Fertile African Crescent

Much of what we call African civilization developed in Africa during the African Aqualithic. During this period in the Fertile African Crescent these folk have left beautiful drawings which illustrate their way of life in Tassilli n'Ajjer, and the northern foothills of the Hoggar massif.  I call the population that lived in the Fertile African Crescent: Proto-Saharans.



During the African Aqualithic, there was higher rainfall in Africa which made the rivers longer and more permanent. This caused rivers to swell and burst over there basins. The people used wavy line pottery. They also invented agriculture and domesticated many animals.

In ancient times a wonderful civilization existed in the Highland regions of Middle Africa. In this wonderful civilization 6000 years ago lived the ancestors of the Dravidians, Black Africans, Elamites and the Sumerians. Today we call this Proto-Saharan civilization the "Fertile African Crescent", because the highland regions in which the Proto-Saharans l lived formed a crescent shape across the Saharan region of middle Africa.



The historic gods of Africa and Asia were of Proto-Saharan origin.Concepts concerning these ancient gods or great ancestors were first developed around a gigantic lake that formerly existed in Middle Africa around 8000 years ago. This is supported by the fact that the Saharan cultures have resemblances to those of Nubia. This lake was known in ancient times as Lake Tritonis.




Lake Tritonis was situated in the Libyan desert. Here as early as 7000 B.C., there was a slow transition from hunting , to cattle pastoralism. The prehistoric appearance of a great lake in Libya has recently been supported by satellite pictures of the Eastern Desert which indicate that a lake was located in the Qattara depression of northwest Egypt.






Pastoralism and fishing preceded food production in the ancient Sahara. It appears that a hunter-fisher-gatherer group which clearly specialized in the hunting of animals (as evidenced by the arrowheads) became animal herders, since they were keenly aware of the habits of game and therefore made the shift from hunter-fisher-gatherer to animal husbandry rapidly once climatic conditions in the Sahara made it impossible to collect grains.



Moderate climatic conditions made it possible for the Proto-Saharans to engage in intensive plant domestication. Food surpluses led to the rise of towns and cities, complex political organization. social ranking of individuals in society, and craft specialization as certain clans and ethnic groups became more sedentary.



The linguistic evidence indicates that the Proto-Saharans practiced a form of intensive agriculture characterized by the use of the hoe, related water storage and irrigation techniques plus the application of fertilizers to the cultivated land.



The ability to produce surplus food led to an increase in population, changes in social organization and class distinctions. Naturally, population increases forced the ancestors of the Proto-Saharans to spill over into more marginal areas. This population pressure probably forced many Proto-Saharan clans to domesticate plants and animals to preserve traditional levels of food production.


AGRICULTURAL DOMESTICATION



Agriculture has long been practiced in Nubia. The most ancient grasses collected in Africa were found in Nubia. Here barley and sorghum was collected. As early as 17,000 B.C., barley was being cultivated at Tushka. These farmers were probably the Anu.



One of the most ancient sites for agricultural domestication in Nubia or the Central Sudan, was discovered at Es Shaheinab dating to 4000 B.C. Here riverine folk bred goats and sheep. They also engaged in fishing and collected grasses.



Kadero is another ancient site of agriculture in Sudan. Here as early as 3310 B.C., sorghum and millet were being cultivated/ collected.



Other African grasses domesticated outside of the Nile area include guinea corn, bulrush millet and fonio. The earliest evidence of bulrush millet dates to 1200 B.C., and comes from Mauritania. By 3000 B.C. rice was being cultivated.



Formerly it was believed that the Niger Valley was a center of plant domestication. The earliest northwest African sites for agriculture include Dar Tichitt Daima ,Kurrasakata and Karkarchinkat which date to around 2000 B.C. Today archaeological research indicates that much of the Niger area was thick forest until quite recently. (Winters 1986) It would appear that the present inhabitants of West Africa came from the North and the Nile Valley.





The Proto-Saharans claimed descent from the Maa or Fish Confederation. The Maa Confederation includes the Egyptians, Elamites, Dravidians, Manding and Sumerians. In honor of the great ancestor: Maa, they worshipped a god called: Amun, Amon, or Amma. In honor of this great ancestor the descendants of the Proto-Saharans use the term Ma, to denote greatness or highness, e.g., Manding " Maga" and Dravidian Ma. Other Proto-Saharan tribes claimed direct descent from the great Maa, founder of the Fish Confederation. For example, the Manding call themselves Ma-nde: children of Ma, while the Sumerians were called Ma-Gar-ri (exalted God's children).



The Proto-Saharans share place names. Evidence for shared place names has been discovered by Dr. Vamos-Toth Bator. Dr. Vamos-Toth Bator, calls this ancient civilization ---root culture-- Tamana. The term Tamana can be interpreted in the Manding and Dravidian language as "Strongplace","Stronghold" or "Original Settlement". The term Tamana is one of over 1,000,000 place names Dr. Vamos-Toth has found which link Africa, Asia, and Europe.



