Linguistic Evidence for Akkadian Speaking Neolithic Farmer Spread

(June 5, 2023) Akkadian is the earliest attested language of Europe being the language found in archaeological texts. The Akkadian language homeland is northern Mesopotamia as evidenced by cuneiform texts. The European Neolithic farmers came from that area. These farmers began to enter Europe around 6700 BCE. The culture and language of Europe began to change with the arrival of Indo-European speaking invaders beginning in 3500 BCE. Indo-European was a high prestige language which came to dominate the European landscape. This mixing of Indo-European with Akkadian to various degrees formed the main European language classes of Latin, Greek, Celtic, and Germanic. Akkadian only survived in civilizations on the margins of Europe (Minoan, Etruscan, Phoenician, Israelite, Iberian, Pre-Viking Nordic) where it is attested on stone and gold tablets, and on clay pottery shards. English is a result of a later secondary mixing between Germanic and Latin language groups. Yet despite all this some Akkadian words survive in English to this day.

Etymology is the study of word origin and transmission through time. It is not to be confused with Entomology which is the study of insects. Those who do not know the difference bug me (old joke!).
Image (2014) from Les Murry at: https://triangulations.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/the-history-of-the-english-language-a-diagram/
Various Akkadian words entered English via Latin and Frisian. Both languages in turn probably adopted them from the Etruscan civilization. This is a very good introduction from the Langfocus channel on YouTube.

Alcoholic Drink Akkadian Etymologies

  1. Beer: Akkadian phrase B.ER meaning "nourishment gathering-place." Middle English ber, from Old English beor "strong drink, beer, mead," cognate with Old Frisian biar, Middle Dutch and Dutch bier, Old High German bior, German Bier;  This is a word having an ambiguous origin in traditional etymologies.
  2. Wine: Akkadian phrase U.IM meaning "with the moon-eye" in which the moon eye is the dark new moon and eye pupil god Su who is the source of non-fate motion powers. Wine will reveal a person's inner emotions. Old High German win, Old Norse vin, Dutch wijn, German Wein), an early borrowing from Latin vinum "wine," Arabic wain.
  3. Ale: the life source god Alu. This word probably was "Alu's drink" originally. So Ale was thought to be the masculine fertility fluid analogous to the feminine milk. Old English ealu, Old Saxon alo, Old Norse öl, 
  4. Alcohol: Arabic "AL" meaning "of" or "about" plus Akkadian K.ḪL meaning involving healing." Purposely distilled alcohol was first used in medicines. From Medieval Latin alcohol "powdered ore of antimony," from Arabic al-kuhul "kohl," the fine metallic powder used to darken the eyelids. Paracelsus (1493-1541) used the word to refer to a fine powder but also a volatile liquid.

References

Traditional non-Akkadian etymologies from: Online Etymology Dictionary at https://www.etymonline.com/.

Akkadian Words Found in English

(September 27, 2023, Updated December 27, 2024) Many English words come from Akkadian as does the grammatical structures of "ongoing" or "continuous" tense and the  "do support" (Akkadian Y letter start) sentence constructions. (For a description of the problem see the section entitled "Supposed Celtic Syntax in English" at  https://www.arrantpedantry.com/2014/12/01/celtic-and-the-history-of-the-english-language/

The earliest English words came from both Latin and Old Norse/German. Latin speakers acquired their Akkadian words from their northern Akkadian speaking neighbors, the Etruscans. Many Old Norse words also derive from Etruscan whose writing spread north and ended up as the Elder Futhark Runes. This writing only ceased around by 500 CE. Significantly, Akkadian has never been considered as a word source in European etymological studies until now because no one imagined such a connection existed.  These Akkadian source words  include:

(November 22,, 2024) Map showing the results of a computer study comparing the similarities between modern European languages. These studies continue to show European languages have two sources. The northern Indo-European source and the southern Akkadian source. Yet incredibly, some researchers continue to insist that Indo-European also came out of northern Mesopotamia, the homeland of Akkadian. Map from: P. Heggarty et al., Science (2023).  

