Similarities Between Sumerian And Modern Society

Throughout our history, homo sapiens grown and developed into the dominate species of today. From hominids such as Australopithecus afarensis, our species has migrated and cultivated the Earth. Though modern society superficially resembles nothing of our ancestors, archeologists, anthropologists, and sumerologists such as Samuel Kramer have noted striking similarities between the past and present. Kramer, specifically, has stated in regards to the ancient Sumerian society and modern society, that the two groups are “fundamentally analogous, comparable, and reciprocally illuminating.” There is noteworthy evidence to his contention that ancient Sumerians and modern man were strikingly similar philosophically, socially, and institutionally. On a philosophical level, man has always searched for answers and questioned everything; Sumerians were no exception. From view on divine law, paradise, ethics, and wisdom, parallels can be made between the two societies. Though superficial differences such as religion affect these societies as a whole, similarities are, indeed, comparable. Religion, itself, has served as a …show more content…
Proverbs and sayings prove significantly similar, in the sense that their content and meaning are universal. Americans do not shy themselves on being proverbial, as Benjamin Franklin, for example, wrote many of his own sayings into his Poor Richard’s Almanac. “Honesty is the best policy”, “a penny saved is a penny earned”, and countless others highlight these modern proverbs, and Sumerians as well wrote down numerous sayings of their own. “We are doomed to die, let us spend; we will live long, let us save”, “a restless woman in the house adds ache to pain” and others serve to remind modern man that we are not as different from our ancestors as previously thought (Kramer, pg.