The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1913-09-10
WOMAN CREATOR,
SAYS old TABLET
Ancient Record Gives New Yer.
sion Of Creation.
At LEAST 1900 YEARS OLD.

HisroGIyphies on Old 6abyIonian Tablet
Just D~sciphsrsd Confirm the Story Of
Noah and the Ark and Other Events
In Biblical History-A Sensation In
Archaeology.
The Bible story Of Noah and the food
IL confirmed In many details by hero
g~lyphics written at least 1900 years
ago, perhaps even more. by a historian
who lived in ancient Babylon, accord
Ing to an announcement just made at
Philadelphia by the University OF
Pennsylvania.
The writing on a tablct-an epic OF
great length ~purporting to reach back
to the creation. was deciphered at the
museum of the university by DIR. Ar
mold Poebel, the nouncem says
The tablet. said to be the oldest eyer
rescued from Oblivion. was dug up In
Nippur several years ago by a museum
expedition.
In strange symbols, so finely written
that the entire poem Is contained on
a tablet seven inches square, the prim-
tive historian harks back to the be
ginning OF all things. Then there were
seven gods, chief Of which were Anu
and EMIL. and a goddess, Nintu. the
tablet says. Nintu 1t was who created
mankind, whom she called my crea-
tons"
Tells Of The Creation.
Like the first chapter Of Genesis, the
Babylonian poem opens with a recital
Of the creation. Nintu. god mother Of
humans, Is lamenting that the other
god seems bent on their destruction.
Eat that time Nintu walled like a
woman In travail" reads the transla-
tion- "The holy Ishtar walled on ac-
count OF the people. Enki. god of wis
dom, held counsel with Anu, Enlil and
Nintu ' e the proposed destruction OF
mankind Ziugidda. high priest Of
~Shuruppak. made obeisance to the gods
and prayed, prostrating himself In hu.
mility."
The Ziugidda OF the B~abylonians, ii
Is believed, was the Noah OF the He
brews- The tablet tells Of Ziugidda's
learning from the great god, Enki, that
mankind was to be destroyed by a
rainstorm." Then comes a descrip-
ton Of terrific wind and rains.
AFTER seven days the rainstorm had
passed W the land and carried away
the huge boat Then the sun gods
came forth shedding light over heaven
and earth. Ziugidda opened the roof
OF his ship and the light Of the sun
god was let in" This version differs
In respect to the duration Of the food
described In Genesis. There It was
said to last forty days.
Race Given Immortality.
When the water subsidized Ziugidda
prayed to the gods with a loud voice.
the poem continues, and sacrificed an
OK. a sheep and something with "a
great horn" Through the ~intercession
OF Nintu the gods forgave the surviv-
ing human beings and gave them i'm
mortality which they did not possess
before the food.
DIR. Poebel has announced that he
win make public later a literal transla-
ton OF the epic. From other tablets
found by the expedition. It would APP
pear, the announcement says. that A.
600 years interviewed between creation
and the food, although one epic
writer asserts with painstaking accu-
racy that the exact time was 32,223
years, some months (exact number un-
decipherable) and eighteen days.
The particular tablet from which the
story from which the food was trans
lated, the announcement says, may be
as old as 5000 years and Is reason
ably certain to be no more recent than
the reign Of Hamurabi. about 2100 B.
G. 1t IL regarded as the worlds most
ancient historical writing and Is In a
fairly good state Of preservation.