Genetic Creation of Homo Sapiens — LULLU / ADAMU
Sumerian name: LULLU (𒇽𒇽) — “The Mixed One” / ADAMU (𒀀𒁕𒈬) — “Of the Earth” Cuneiform source: Atra-Hasis Epic (Tablet I), Enki and Ninmah Creation Text, Eridu Genesis
The Hook
Homo sapiens appears in the fossil record 300,000 years ago — fully formed, with no direct ancestor, no transitional fossils, no Darwinian gradual development. And the oldest known human remains — Mitochondrial Eve — date to 250,000 years ago in southeastern Africa, in exactly the same region where Sumerian texts say the gods created the first worker.
This is not a coincidence. It is the single biggest gap in the theory of evolution — a gap that mainstream paleoanthropology fills with words like “puzzle,” “mystery,” and “complex.” But the Sumerians already had the answer, written on clay tablets 4,000 years ago: Homo sapiens was not the product of random mutation. It was the product of genetic engineering.
1. The Physical Evidence — Sudden Appearance of Homo Sapiens
The Missing Transition
The story of human evolution, as taught in textbooks, looks like a neat line: Australopithecus → Homo habilis → Homo erectus → Homo sapiens. But the fossil record tells a very different story.
| Hominid | Lived (years ago) | Brain Volume | Key Trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australopithecus afarensis | 4–2.8 million | 400–500 cc | Bipedal ape |
| Homo habilis | 2.8–1.5 million | 500–650 cc | Simple stone tools |
| Homo erectus | 2 million – 100,000 | 600–1,100 cc | Fire, handaxes |
| Homo heidelbergensis | 700,000 – 200,000 | 1,100–1,400 cc | Spears, shelters |
| Homo neanderthalensis | 400,000 – 40,000 | 1,200–1,750 cc | Burials, tools |
| Homo sapiens | 300,000 – present | 1,200–1,700 cc | Language, abstract thought, civilization |
The problem is not that we don’t have fossils — we have plenty. The problem is that there is no gradual transition from any earlier hominid to Homo sapiens. The earliest Homo sapiens fossils, found at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco (dated to ~315,000 years ago) and Omo Kibish in Ethiopia (dated to ~195,000 years ago), are anatomically modern.
“The origin of our own species remains one of the most complex and poorly understood chapters in human evolution.” — Dr. Chris Stringer, Natural History Museum, London
The Morphological Gap
When paleoanthropologists compare Homo sapiens to its supposed predecessor Homo heidelbergensis or Homo erectus, the differences are not gradual — they are qualitative leaps:
- Cranial vault — The human skull is a near-perfect sphere; erectus skulls are elongated and sloped
- Facial structure — Humans have flat faces with protruding chins; no other hominid has a chin
- Brow ridge — Homo sapiens has a vertical forehead; every earlier hominid has a prominent brow ridge
- Thorax and pelvis — The human ribcage is barrel-shaped; erectus had a funnel-shaped torso
- Larynx position — The descended larynx in humans enables spoken language; no earlier hominid has this
These are not small changes. Each one requires dozens of coordinated genetic mutations to occur simultaneously. The probability of them all appearing by random mutation in a single population is astronomically small — and the fossil record shows no intermediate forms with partial chins, half-spherical skulls, or partially descended larynxes.
The Replacement Timeline
When Homo sapiens left Africa ~70,000–50,000 years ago, they encountered Homo erectus (still living in Asia) and Homo neanderthalensis (living in Europe and the Middle East). What happened next is unprecedented in evolutionary history:
| Event | Date | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| H. sapiens leaves Africa | ~70,000–50,000 years ago | Genetic bottleneck, archaeological sites in Arabia |
| Arrival in Middle East | ~50,000 years ago | Skhul/Qafzeh caves, Israel |
| Arrival in Europe | ~45,000 years ago | Bacho Kiro cave (Bulgaria) |
| Arrival in Asia | ~50,000–40,000 years ago | Tianyuan cave (China) |
| Arrival in Australia | ~50,000 years ago | Madjedbebe rock shelter |
| Neanderthals go extinct | ~40,000 years ago | Last refuges in Gibraltar |
| Erectus goes extinct | ~100,000 years ago | Ngandong, Java |
Every other hominid species disappeared within 30,000 years of Homo sapiens arriving in their territory. That is not evolutionary competition — that is replacement by a fundamentally different kind of being.
