The Sumerian civilization is considered the earliest on Earth. It emerged in the Mesopotamian region, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East, about 7-8 thousand years ago.
There are many historical mysteries associated with the Sumerians. For instance, it is still unknown where they came from, where their language originated, and how they managed to build such an advanced society.
Sumerian mythology is also among the most developed and detailed of ancient civilizations. Some stories from there were later adapted, albeit in a somewhat altered form, into the Bible.
For example, the tale of Dilmun—a land of the immortals, very similar to Heaven or Eden—or the story of how the god Enki instructed a human ruler to build an Ark to save his family and animals from the Great Flood.
Enki
Adherents of the paleo-contact theory have long studied Sumerian myths, finding more and more peculiarities and possible evidence that the Sumerians might have had contact with representatives of an advanced non-human civilization from somewhere in the sky.
However, most of them are primarily fascinated by the Anunnaki and pay much less attention to other characters. This is a pity. In Sumerian myths, there is one being that essentially answers the question of why the Sumerians were able to create the first advanced civilization.
His name is Oannes or Oan, and he was half-man, half-fish. The story of Oannes has reached us from clay tablets by the Babylonian historian Berossus.
It is directly stated that in the very first year (presumably after ancient people arrived in the region), a “terrible creature named Oan” emerged from the sea:
“His body was entirely fish-like, and from beneath his head, from under the fish’s head, grew another head, and similarly, human legs grew alongside the fish’s tail. His voice, however, was human.”
This creature settled among people, and it is particularly noted that he did not consume any food. Perhaps it was something like a robot? At the same time, he actively, like a real teacher, taught people to read, write, and count. He also taught them “various arts” and geometry, how to build cities with temples, how to create laws, how to sow and harvest grain, and more.
Later, Oannes wrote for people the history of how the world was created and another about governance, passed all this to the people, and returned to the sea.
By the way, during his teaching, in the evenings, after each lesson, Oannes would go to the sea and dive into the depths, and in the morning, he would resurface and go back to the people. Did he need water? Or did he go there to recharge his body?
Later, influenced by the image of Oannes, the peoples of Canaan (now the area of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel) developed myths about a deity named Dagon. Also, Oannes was often identified with the supreme creator god named El (Il). And perhaps not by chance, the fish was also one of the symbols of early Christianity.
Later, stories about similar gods who come from somewhere to teach people essential knowledge appeared among other peoples as well. For instance, among the Incas, it was Viracocha, among the Maya, Kukulkan, among the Persians, Ahura Mazda, and in Egypt, Osiris. But Sumerian Oannes was the first.
Were these really many different “progressors” coming to various peoples, or was it all just a retelling of the story of Oannes? It is hard to say. But if advanced extraterrestrials were indeed visiting different people to teach them wisdom, it would be logical for them to send not just one to each people but gradually one after another to different ones.
Moreover, most of them had different external features—Oannes looked like a fish, Kukulkan had the nickname Feathered Serpent, green skin on most images of Osiris, and so on. Were these representatives of different extraterrestrial races? Or just different robots whose unusual body structures people reinterpreted according to their understanding?
Amazonian Indian in Bep Kororoti’s Costume
By the way, in the Amazon jungle lives the Kayapo tribe, which has long told stories about a being named Bep Kororoti. This being never drinks or eats and is dressed in something that, to the modern eye, suspiciously resembles a space suit.
At least, judging by the colorful representations with costumes that the Indians organize in honor of Bep Kororoti.
One can also recall that in many myths around the world, gods either come from the sky or emerge from the depths of the sea, and they fly in strange vehicles, often surrounded by glowing flying spheres.
