Sumerians --> Babylonians

> From: <Afmmjr@...>
> To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2002 7:45 AM
> Subject: Re: [tuning] updated definition: "Pythagorean"
>
>
> And second, is the tie between Sumerian tuning and the Akkadian texts.
> Please correct me if I am mistaken, but why is it assumed that the long
past
> civilization of the Sumerians used the tuning of the later Babylonians?
The
> work of Ben Hume in building exact replicas indicates just minor scales on
> the Sumerian aulos.

BTW, I thought it should pointed out that your characterization
of how the "later Babylonians" followed so long chronologically after
"the the long past civilization of the Sumerians" gives a very
incorrect impression.

Mesopotamia during the Sumerian period was almost always in
a state of conflict, whether civil wars between the Sumerian
city-states or invading conquerors from outside. It was conquered
by Assyria and Akkad more than once and became part of that empire.
Then the Sumerians regained a measure of control over part of the
area and the final and greatest flowering of Sumerian culture
ocurred around 2100-2000 BC, what's known as the "Ur III" period.

The invading Amorites were the ones who brought that to an end,
and eventually Babylon conquered all of Sumer and made it part
of the Babylonian Empire, and took over just about every aspect
of Sumerian culture for its own. Another result was what was
probably the world's first great diaspora, as Sumerians fanned
out of Mesopotamia from every direction. (I believe that Abraham,
the father of the Jews, was an emigrating Sumerian.)

So anyway, my point is that Babylonian cultured followed
directly upon the heels of Sumerian, and they did indeed
usurp all of the Sumerian cultural legacy, and propogated
it nearly intact for another 1500 years, until Babylon was
conquered by the Persians c. 500 BC.

For those who never learned much about this amazing first
civilization of the Sumerians, here's a decent history page:
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerhistory.html

-monz

_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @... address at http://mail.yahoo.com