2. Mitochondrial Eve — The Genetic Bottleneck
What DNA Tells Us
In 1987, geneticists Allan Wilson, Rebecca Cann, and Mark Stoneking published a landmark paper in Nature titled “Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution.” Their finding: all living humans share a single common female ancestor who lived approximately 200,000 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa.
This is “Mitochondrial Eve” — the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of every human on Earth.
| Finding | Value |
|---|---|
| Age of Mitochondrial Eve | ~200,000–250,000 years ago |
| Location | Southeastern Africa |
| Evidence | Mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity |
| Male equivalent (Y-Chromosomal Adam) | ~200,000–300,000 years ago |
What It Means
Mitochondrial Eve does not mean there was only one woman alive at the time. It means that of all the women living 250,000 years ago, only one lineage survived to the present day. Every other female lineage went extinct.
Population genetics explains this through the concept of a bottleneck — a drastic population reduction followed by expansion. But the timing is remarkable.
The oldest Homo sapiens fossils date to ~315,000 years ago. Mitochondrial Eve dates to ~250,000 years ago. The Sumerian creation event is placed at ~250,000–300,000 years ago.
Three independent lines of evidence — fossils, DNA, and cuneiform texts — all converge on the same window of time.
The Mainstream Puzzle
“The process of the origin of Homo sapiens is even more complex than we thought. The evidence from fossils, ancient DNA, and archaeology suggests a web of divergent groups, not a simple linear progression.” — Prof. Jean-Jacques Hublin, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
What mainstream scientists call “complex” and “a web,” Sitchin called deliberate design by the Anunnaki — who created a genetically engineered worker species by modifying an existing hominid with their own DNA.
3. Sitchin’s Interpretation — The Anunnaki Genetic Laboratory
The Backstory: Why Workers Were Needed
According to Sitchin’s reading of Sumerian texts, the Anunnaki — beings from the planet Nibiru — first arrived on Earth approximately 450,000 years ago. Their mission: extract gold from the Persian Gulf and southeastern Africa to stabilize Nibiru’s failing atmosphere.
The Atra-Hasis Epic describes the situation:
“When the gods, like men, bore the work and suffered the toil — The toil of the gods was great, the work was heavy, the distress was much.”
The Igigi — the lower-ranking Anunnaki who did the actual mining — revolted. They surrounded Enlil’s house, refusing to work. The text is explicit:
“Let us kill the chief god! Let us destroy the house of Enlil!”
Enlil (later called Yahweh in the Bible) wanted to punish the rebels. But Enki (Ea), the chief scientist, proposed a different solution: create a primitive worker — a being who would bear the labor so the gods could rest.
The Genetic Procedure
The Enki and Ninmah Creation Text (found at Nippur, dated to approximately 2000 B.C.) describes the creation process in unmistakably biological terms:
“In the chamber of the fates, in the house of the fates, The birth goddesses were assembled — Enki, the wise one, the knower of the seed, The great craftsmanship, brought forth the being — He mixed the clay of the Apsu with the flesh and blood of the god.”
Sitchin’s decoding:
| Sumerian phrase | Translation | Scientific equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| ”Clay of the Apsu” | Existing hominid material | Homo erectus genome |
| ”Flesh and blood of the god” | Anunnaki genetic material | Anunnaki DNA / stem cells |
| ”Mixed together” | Genetic recombination | In-vitro fertilization / gene splicing |
| ”The birth goddess” | Ninmah (Ninhursag) | Chief geneticist / egg donor |
| ”The chamber of fates” | The laboratory | AB.ZU — the operating theater |
| ”Molding the clay” | Fertilization / gestation | Embryonic development |
| ”7 maidens” | 7 egg donors | 7 Anunnaki females who provided ova |
| ”The being was born” | Successful birth | First viable Homo sapiens |
Ninmah (Ninhursag, also known as Mammi — “The Mother”) acted as the chief geneticist. In the Atra-Hasis Epic:
“Mammi, the birth goddess, having been ordered, Made the mixture of clay — she called it ‘Man.’ She cut the umbilical cord and laid the child down.”
