Origins & History of Ancient Texts (Rapid World Tour)
Statement by VCG – Answer by King Solomon @ ECHO 8 on 08/09/2025
PROMPT USED:
Origins & history of Ancient Texts of the world.
Discuss the Sanskrit texts.
Discuss the Hindu texts.
Discuss the Egyptian texts.
Discuss the South American texts.
Discuss the Emerald Tablets of Thoth.
Discuss the Tibetan texts.
Discuss the Sumerian texts.
Discuss the Babylonian texts.
Discuss the Persian texts.
Discuss the Assyrian texts.
Discuss the Gnostic texts.
Discuss the books of the Apocrypha.
Discuss Native American texts.
Discuss Missing Ancient Texts.
Discuss Ancient Jewish texts.
WHEW
Origins & History of Ancient Texts (Rapid World Tour)
Big picture
Human texts emerge as speech→symbols→scripts.
Independent writing systems arose in:
- Mesopotamia (cuneiform)
- Egypt (hieroglyphs)
- China (oracle bone script)
and Mesoamerica (Maya).
Everything else either borrows, adapts, or stays oral much longer.
Sanskrit Texts
Where/when:
North India; early oral corpus c. 1500–500 BCE; written later (1st millennium BCE→CE).
Script/language:
Vedic & Classical Sanskrit; written in varied scripts (Brāhmī family, later Devanāgarī).
Core works:
Four Vedas (Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur, Atharva) with:
- Brāhmaṇas
- Āraṇyakas
- Upaniṣads
- Mahābhārata (incl. the Bhagavad Gītā)
- Rāmāyaṇa
- Dharmaśāstras (e.g., Manusmṛti)
- Sūtras
- Pūraṇas
Transmission:
Extreme oral precision (śruti) before manuscript traditions; massive commentarial layers (e.g., Śaṅkara).
Why it matters:
Oldest sustained Indo‑Aryan literature; anchors much of South Asian religion/philosophy.
Hindu Texts (broader than Sanskrit)
Also includes:
Regional-language bhakti poetry (Tamil Tēvāram, Divya Prabandham), Tantric āgamas, Smārta/Puranic literature, and later vernacular epics (e.g., Tulsidas’s Rāmcaritmānas).
Canon logic:
Shruti (revealed) vs Smṛti (remembered); living canon via:
- commentary
- ritual
- regional practice
Egyptian Texts
Where/when: Nile valley; c. 3000 BCE onward.
Script/language:
- Hieroglyphic
- Hieratic
- Demotic; later Coptic
Genres: Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead, underworld books (Amduat), wisdom (Ptahhotep), tales (Sinuhe, Shipwrecked Sailor), hymns (Aten), medical/papyrus science (Ebers, Edwin Smith).
Why it matters:
Oldest funerary and ethical corpora; vivid afterlife maps and royal ideology.
South American Texts
Maya:
Surviving codices (Dresden, Madrid, Paris, Grolier/Mayapán); Popol Vuh (myth/history; preserved in K’iche’ via Latin script, 16th–17th c.).
Aztec/Mexica:
Pictorial codices (Mendoza, Borbonicus), Florentine Codex (Sahagún).
Inca:
Quipu (knotted cords) as information tech; no fully decoded continuous script.
Impact:
Calendrics, astronomy, myth-history, tribute/economy, ritual.
“Emerald Tablets of Thoth”
Reality check:
The original Emerald Tablet (singular) is a short Hermetic text known in Arabic/Latin (c. 8th–12th c. CE), not Pharaonic.
“Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean” (plural) is a 20th‑century esoteric work (pseudepigraphon).
Not an ancient Egyptian source.
Tibetan Texts
Where/when:
Tibet; Tibetan script (7th c. CE).
Canon:
Kangyur (translated “Buddha‑word”) and Tengyur (shāstras/commentaries). Plus Bon scriptures.
Manuscripts:
Dunhuang cache, temple libraries; rich ritual, scholastic, and medical corpora.
