to the fly disc in Egyptian religion). e See Jeremy Black, Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia An Illustrated Dictionary (University of Texas Press, in conjuncti on with the British Museum, 1992) 168. This is an excellent reference source. Dr. Black is a well cognize Sumerian scholar.He was formerly the Director of the British School of archaeology in Iraq and is now university lecturer in Akkadian and Sumerian at Wolfson College, Oxford. f See above source, p. 168. The above classic solar disk iconography in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion is contrasted with the star symbol, used to symbolize either stars in constellations, any deity (the star is either over the deitys head or above it to the left of right), or Ishtar (Sumerian Inana), who stood for Venus, the most visible physical object in the sky aside from the sun and moong billet that this example has eight points.This is the most frequently attested style in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious art. The star also is found with six (like VA 243) or seven points, and the points even vary within the same seal or stela carving. It wasnt consistent in points, but what the symbol stood for was co nsistent either a star, planet, or deity but NOT the sun. The star symbol is either set within a circle or, far more often, not within a circle. It is all the way distinct from the sun symbol. How do I know that the symbol of VA 243 is a star and not the sun disk?Other than the obvious noted above that VA 243 does not have the wavy lines between the arms of the symbol and is not set within a circle Sumero-Mesopotamian religion often grouped the symbols for the sun god with that of the moon god (Akkadian = Sin Sumerian = Nanna) and Ishtar (Sumerian = Inana). This isnt surprising since they were so readily viewed. In short, they didnt confuse the symbols and neither should we. This grouped triad is very prevalent in Sumero-Mesopotamian art, and compels the reflection that the sun symbol and star symbol were gilded from each otherSource Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 11, Zweite Gruppe, stela a = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, photographic plate 11, 2nd Group, stela a. transmission line the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the right. Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 19, Vierte Gruppe, stela b = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, Plate 19, 4th Group, relief b. maintain the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the lower right. g See Black, 143. The symbols for sun and star/planet are also distinguished clearly in zodiacal artwork from MesopotamiaThe sun symbol (Left) and star symbol (Right) are bordering to each other under the snake (Draco). Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 Here is a close-up of the sun (L) and star (R) symbol above. Note that the star in this case has eight points A second zodiac example The sun symbol (center) and star symbol (R of center) are next to each other under the snakes tail. Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 0 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 60 In the above example, note that (1) the star has seven points, and (b) the stars below it have six points. Note also that these smaller stars also LACK points they are just dots. This seven dot/circle arrangement is one of the most common motifs in Mesopotamian art, and denote the Pleiades. The point here is that dots = stars in Mesopotamian art when in an astronomical context (or a context where a deity is identified with a star). This is important for our consideration of VA 243. Again, here is a close-up A third zodiac exampleNote that the star symbol here has six points as does the VA 243 star. Source Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 Some commentary on this last example is in order. The previous two examples clearly are in zodiac context, as is this one. Those previous two examples clearly have the sun symbol drawn in a port consistent with expected Sumero-Mesopotamian fe atures (wavy lines, encircled) that unmistakably distinguishes the sun from the star symbol. The star symbol signifies the same astronomical body in each case, yet the number of points varies.This means that the number of points is unimportant for identifying the star symbol as a STAR or planet, NOT the sun. Hence one cannot say, well the star symbol usually has eight points, and the Sitchin seal has six, therefore its not a star but the sun. This is erroneous because these examples demonstrate clearly that a star symbol can have 6, 7, or 8 pts. , and LACKS wavy lines. The symbol on Sitchins VA 243 is NOT the sun. It is a star, and thus denotes a star, a god, or a single planet. This isnt my opinion, its the Sumero-Mesopotamian art convention.Lets move on to some cylinder seal examples of star symbols. As noted above, the star was designed to signify a deity or literal star or planet. Heres an example of a cylinder seal with Ishtar signaled as the deity by a star Source Henri Frank fort, Cylinder Seals A Documentary Essay on the Art and Religion of the Ancient Near East (London MacMillan and Co. , 1939) Plate XXVI-seal L In this example, the obvious star symbol has eight points, and is very mistakable in design to the star symbol of VA 243. We know its a star and not the sun because the goddess depicted is Ishtar. Another star symbol of very uniform design to VA 243 is shown belowi The upper left hand side of this seal contains the winged