Reference

P. Heggarty, and all (Science, 28 July 2023) Language trees with sampled ancestors support a hybrid model for the origin of Indo-European languages. Online at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abg0818

Press Release from the the Max Plank Institute: New insights into the origin of the Indo-European languages. Online at: https://www.mpg.de/20666229/0725-evan-origin-of-the-indo-european-languages-150495-x

Minoan Phaistos Disk outer ring with phonetic sign assignments
Image shows the Minoan Phaistos Disk with phonetic sign assignments by Olmsted. Sign assignment charts here.

First European Writing in Akkadian is the Minoan Phaistos Disk 1900 BCE

(December 6, 2024) The Minoan Phaistos disk is significant for these reasons:

  1. Its language is Akkadian confirming that was the language of Neolithic Farmers
  2. First European writing dating to 1900 BCE
  3. Source of all alphabets via Minoan Linear A
  4. Written on a Druid Spiral showing its role as a spiritual symbol combining the 2 spiritual power classes of life and motion
  5. Describes most of the Druid Pantheon

The text is a mix of phonetic signs (da, di, du, ad, etc.) and alphabetic signs which are just wildcard phonetic signs in which the consonant can be followed by any vowel sound.

The Codex Runicus, shown above, was written in 1190 CE during the reign of Danish King Valdemar 1 according to the old Danish writing on its front page. This important book is the last testament of the Druids and the most complete statement of their philosophy which exists.
The Codex Runicus is now a part of the Arnamagnæan manuscript collection University of Copenhagen in Denmark. The collection in its entirety consists of approximately 3000 manuscript items, of which 1400 are in Copenhagen.
The collection is named after its founder, the Icelandic philologist and historian Árni Magnússon (Latinised as Arnas Magnæus, in Danish Arne Magnusson). Shortly before his death in 1730 he bequeathed his collection of manuscripts and printed books as well as his fortune to the University of Copenhagen, where he was professor of Danish antiquities.

References


Photos from: University of Copenhagen's Interactive Online Scan with Zoom: https://www.e-pages.dk/ku/579/
Dictionary used is always the latest version which is found on this site here.  
Letter Chart Used: Rune (North European) Letters
Deity Summary: Ancient Pagan Paradigm
The Codex Runicus seems to have been written by a Wendish Druid priest. The Wends were a mixture of Slavic and Germanic cultures extending throughout eastern Europe at its greatest extent as shown here. With the Northern crusades the Germans, Danes, and Christians pushed the proudly Pagan Wends into a coastal strip and further east along the Baltic coast.  Map from https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/117852443339/west-slavs-9th10th-century?is_related_post=1

One of the Last Akkadian Writing Examples is the Codex Runicus 1190 CE

(August 1, 2023, Updated September 22, 2024) 

The codex Runicus is the only surviving book written in runes and it has remained untranslated until now. Its title page states that it was found in 1505 and is a copy of an original commissioned in 1190 CE by Danish king Valdemar 1. It has 200 pages in 14 layers. Prior to this first translation it was thought to be a runic version of Danish law like those found in other early Danish books. It seems to have been written by a Wendish/Vendish Druid and is a Druid metaphysical treatise on how to avoid droughts.

The deities it mentions are Druid and not those of the later Nordic tradition. Druid deities are found in all earlier runic texts associated with the Neolithic farmer culture (the first such texts were Minoan from about 1900 BCE). That some specialized priestly class must have existed throughout Europe is shown by the fact that these Akkadian runic texts exist despite all the local spoken languages around them being some mix of Indo-European and Akkadian. Some group was preserving this language and this writing style.

