The Great Flood

Obviously, there has never been a flood as described in the Bible. It is impossible that so much water suddenly appeared to cover all land areas - and then disappeared again. It's impossible that a pair of all animals were gathered in a single wooden boat. It is impossible that after the flood, they managed to evolve into millions of species and disperse across the continents in just a few millennia. There are no great inland lakes of salt water that should have been left by a biblical flood. No geologist or paleontologist acknowledges such an event. Thus, we should understand the stories about the Great Flood as reflections on the era of early agriculture, about 12 000 to 5000 BCE. It contains many traditions woven into a unique narrative. It is about the building of human structures to protect against the forces of nature, the taming of animals, rapid climate change, and rising sea levels. These are all phenomena that were prevalent in Neolithic Mesopotamia, when humans began their civilization.

The flood myth contains memories of the general rise in sea level. The whole world was gradually flooded as a result of the last ice age. About 20 000 years ago, the ice masses were at their peak. The extent of the continental ice sheets included about 70 million km3 of ice. The ice masses had spread out to cover about 27% of the Earth. Global sea level dropped to 120–130 m below its present position. Thus, more than half of the Earth’s shelf areas consisted of land and were subject to terrestrial conditions. Even the seafloor of the Arabian Gulf was exposed.

However, after the last glacial maximum around 16 000 BCE, global temperatures rose, and were several degrees higher than today by about 7000 BCE. The ice sheets retreated, and the water trapped within them began to circulate, greatly increasing rainfall. The sea level gradually rose from more than 120 meters below present levels at the last glacial maximum to about 50 meters below present levels around 9000 BCE, reaching present levels sometime after 4000 BCE. Thus, over millennia, sea levels rose by close to a meter every hundred years. By comparison, in the present day, there are estimates that by the year 2100, greenhouse gas emissions could add from 1.3 to 1.6 meters to the global sea level as the ice continues to melt.

As a result of the rise in sea level, large parts of the once exposed land became submerged. Coastal areas in particular were progressively drowned, especially in low-lying regions. Former land bridges were flooded, and areas connected to the mainland became islands. Human settlements tended to be concentrated in river valleys or near coastal waters, and were flooded. This happened everywhere - not just along major rivers. The whole world was flooded. This explains the widespread flood myths throughout the world.

In the flood myth, a community of people, Noah, his sons and their families, work together to create a common dwelling and shelter from the flood.

“make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. “ Gen.6:14-17.

In contrast to the Paleolithic period, when people foraged for food, in the Neolithic period people became sedentary, built permanent dwellings for themselves, and lived in villages associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. Toward the end of the eighth millennium BCE, large agro-pastoral villages emerged to serve large populations, appeared. Permanently cohabitating communities of hundreds, and in some cases, of thousands, of people, emerged. Monumental architecture accompanied this great societal change. As settlements grew, people began to share the same important resources, such as land and water. Food-producing villages helped create greater surpluses. In addition, the sedentary lifestyle in villages allowed for the construction of larger houses. As the population grew, it began to live in houses that clustered into small villages consisting of non-contiguous roundhouses with wooden superstructures. At the end of the Late Neolithic period, the distribution of farming villages and emerging towns had extended far into Mesopotamia.

In the Flood Myth, Noah and his sons must gather two of every animal into the ark.

“You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.” Gen.6:19-20

This theme derives from the domestication of animals in the Neolithic. The oldest domesticated animal is the dog, which descended from the wolf. It is likely that wild dogs and humans probably began to work together very early simply by following each other. Dogs had the advantage of speed and a highly developed sense of smell and hearing. Dogs were able to track large animals and keep them preoccupied, until their human partners arrived for the kill. About 15 000 years ago, wolves had become dogs.

From the 8th millennium BCE, sedentary farmers kept herds of goats and sheep. The first domesticated animal was the goat, followed by sheep. Pigs were domesticated a few thousand years later, possibly because they could not digest straw, grass, leaves, or twigs. Domestic pigs were present at sites across northern Mesopotamia from about 7500–7000 BCE. However, the introduction of wild pigs to Cyprus about 9400 BCE indicates that humans had manipulated the wild boar population by this time. The cow was also put in its place. All cattle are descended from only as few as 80 animals domesticated from wild cattle in the Middle East about 10 500 years ago.

With the end of the last ice age, temperatures not only became much warmer but also much more seasonal. Between 12 000 and 7000 years ago, the Mesopotamian region experienced the most extreme seasonS in its history, with dry summers that were significantly longer and hotter than today. There were periods of rapid climate change. The first occurred around 8200 BCE. Thereafter, there were rapid climate changes  in 6200 BCE, 4000-3200 BCE, 1400-700 BCE, while the most recent period of climate change is commonly referred to as the Little Ice Age (1450–1850 CE). The most dramatic of these occurred around 6200 BCE and lasted 2-4 centuries. This event is known in climatology as the “8.2-kiloyear event” (8.2 kilo-years ago). It caused a drop in average temperatures by several degrees. The most probable cause is a change in the thermohaline cycle of the oceans. This was most likely caused by the outflow of meltwater from a postglacial lake off the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet. The effects were felt worldwide.

The rapid intervals of climate change are associated with a variety of meteorological effects. The climate fluctuated. During this period, droughts were probably a recurring phenomenon, interrupted sporadically by the occurrence of heavy rains. Severe winters and late-fwinter outbreaks of severe frost were very likely. Violent winds were also expected to be more frequent than today. Thus, very widespread rainfall and snowfall were expected, which would have caused crop and grazing problems. Other problems would have included catastrophic flooding. and destabilization of slopes and mud-brick dwellings. The event would also have led to a rapid rise in sea level as well, and hence, resulting in more severe flooding.

 

After the flood, Noah also planted the first vineyard. This symbolic act is further related to the cultural developments of the Late Neolithic. Although food production generally leaves less leisure time than foraging, it does allow for a redistribution of the workload. Some people can produce enough food to support those who perform other tasks. Thus, food production is usually accompanied by a number of technological developments, such as weaving and the production of pottery. 

The earliest material evidence of grape wine and viticulture from the Middle East was found at the site of Haji Firuz Tepe, south of Lake Urmia, in Iran, and dated to about 5400 to 5000 BCE. The vessels were found to contain tartaric acid, which is found in nature almost exclusively in grapes. From this, it could be concluded that the vessels had contained resinated wine. These six jars, when full, had a volume of about 9 liters, for a total of 55 liters. If this amount of wine is multiplied by the houses in the area, then we can conclude that production was already on a relatively large scale at this early date. We can assume that a tradition of winemaking had already established itself in the Middle East.

The beginning of wine-making was likely associated with the fact that life was becoming less demanding in the area of Mesopotamia. The climate was changing for the better. Sea level rise slowed before coming to a complete halt after the retreat of the glaciers. The domestication of pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle made life easier. The harnessing of cattle for mass transportation would have greatly expanded the scale of trade networks. In general, people had time for leisure. Civilization . societies with legal and political organization - began. This is symbolized by the Tower of Babel. Read the full interpretation in my book the Genesis of Humanity.