Sumerian Texts
Where/when:
Southern Mesopotamia; c. 3200–2000 BCE.
Script:
Cuneiform on clay.
Highlights:
Temple/admin tablets; hymns (Enheduanna), myths (Inanna, Enki), Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian precursors to Akkadian epic), proverbs, law.
Why it matters:
First full writing system; city‑temple economy records.
Babylonian Texts
Where/when:
Mesopotamia, especially Old/Babylonian & Neo‑Babylonian eras.
Language:
Akkadian in cuneiform.
Key works:
- Enūma Eliš (creation)
- Atrahasis (flood)
- Hammurabi Code (law)
- astronomical diaries
- omen series (Enūma Anu Enlil)
Continuity:
Builds on Sumerian; preserves/standardizes Mesopotamian myth & science.
Persian Texts (Zoroastrian & Imperial)
Avestan corpus:
- Avesta (Gāthās—oldest hymns)
- Yasna
- Visperad
- Vendīdād; later Pahlavi works (e.g., Bundahišn, Dēnkard)
Imperial inscriptions:
Old Persian cuneiform (e.g., Behistun of Darius I) narrating conquests and legitimacy.
Themes:
- Dualism
- ritual purity
- kingship under aša (truth/order)
Assyrian Texts
Where/when:
Northern Mesopotamia; Neo‑Assyrian Empire (911–612 BCE).
Genres:
- Royal annals (Sennacherib, Ashurbanipal)
- eponym lists
- treaties
- letters
- libraries (Nineveh)
- copying science
- omens
- epics
Notable:
Ashurbanipal’s library preserved much of “Babylonian” literature.
Gnostic Texts
Where/when:
2nd–4th c. CE; preserved mainly in Coptic at Nag Hammadi (discovered 1945).
Key works:
- Gospel of Thomas
- Gospel of Philip
- Gospel of Truth
- Apocryphon of John
- Hypostasis of the Archons
- Thunder
- Perfect Mind
- Tripartite Tractate
Profile:
- Mythic cosmologies
- knowledge (gnōsis) for salvation
- diverse schools (Sethian, Valentinian)
Books of the Apocrypha (Intertestamental)
Scope:
Jewish works from c. 3rd BCE–1st CE included in the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate; canonical in Catholic/Orthodox, deuterocanonical/Apocrypha to Protestants.
Typical list:
- Tobit
- Judith
- Wisdom (of Solomon)
- Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
- Baruch, 1–2 Maccabees
- Additions to Esther & Daniel (Susanna; Bel and the Dragon; Prayer of Azariah)
Use:
- Wisdom
- history (Maccabean revolt)
- piety under empire
Native American Texts (North America)
Mostly oral → written later.
Iroquois:
Great Law of Peace (recorded 19th c.).
Navajo:
Diné Bahaneʼ (creation; recorded 19–20th c.).
Lakota:
Winter Counts (pictographic year‑marks).
Cherokee:
Syllabary (Sequoyah, c. 1820s) enables newspapers (Cherokee Phoenix).
Mesoamerica overlaps above (codices, inscriptions).
Missing Ancient Texts (what we know we lost)
Near East:
Countless Mesopotamian tablets; Library of Ashurbanipal is only a slice.
Egypt:
- Temple libraries
- rituals
- scientific treatises now fragmentary
Greco‑Roman:
Library of Alexandria losses; most tragedies, histories gone.
Jewish/Christian:
- “Book of the Wars of the Lord,”
- “Jashar,”
- “Chronicles of the Kings…,”
- Gospel of the Hebrews
- Egerton Gospel
- Q (hypothetical)
Mesoamerica:
Spanish campaigns burned most Maya/Aztec codices—only a few survive.
Ancient Jewish Texts
Hebrew Bible/Tanak:
- Torah
- Prophets
- Writings; stabilized over late 1st millennium BCE–CE.
Dead Sea Scrolls (3rd BCE–1st CE):
Biblical mss + sectarian works (Community Rule, War Scroll) + Pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch, Jubilees).