The book claims drought is to be avoided by magically diverting and adjusting the natural divine powers in a way which integrates the two spiritual power classes representing changes in life and motion. Magic should not be used in an attempt to override those powers but only to modify them. Based on tree ring and other physical data, northern European droughts occurred in the years 1080, 1120, and 1180 CE (Ionita, and all 2021).

This text was commissioned by Danish King Valdemar near the end of his life as indicated by the introductory paragraph on page 1. King Valdemar 1 was born January 14, 1131 and died May 12, 1182). He ended the eastern Baltic Wend threat to Danish shipping, won independence from the Holy Roman emperor, and gained church approval for the hereditary rule by his dynasty, the Valdemars. 

He was the son of Knud Lavard, duke of South Jutland, and a great-grandson of the Danish king Sweyn II. Valdemar won a 25 year civil war waged by competing contenders for the throne. 

Initially during this struggle, Valdemar acknowledged the overlordship of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and accepted his antipope Victor IV (or V). This caused Denmark’s chief prelate Eskil, archbishop of Lund, to choose exile rather than oppose Pope Alexander III. After Valdemar and Bishop Absalon changed their mind and  acknowledged Pope Alexander in 1165, Eskil returned to Denmark. There he confirmed the canonization of the king’s father and anointed his son Canute VI as joint king (1170) inaugurating the hereditary rule of the Valdemars.

Apparently, as a part of this deal Valdemar agreed to take part in the Northern crusades aimed at suppressing Paganism in the Baltic lands. These only ended in 1185 shortly after his death. Valdemar began a series of expeditions against the Wends aided by his foster brother Absalon whom he made bishop of Roskilde. The Wends were attacked and by 1169 his forces had captured the Wendish stronghold of Rügen (now in Germany), which was then incorporated into the diocese of Roskilde. He also destroyed the Wendish sanctuary at Arcona. A year later he was forced to divide his gains with his ally Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony.

Shortly before his death in 1182 yet after the start of the drought around 1180, Valdemar commissioned the Codex Runicus which was likely written by a surviving Wendish Druid and finished in 1190.

Other surviving books from this time are Danish law books written in the old Norse/Germanic language. These were compiled during the 1200s and represent the bulk of Nordic literature from the period between 1200-1400. The Danish provincial laws consist of the Scanian Law (written between 1202 and 1216), the Jutlandic Law (issued in 1241) along with King Valdemar's Zealandic Law and King Eric's Zealandic Law. 

References

Arild Hauge's scan: https://www.arild-hauge.com/am_28_8vo_codex_runicus.htm

Freeman, Kirk (2007) Baptism or Death: The Wendish Crusade, 1147-1185. Online at:  https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/baptism-or-death-the-wendish-crusade-1147-1185/

Ionita, M., Dima, M., Nagavciuc, V. et al. Past megadroughts in central Europe were longer, more severe and less warm than modern droughts. Commun Earth Environ 2, 61 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00130-w

University of Copenhagen's Interactive Online Scan with Zoom: https://www.e-pages.dk/ku/579/

Wendish Crusade here at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendish_Crusade

Spread of Druid Civilization's Alphabetic Writing from Minoan Crete (1900 BCE) to the Runes of Scandinavia (1300 CE) 

(August 19, 2023) Map showing the spread of Alphabetic Akkadian writing as known in 2023. Red is the Bronze Age spread from Minoan Phaistos disk. The northern branch is Minoan Linear A script which became Phoenician script while the southern branch is the Serabit el-Khadim script. At this time the Minoans had extensive trade relations with the New Kingdom of Egypt. Orange is the spread after the collapse of the Bronze Age. The last major Alphabetic Akkadian text is the Codex Runicus of 1190 CE from Denmark. All the Nordic runes texts are Akkadian and this codex (book) is the culmination of Druid philosophical writing which began with the debate recorded on the Minoan Phaistos Disk. The Druid civilization with its decentralized government, trade, religion and freedom of expression was the real beginning of Western (now Oceanic) civilization.