#487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths
Lex Fridman Podcast
- Published
- December 12, 2025
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Apr 17, 2026
Discusses science, society, culture, philosophy, technology.
Summary
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…
Show notes
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 docum
Themes
- science
- society
- culture
- philosophy
- technology