#487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths
12/12/20250 min
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.
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Transcript:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Irving’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drirvingfinkel/
The Ark Before Noah (book): https://amzn.to/4j2U0DW
Irving Lectures Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYXwZvOwHjVcFUi9iEqirkXRaCUJdXGha
British Museum Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0LQM0SAx603A6p5EJ9DVcESqQReT7QyK
British Museum Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/
The Great Diary Project: https://thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/
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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
Clips
Transcript
14 sentencesLex Fridman· Host0:00
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 languages of Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian. And also, on ancient board games and, uh, Mesopotamian magic, medicine, literature, and culture. I should also mention that both on and off the mic, Irving was a super kind and fun (laughs) person to talk to, with an infectious enthusiasm for ancient history that of course I already love but, uh, fell in love with even more. And now, a quick few-second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description or at lexfreedman.com/sponsors. It is, in fact, the best way to support this podcast. We got Shopify for selling stuff online, Miro for brainstorming ideas with your team, Chevron for reliable energy that powers data centers, LMNT for electrolytes, and AG1 for my daily multivitamin. Choose wisely, my friends. And now, onto the full ad reads. I do try to make them interesting, but if you skip, please still check out the sponsors. I enjoy their stuff, maybe you will too. To get in touch with me, for whatever reason, go to lexfreedman.com/contact. All right, let's go. This episode is brought to you by Shopify, a platform designed