The term Tamana, was a popular place name for the Proto-Saharans, as they expanded out of the nuclear Proto-Saharan region, to signify a colonial city or trade center established among hostile alien tribes.



The Proto-Saharans also had their own writing system. This writing system was used by the Dravidians in the Indus Valley, the Manding in the Western Sahara, and the Egyptians.



The ancient Proto-Saharan script was a logo syllabic system. The words used to write this script were monosyllabic.  The first script used by the Proto-Saharans in the Fertile African Crescent was Thinite.


Religion

Around 10000 years ago pluvial conditions existed in the Sahara which led to the creation of numerous river beds now buried under tons of sand. Due to the abundance of streams, rivers and lakes in Proto-Saharan Africa men who were powerful, were men who could harness the powerful water of the numerous streams and rivers. Such men as these were recognized as demigods or great ancestors. For example in Sumer and Egypt gods and demigods were described as "reed-boat navigators". In Egypt some of these great men that became gods include Thoth, and Osiris.



According to the Olympian Creation Myth the earliest groups to appear on earth were the Libyco-Thracians. The Libyans were Proto-Saharans, as were the original Thracians, who were descendants of the Kushite and Egyptian troops established at Trace , by Sesostris (Thutmose III or Ramses II),when he conquered Asia and Europe.




Apollonius Rhodius tells us that the goddess Athene was born beside Lake Tritonis in Libya. The goddess Athene, was called Neith by the Egyptians and Nia, by the Manding and Eteo-Cretans of Minoan civilization.



The early gods of these Proto-Saharans included a serpent, the sun: Hercules, Amon/Aman/Amma, and Kush or Khons. In Egypt and Kush, both Amon and Khons were depicted as coal-black in accordance with tradition. The Kushites also worshipped a "lord of the mountains", which is analogous to Murugan, a Dravidian god in India. In India, Khrisna, Mal ,Vishnu, and Kali were usually depicted as black in color. Kali, was held to be a form of Paravati, consort of Siva. In addition the Dravidian god of the pastoral region:Mullai, was the black god Mayan, who was beloved by the milkmaids and cattle herders.



The earliest gods associated with the great hidden all powerful god were associated with the Sky. They believed in an unseen universal force called "Ko " or " Ka". As a result the Proto-Saharans offered prayers to "Ka", e.g., Egyptian Ka 'vital force', Dravidian Ka-n, Manding Kani, and Magyar/Hungarian kaan. This Ka, is also often associated with snakes,rain and the sky.



THE GOD MAA



Many of the Proto-Saharan beliefs originated during the wet African Aqualithic period. As a result their gods, who had once been great ancestors were referred to as "Fish" or "reed-boat navigators". This common god was called Maa , the man fish (of Eridu) in Mesopotamia and Syria and the ithyphallic forms, the prototype of Amon/Aman in Egypt ; and the goddess Minaksi, of Madura in South India the goddess of the fish eyes, the Malabar fish bearer of Mana and the sacred fishes of the Mapilla of the west coast of the Dekkan. In the languages of the Manding Maa, is used to refer to the ancient inhabitants of the African continent, and the invisible spirit who inhabits the water courses.In Egypt Maat, meant divine truth and justice.



Among the Proto-Saharans the name Maa, for their great ancestor/god was joined to many ethnonyms. The descendants of the Maa clan, claim descent from Maa, as evident in the name Mande, for the parent group of the Manding of West Africa. Mande means, Ma-nde or "children of Ma". Some Dravidians of South India were also members of the Mande Superclan, as illustrated in the Kannada, Telugu and Tulu, Dravidian tribes that use the terms Mande or Mandi to denote "people or persons". The Sumerians called themselves Mah-Gar-ri "God's exalted children".



The Proto-Saharans in honor of great Maa, use the term "ma", to denote greatness, for example Manding: Maga; Sumerian: Mag; and Dravidian: Ma.The ma, element was also used in the names for their rulers e.g., Menes of Egypt; the Mannan of the Dravidians; and the Mansa of the Manding.



The Mal, of the Dravidians is just another form of Ma. Mal, is the Fish. He was the prototype of the Fish god among the Pandyan-Tamils. Ama, Uma, Ammon, Amon, and etc. seems to either refer to Mal's consort.



This goddess Amon is most ancient among the Proto-Saharans.This goddess has many names including Athene or Neith, daughter of Poseidon god of the Sea (again reference to the great Fish-man); and Demeter, the mare headed patroness.



The Mother goddess Amma/Amon of Libya had her cult center at the Oasis of Siwa. In ancient Egypt Amon was depicted as a ram with spheres. The god Amon was taken to Egypt during the New Kingdom.










The Proto-Saharans early used the oxen with sun disc between the horns as the symbol of their God, long before the Egyptians worshipped Hathor. This god represented Amon/Amma of the Dravidians, Egyptians and Manding speaking people.