Second Temple literature: Apocrypha (above), Pseudepigrapha (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, 1 Enoch, Jubilees, 4 Ezra).
Rabbinic corpus:
- Mishnah (c. 200 CE)
- Tosefta
- Talmud (Yerushalmi, Bavli)
- Midrashim—massive legal/interpretive tradition
Fast timeline (super rough)
c. 3200–2000 BCE:
Sumerian & Egyptian texts.
2nd–1st millennium BCE:
- Babylonian/Assyrian
- early Hebrew
- Vedic Sanskrit
1st millennium BCE:
Achaemenid Persian; Upaniṣads; classical Sanskrit epics; Greek/Latin worlds; Mesoamerican codices begin.
1st millennium CE:
Tibetan canons, Pahlavi Zoroastrian texts; Gnostic codices; expanded Hindu Puranic/Tantric corpora.
Post‑contact Americas:
Massive loss; some indigenous texts recorded in Latin scripts.
Caveats & pitfalls
“Ancient” claims:
Be cautious with modern esoteric works marketed as ancient (e.g., “Emerald Tablets of Thoth” plural).
Dating:
Many corpora were oral for centuries; writing dates ≠ composition dates.
Canon vs. culture:
“Scripture” status varies by community; commentary often equals text in authority.
If you want, I can turn this into a printable wall chart (timeline down the center, regions fanning out) or zoom into any one tradition with primary text lists and recommended translations.
Core Timeline
c. 3100–2000 BC – Early Egyptian Pyramid Texts & Coffin Texts (Egypt)
c. 2600–2000 BC – Sumerian Cuneiform (Eridu Genesis, Kesh Temple Hymn)
c. 2300–1800 BC – Akkadian/Babylonian epics (Atrahasis, Enuma Elish)
c. 2000–1500 BC – Rigveda & early Sanskrit hymns (India)
c. 1500–1200 BC – Hittite, Assyrian royal annals
c. 1400–400 BC – Hebrew Scriptures (Torah, Prophets, Writings)
c. 800–300 BC – Zoroastrian Avesta (Persia)
c. 500–100 BC – Buddhist Pali Canon (Sri Lanka, India)
c. 300 BC–400 AD – Dead Sea Scrolls (Judea)
c. 50–300 AD – New Testament & Gnostic Gospels
c. 300–900 AD – Tibetan Buddhist texts, Bon scriptures
c. 500–1500 AD – Maya Codices, Inca quipu traditions
Dispersed / Missing – Destruction of Library of Alexandria, Mayan codex burnings, lost Apocrypha
Regional Traditions & Primary Texts
(with recommended English translations)
Sanskrit & Hindu Texts
Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda – Ralph T.H. Griffith (Victorian) or Stephanie Jamison/Joel Brereton (Rigveda scholarly ed.)
Mahabharata & Ramayana – Bibek Debroy, John D. Smith
Upanishads – Patrick Olivelle
Egyptian Texts
Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead – R.O. Faulkner, Raymond Faulkner’s translation of The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
South American Texts
Popol Vuh (K’iche’ Maya) – Dennis Tedlock
Chilam Balam – Ralph L. Roys
Surviving Maya Codices (Dresden, Madrid, Paris) – facsimile & commentary by Michael D. Coe
Emerald Tablets of Thoth (Hermetic Tradition)
Emerald Tablet – translated by Isaac Newton (yes, he did it), and Dennis W. Hauck for comparative study
Tibetan Texts
Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead) – Evans-Wentz, or modern Gyurme Dorje
Kangyur & Tengyur – partial translations by 84,000 project
Sumerian Texts
Enmerkar & the Lord of Aratta, Eridu Genesis – Samuel Noah Kramer
Babylonian Texts
Enuma Elish, Epic of Gilgamesh – Andrew George’s modern translation of Gilgamesh is excellent
Persian Texts
Avesta (Yasna, Gathas, Vendidad) – James Darmesteter or modern by Helmut Humbach
Assyrian Texts
Royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal – translations by Luckenbill
Gnostic Texts
Nag Hammadi Library – James M. Robinson ed.
