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#487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths

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#487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths

Lex Fridman Podcast

2025/12/12
Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman Podcast

2025/12/12
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Irving Finkel is a scholar of ancient languages and a longtime curator at the British Museum, renowned for his expertise in Mesopotamian history and cuneiform writing. He specializes in reading and interpreting cuneiform inscriptions, including tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian contexts. He became widely known for studying a tablet with a Mesopotamian flood story that predates the biblical Noah narrative, which he presented in his book “The Ark Before Noah” and in a documentary that involved building a circular ark based on the tablet’s technical instructions. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep487-sc [https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep487-sc] See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/irving-finkel-transcript [https://lexfridman.com/irving-finkel-transcript] CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey [https://lexfridman.com/survey] AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama [https://lexfridman.com/ama] Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring [https://lexfridman.com/hiring] Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact [https://lexfridman.com/contact] EPISODE LINKS: Irving’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drirvingfinkel/ [https://www.instagram.com/drirvingfinkel/] The Ark Before Noah (book): https://amzn.to/4j2U0DW [https://amzn.to/4j2U0DW] Irving Lectures Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYXwZvOwHjVcFUi9iEqirkXRaCUJdXGha [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYXwZvOwHjVcFUi9iEqirkXRaCUJdXGha] British Museum Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0LQM0SAx603A6p5EJ9DVcESqQReT7QyK [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0LQM0SAx603A6p5EJ9DVcESqQReT7QyK] British Museum Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/ [https://www.britishmuseum.org/] The Great Diary Project: https://thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/ [https://thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/] SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep487-sc] Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform. Go to https://miro.com/ [https://lexfridman.com/s/miro-ep487-sc] Chevron: Reliable energy for data centers. Go to https://chevron.com/power [https://lexfridman.com/s/chevron-ep487-sc] LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep487-sc] AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep487-sc] OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:53) – Origins of human language (15:59) – Cuneiform (23:12) – Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe (34:23) – How to write and speak Cuneiform (39:42) – Primitive human language (41:26) – Development of writing systems (42:20) – Decipherment of Cuneiform (54:51) – Limits of language (59:51) – Art of translation (1:05:01) – Gods (1:10:25) – Ghosts (1:20:13) – Ancient flood stories (1:30:21) – Noah’s Ark (1:41:44) – The Royal Game of Ur (1:54:43) – British Museum (2:02:08) – Evolution of human civilization

Highlights

In this conversation, Irving Finkel, a leading expert in ancient languages and cuneiform script, offers deep insights into the origins and evolution of human writing, thought, and civilization. Drawing from his extensive work at the British Museum, he illuminates how early societies encoded their beliefs, laws, and stories into clay tablets that have survived millennia.
09:53
The oldest evidence of writing dates back to 3500 BC in Mesopotamia
19:17
Writing may have originated with sound-based signs, not pictographs.
23:12
Writing may have existed at Göbekli Tepe around 9000 BC, thousands of years before Sumer.
37:22
Sumerian has no known linguistic relatives and is unrelated to any other language.
39:42
With human brains and vocal anatomy, Neanderthals could communicate using language.
45:13
Edward Hinks, a clergyman in Northern Ireland, cracked cuneiform independently.
58:19
Translation is part archaeology, detective work, and poetry.
1:02:57
Love, heartbreak, and jealousy are eternal human issues also reflected in deities
1:08:08
Religion is an ancient technology that helps humans cope with suffering.
1:10:25
Grief over death may be infantile; knowing it ends is the real pain.
1:26:38
The flood story was repurposed by Judeans in exile to explain their national catastrophe.
1:39:13
The 'noisy people' in the flood myth symbolize overpopulation, prompting gods to limit reproduction.
1:49:03
The desire to play games is part of human nature, sublimating real-world rivalries.
2:01:43
The significance of objects becomes clearer with time and distance

Chapters

Introduction
00:00
Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
00:43
Origins of human language
09:53
Cuneiform
15:59
Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe
23:12
How to write and speak Cuneiform
34:23
Primitive human language
39:42
Development of writing systems
41:26
Decipherment of Cuneiform
42:20
Limits of language
54:51
Art of translation
59:51
Gods
1:05:01
Ghosts
1:10:25
Ancient flood stories
1:20:13
Noah's Ark
1:30:21
The Royal Game of Ur
1:41:44
British Museum
1:54:43
Evolution of human civilization
2:02:08

Transcript

Lex Fridman: The following is a conversation with Irving Finkel, who is a scholar of ancient languages, curator at the British Museum for over 45 years, and is a much admired and respected world expert. On cuneiform, script, and more generally, on ancient ...