sun disk above the head of what scholars refer to as a scorpion man (note his tail). Just to the right of the winged disk is our star symbol. This time the star has seven points, and is quite similar to VA 243. Note as well h See the discussion in Frankfort (pp. 177-178, 236, 254) and Black, p. 168. See also the magisterial survey E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art, Analecta Orientalia 23 (Pontificum Institutum Biblicum, 1945) 8485. Frankfort, Plate XXXIII seal b. the far upper right corner the seven stars grouped together are the Pleiades (to which we will return in our discussion). Below are several examples of seals with six pointed stars (Frankfort, Plate XXXIII seal d) Comments Note the six-pointed stars in the upper left and upper right corners. In both cases, note the presence of accompanying dots in groups of seven again, the Pleiades (the extra dot over the head of the smaller standing figure denotes a deity as it is a star).The seven dots = the seven stars of the Pleiades (the dots were interchangeable with pointed stars to denote stars). As E. Douglas van Buren, an expert on Sumerian and Mesopotamian art comments In the earliest representations of the 7 dots as yet known it can be seen that . . . they formed a ring or stem canker around a central dot . . . From the early Babylonian closure onwards it is increasingly common to find the 7 dots arranged like stars in the constellation of the Pleiades, and in the last quarter of the second millenary the dots ar e shaped for the first time as stars. j This observation is important because it demonstrates that the pointed star + Pleiades pattern does not require a certain number of points on the stars. Recall that the same situation was true with the zodiac it does not matter how many points a star symbol has its a star, not the sun. Another example j E. Douglas van Buren, The Seven Dots in Mesopotamian Art and Their Meaning, Archiv fur Orientforschung XIII (1941) 277 see also E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art, 74ff. and E.Douglas van Buren, The Rosette in Mesopotamian Art, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie and vorderasiatische Archaeologie, new series, vol. 11 (1939, vol. 45 from old series) 104ff. (Frankfort, Plate XXXV seal h) In this seal the star has six points surrounding a central dot. Note again the Pleiades symbol (see below under the next point on the dots in VA 243). forward leaving the discussion of the star symbol, take note of the close relation in s tyle between the star on VA 243 that Sitchin says is the sun and the star symbols we have noted above Frankfort XXXIII-b VA 243Ishtar star Now canvass these with the actual sun symbol III. The Surrounding Dots As I asked in the introduction to this paper, if Sitchins sun is not a sun, then what are the dots? The most apparent answer, based on the examples above, is that they too are stars. We have already seen that dots were used to depict the stars of the Pleiades, and showed that the seven dots = the seven star symbols elsewhere used for the same constellation. We also saw above in the seal of Frankfort Plate XXXIII-d that a single pointed star can be associated with dots which are also stars.It is almost that the star + seven dots symbology is saying, constellation = Pleiades. There is therefore abundant precedent for asserting that these dots in VA243 are stars. It could be that this seal is saying Constellation = the one with 11 stars. Since I dont know astronomy well, Ill le t the reader meditate that one. The introduction also noted that the symbology of the seal could just point to a deity and perhaps the divine council. Enough said on that. IV. On Sumerian or Mesopotamian Astronomical KnowledgeIn this regard I offer the reader an opportunity to challenge my assertion above (and I am just quoting specialists in cuneiform astronomical tablets) that there is not a single text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the world that says the Sumerians or Mesopotamians knew of more than five planets. Below are bibliographical references that anyone can access (the scholarly, dissertation level materials that one needs some knowledge of semitic languages and/or cuneiform, as well as a background in mathematics or astronomy, to really use are noted in their own category).In my paper on Nibiru (available on my website), Ill briefly go into what the Sumerians and Mesopotamians knew about the planets. For now, though, giving the reader thes e sources will suffice. General Sources Francesca Rochberg, Astronomy and Calendars in Ancient Mesopotamia, Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. III, pp. 1925-1940 (ed. , Jack Sasson, 2000) Bartel L. van der Waerden, Science Awakening, vol. 2 The Birth of Astronomy (1974) Technical but pacify Readable Wayne Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography (1998) N. M.Swerdlow, Ancient Astronomy and Celestial soothsaying (2000) Scholarly (Technical) Resources Otto Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity (1953) Otto Neugebauer, Astronomical Cuneiform Texts (1955) true heath Reiner and David Pingree, Enuma Elish Enlil Tablet 63, The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa (1975) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, MUL. APIN An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform (1989) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (1999) N. Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets (1998) David Brown, Mesopotamian mercurial Astronomy-Astrology (2000)