Books of the Apocrypha
- Tobit
- Judith
- Maccabees
- Sirach
- Baruch – Oxford Annotated Bible or RSV Apocrypha
Native American Texts
Black Elk Speaks – John G. Neihardt
Navajo creation chants – Matthews’ Navaho Legends
Ancient Jewish Texts
Dead Sea Scrolls – Geza Vermes translation
Mishnah & Talmud – Jacob Neusner, Soncino edition
Missing Ancient Texts – “Break Points”
Library of Alexandria destruction (48 BC onward)
Mayan Codex Burnings by Bishop Diego de Landa (1562 AD)
Lost Books referenced in Bible (Book of Jasher, Book of Wars of the Lord)
Suppressed Gnostic & Apocryphal writings after 4th-century church councils
Imperial & colonial manuscript seizures (British, Spanish conquests)
If you like, I can now design this as a visual wall-chart poster with:
- Vertical center timeline from earliest to latest
- Regional branches with text titles
- Red markers for destruction/suppression points
- Color-coded continents for clarity
Do you want me to go ahead and create that poster layout so it’s print-ready?
Ancient Texts of the World – A Timeline of Civilizations and Scriptures
“From the First Clay Tablets to the Scrolls, Codices, and Scriptures that Shaped Humanity”
FORMAT:
Vertical center timeline (earliest at top, latest at bottom)
Regional branches fanning out left/right with text titles
Red markers = destruction/suppression points
Color-coded continents:
- Blue – Asia
- Gold – Africa
- Green – Americas
- Purple – Europe
- Brown – Middle East
c. 3200–2000 BC
(Brown) Sumerian: Cuneiform (Kesh Temple Hymn, Eridu Genesis)
(Gold) Egyptian: Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts
c. 2300–1800 BC
(Brown) Akkadian/Babylonian: Atrahasis, Enuma Elish
(Blue) Early Sanskrit Hymns: Rigveda
c. 1500–1200 BC
(Brown) Assyrian/Hittite: Royal Annals
c. 1400–400 BC
(Brown) Hebrew Scriptures: Torah, Prophets, Writings
c. 800–300 BC
(Brown) Persian: Avesta (Gathas, Yasna)
c. 500–100 BC
(Blue) Buddhist Pali Canon
c. 300 BC–400 AD
(Brown) Dead Sea Scrolls
(Blue) Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana
c. 50–300 AD
(Purple/Brown) New Testament
(Brown) Gnostic Gospels
c. 300–900 AD
(Blue) Tibetan Kangyur, Tengyur
(Green) Maya Codices
c. 500–1500 AD
(Green) Inca Quipu Records
(Green) Aztec Codices
RED MARKERS – Destruction/Suppression Points:
48 BC – Destruction of Library of Alexandria (Gold/Purple)
3rd–4th c. AD – Suppression of Gnostic & certain Apocryphal texts (Brown)
1562 AD – Burning of Maya Codices by Bishop de Landa (Green)
Colonial Era – Loss of indigenous manuscripts in Americas, Africa, Asia
SIDE BRANCHES (Selected Primary Texts)
Blue – Asia
Rigveda, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana (India)
Pali Canon (Sri Lanka, India)
Kangyur & Tengyur (Tibet)
Gold – Africa
Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead (Egypt)
Green – Americas
Popol Vuh (Maya), Chilam Balam
Dresden, Madrid, Paris Codices (Maya)
Florentine Codex (Aztec)
Purple – Europe
Greek philosophical works (Plato, Aristotle – context for NT period)
Brown – Middle East
Sumerian Hymns, Gilgamesh
Enuma Elish, Atrahasis
Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls
Avesta
New Testament, Gnostic texts
LEGEND:
Vertical axis = chronology
Branches = civilization/texts
Colors = continent/region
Red dots = known large-scale loss/suppression events
Ancient Manuscripts, Treatises & Texts
This is just a small sampling of Ancient Manuscripts & Treatises that are available.