Engravings in the Sahara, dating back to Neolithic times show the solar disk with "uraei", which was associated with the worship of Ra/Re in Egypt, when worn by the ram it represented Amon of Thebes. There are depictions of this god from the Saharan sites such as Bou Alam and Zenoga. Archaeologists believe that these engravings date back to 4000 BC. This use of a ram god, with different names among the various groups indicate that the Proto-Saharans worshipped the same religion.For example among the Dogon of West Africa, the god Amma is a ram. In Yoruba Amon, means concealed the same as in Egyptian."






This worship of the ram may have resulted from the important part goat/sheep played in the Sahara as a source of food when the Sahara increasingly became more arid.



It is interesting to note that Siwa (> Siva?), was recognized as the cult center of Amon/Amma, because in the Siwa depression archaeologists have found numerous conical and pyramidal sand encrusted hills that resemble the monuments of ancient Egypt, including a sphinx which resembles a gigantic ram. Although most scholars believe these monuments in the Siwa and Farafra Oasis are natural erosional formations called yardangs, they may really be the remains of monuments built by the Proto-Saharans now encrusted with sand harden by the wind.



The mother goddess was either identified as Amon or Athene. Amon or Amen of the Egyptians was primarily a Theban god whose shrine was rebuilt around 2500 BC, when the Theban Kings defeated their northern foes. Amon became an important god in Egypt beginning with the 12th Dynasty . The priests of Amon, called their god "the King of Gods". The Egyptians recognized Amon as a primeval god. Amon is identified with the ithyphalli god Men( Maa ?)



Amon was recognized as an unseen god, because he could travel. He was also seen as an imperial god. Sesostris I, is credited with building the Temple of Amon at Karnak, near Thebes. Sesostris I, is also credited with conquering the whole sea coast of India, beyond the Ganges to the Eastern Ocean, he also conquered Europe as far as Thrace.



It is clear that Amon or Amen, was the ancient god of the Kushites/Proto-Saharans because Ammenemes I or Ameny I of the 11th Dynasty was from the southern state of Ta-Seti, the first Nome (city/state) of Egypt. Ammenemes means "Amon is in front".










Sesostris I (Thutmose I), probably helped establish Amon worship in Europe and Asia , because as he expanded his Empire he left colonies in all the lands he conquered. Sesostrasen Osiritasen of the 12th Dynasty, is suppose to have established colonies along the Danube river and the Black Sea. Strabo (Bk.3), said that Sesostris I, is suppose to have conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Iberia and Colchis.










Before the Egyptians conquered Greece the worship of Amon had already been established in the region. It was the Garamante Manding speaking tribe who took Amon worship to Greece. In Appollonius Rhodius iv.1310, we discover that the goddess Athene was born beside Lake Tritonis in Libya. Plato, identified Athene of Athens with the Libyan god Neith. Athene was worshipped by the Manding and other Western Saharans including the Linear A people of Minoan Crete. Athene is always associated with the god Amon. Moreover the Manding concept of N'ama as a dynamic spirit among the other Mande tribes point to an earlier worship of Amon, before the Mande accepted Islam. The Bambara call their ancestral god Gnia or Nia, this has affinity to the Greek term for the Libyan god called Neith. It is interesting to note that in the Linear A inscriptions we find mention of the goddess Nia= Neith. Moreover, some South Indian worship Amma = Amon. The priest of this cult are called Chom or Khonrini, the Greeks called them Gymnosophists. This Chom, of the Dravidians has affinity to Khon, the leading Kushite god.



The goddess Neith or Athene was known by many names. Some names related to Athene include Anaitis, Nanaia > Tanit of the Phoenicians; Nama in Albania; and the Sumero-Dravidian Ninni-Istar "the wild cow".



The Proto-Dravidians and Sumerians had common religions. For example in the Sumer pantheon the emblem for Inanna, was the date palm, while Ninsun, Dumuzi, Anu and Ishkur were associated with bulls. The Dravidian equivalent to Anu, or bull worship was Anu-Rupa or Siva. The name of this clan in India was called Anu. Many of these Dravidians were also established in Armenia.



In India we find the "men with horns". This term was given to Dravidian dignitaries who had crowns made of animal horns. This type of horned figure appear on many Harappan seals, as do serpents. The wearing of animal horns on crowns may date back to the time of Sesostris, because many Egyptian headdresses included horns.



In ancient Sumer, the goddess of the marriage rites was Ur. The goddess Ur, has analogies to the Dravidian cult of the goddess Paravati, in Siva temples.



The Sumerian god Dumuzi, may be a great ancestor of the Tamil. Prof. Muttarayan has suggested that the word Tamil, may be an evolute of Dumuzi, the name for the Sumerian moon-god. Originally Tammuz/Damuzi was supposedly a king of Uruk. According to Sumerian tradition Dumuzi lived in the neither world.