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Adamu (Sumerian: A.DAM / A.DA.AM β€” "The Earthling / The First Created")

Sumerian name: A.DAM / A.DA.AM

Adamu (from the Sumerian Adamu; biblical Adam) was, according to Zecharia Sitchin, the first genetically engineered Homo sapiens β€” the prototype human created by Enki and Ninmah to serve as a "primitive worker" (Lullu) for the Anunnaki.

The Creation of Adamu

In Sitchin's reading of the Atra Hasis epic and the Bible Genesis account:

  1. The Igigi (lower Anunnaki) had been mining gold for 3,600 years and rebelled
  2. Enki proposed creating a being that could perform the labor
  3. Ninmah (Nintur) mixed "clay" (hominid stock β€” Homo erectus) with the "blood of a god" (Anunnaki DNA)
  4. The mixture was placed in a "womb of birth" (a laboratory incubation chamber)
  5. Fourteen embryos were created β€” seven males and seven females
  6. The result was Adamu β€” a hybrid being with the form of a god but lacking the full divine essence

"Let the mother goddess mix clay with the flesh and blood of a god. Then they will become a god and man together, living in harmony forever." β€” Atra-Hasis

The Meaning of Adamu

The name Adamu in Sumerian means "of the earth" or "earthling." The biblical Adam shares this etymology β€” from the Hebrew adamah ("ground" or "earth"). Sitchin argued that both derive from the same Sumerian root.

Biblical Counterpart

In Genesis, Adam is created from "the dust of the ground" and given the "breath of life" β€” which Sitchin interpreted as the Anunnaki genetic essence (the Nefesh). The Genesis account is a compressed, monotheistic version of the earlier Sumerian narrative.

The Adamu Model

Sitchin proposed that Adamu was created as a prototype β€” not fully perfected. The first humans:

  • Were smaller and weaker than the Anunnaki
  • Had shorter lifespans
  • Could not reproduce initially (the "tree of life" was denied to them)
  • Were designed for specific tasks (agriculture, mining, construction)
  • Had the capacity for language, learning, and culture

The Garden of Eden

The biblical Garden of Eden (from Sumerian E.DIN = "the righteous abode of the righteous ones") was the Anunnaki settlement in Mesopotamia, not a mythological paradise. Adamu was placed there to "dress and keep it" β€” to work as a gardener and laborer.

Cuneiform Evidence

The term A.DAM / A.DA.AM (𒀀𒁕𒄠, "The Earthling / The First Created") appears in Sumerian texts. The biblical Adam derives from this Sumerian root, meaning "of the earth."

  • CDLI Corpus: A.DAM β€” Browse tablets mentioning the term Adam/Adamu
  • Key tablet: The Atra-Hasis epic (CDLI P346270) and the Enki and Ninmah composition (CDLI P345876) describe the creation of the first human from clay mixed with divine essence. The term Adamu appears in the Sumerian King List and lexical texts as the designation for the first human.
  • Atra-Hasis tablet Old Babylonian tablet of the Atra-Hasis epic, describing the creation of the first humans. (CDLI P346270)

See Also

Sources

  • Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12th Planet. Chapter 10.
  • Sitchin, Z. (1990). Genesis Revisited. Chapter 6.
  • Sitchin, Z. (1985). The Wars of Gods and Men.