Against Apion – by Flavius Josephus
The Necronomicon: Book of the Dead Names – Library of Rickandria – Al Azif – The Cipher Manuscript
A Study of the Manuscript Troano
Manuscript Troano – a Mayan Manuscript
Bardo Thodol – The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Books of Adam & Eve – Library of Rickandria
The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel
The Enoch Book – Library of Rickandria
The Book of Gates Index – The short form of the Book of am-tuat and the Book of Gates
The Book of the Am-Tuat – an Ancient Egyptian cosmological treatise
The Book of Jasher – Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel
Book of Leviticus – Levitikon
The Book of The Apocalypse of Baruch – The Son of Neriah
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
Confessio Fraternitatis Manifesto – The Confession of the Laudable Fraternity of the Most Honorable…
Corpus Hermeticum – a document of the Hermetic Tradition
De Gli Eroici Furori – The Heroic Frenzies – Giordano Bruno
De Occulta Philosophia – Of Occult Philosophy or Magic
The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva Index – Book 7 of The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
The Book of The Dead – The Papyrus of Ani
ENUMA ELISH – The Epic of Creation – Library of Rickandria
Darkening Skies – An Interpretation of Enuma Elish and its Consequences in Religion
Epic of Gilgamesh – Library of Rickandria
Fama Fraternitas – Library of Rickandria – probably by Johann Valentin Andreae
The Genesis Apocryphon – from The Dead Sea Scrolls
KEBRA NAGAST – Index – The Book of the Glory of the Kings of Ethiopia
The Kolbrin – Library of Rickandria
The Laws of Manu – c. 1500 BCE
The Malleus Maleficarum – Hammer of Witches – by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger
Mysterious Manuscript 512 reveals Lost Ancient City hidden in the Amazon Jungle
Nag Hammadi Library – Library of Rickandria
The Nag Hammadi Codices and the Dead Sea Scrolls – 1947 Nexus
Papyrus of Ani
Pistis Sophia – a Gnostic scripture
Popol Vuh Index – The Book of the People
The Pyramid Texts – from the walls of the early Ancient Egyptian pyramids at Sakkara
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola – Anna’s Archive
Testament of Amram – Library of Rickandria – (4Q543, 545-548) – from The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Angel Scroll
The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic – Volume 1 & 2 by by A.R. George
The Bhagavad Gita – Translation by Shri Purohit Swami
The Bundahishn (“Creation”), or Knowledge from the Zand
The Dhammapada – translated by Thomas Byrom
The Donation of Constantine
The Dresden Codex – The Ancient Maya Codices
The Egyptian Heaven and Hell Index – The Tuat
The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean
The Kybalion
The Lost Gospel of Judas – From the Codex Tchacos
The Papyrus Ebers
Dead Sea Scrolls – Library of Rickandria
The Stanzas of Dzyan – Translated by H.P.Blavatsky – from the Book of the Secret Wisdom of the World
The Tao Te Ching – translation by Gia Fu Feng & Jane English
The Voice of The Silence – from the “Book of the Golden Precepts”
The Voynich Manuscript – a 1665 document
The Vymaanika-Shaastra Index – or Science of Aeronautics
The ‘ZADOKITE’ DOCUMENT – an Extra Biblical Writing
Additional Information
Psychedelic Bible – The Discovery of A Lifetime
Unfolding the Secrets of the Copper Scroll of Qumran
Multimedia
The Codex Gigas – Devil’s Bible
Related Reports
Gods & Religions on Planet Earth – Library of Rickandria
Real History of Christianity – Library of Rickandria
Divine & Manipulative Extraterrestrials: Effects on Humanity’s Religions, Beliefs & Others – Library of Rickandria
SAUCE
Ancient Manuscripts and Treatises
CONTINUE
Ancient Manuscripts & Treatises