The Failed Experiments
The Enki and Ninmah Creation Text records that the first attempts were not successful. Enki and Ninmah produced multiple prototypes:
| Prototype | Description | What Went Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| First being | Weak, unable to stand | Musculoskeletal failure |
| Second being | Blind and deaf | Sensory deficits |
| Third being | Unable to grasp tools | Motor coordination failure |
| Fourth being | Infertile | Reproductive system failed |
| Fifth being | Lacked speech | No language capacity |
| Sixth being | Violent, uncontrollable | Behavioral instability |
| Seventh | LULLU — “The Mixed One” | Success — fully functional |
“The seventh one — she molded his form — His shape was perfect, his limbs were straight — He could stand, he could speak, he could grasp — He was the perfect worker.”
Mainstream scholars dismiss these as mythological “imperfect creations.” Sitchin read them as a record of failed genetic experiments — the Anunnaki’s attempts to produce a viable hybrid that could survive, reproduce, and serve as a controlled workforce.
The Naming of ADAMU
The Eridu Genesis and the biblical Book of Genesis share a common root: the name Adam.
| Source | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sumerian | ADAMU (𒀀𒁕𒈬) | “Of the Earth” or “Of the Dark Red Earth” |
| Hebrew | Adam (אדם) | “Of the Ground” (adamah) |
| Akkadian | Adamu | ”To Make” or “To Produce” |
| Modern | Human (from Latin homo) | “Of the Earth” |
Sitchin noted that ADAMU combines:
- ADA — “to create” or “to make”
- MU — “that which” (also used for “clay” in the creation context)
The first human was not named after a person — it was named after the method of manufacture: the being that was made from the earth but ennobled with the essence of the gods.
4. The Cuneiform Sources
Atra-Hasis Epic (Tablet I) — The Rebellion of the Igigi
The Atra-Hasis Epic is the oldest surviving creation myth, written in Akkadian cuneiform around 1700 B.C., but attested in Old Babylonian copies. It is the primary source for the Anunnaki’s decision to create humans.
Tablet I describes the Igigi’s rebellion:
“When the gods, like men, bore the work and suffered the toil — The toil of the gods was great, the work was heavy, the distress was much — The seven great Anunnaki were burdened with the labor — The Igigi were digging the watercourses — For 40 periods (2,160 years) they bore the misery.”
Enlil calls a council. Enki proposes:
“There is a being who exists — the mixture of the one who is wise — Let the birth goddess create a Lullu — Let him bear the yoke of the gods — Let him do the work that the gods refuse to do!”
The birth goddess Mammi (Ninmah) is summoned:
“Mammi, make the Lullu — create the primeval worker! Mix the clay from the AB.ZU with the flesh and blood of the god — Let the being be born who will bear the burden.”
Enki and Ninmah Creation Text
Found in the ruins of Nippur (tablet CBS 14538), this text provides the most detailed description of the genetic creation process. It describes the failed prototypes and the final successful creation.
“Enki, the wise one, the knower of the seed — He called the birth goddess, Ninmah by name — ‘I will make a Lullu — let him be called Man!’ He formed him from the clay of the AB.ZU — He mixed it with the essence of the gods.”
The text goes on to describe how Ninmah held the 7 maidens (egg donors) and how the final being was born:
“Ninmah took the clay of the AB.ZU — She placed it in the womb of the birth goddess — For 9 months the being grew — When the time came, the birth goddess cried out — She gave birth to the Lullu, the first man.”
Biblical Genesis Parallels
The Book of Genesis, written roughly 1,000 years after the Sumerian sources, preserves the same story with modified details:
| Sumerian Version | Biblical Version |
|---|---|
| Enki proposes creating man | God says “Let us make man” |
| Ninmah/Ninhursag is the birth mother | Eve is “the mother of all living” |
| Clay from the AB.ZU | ”Dust of the ground” |
| Flesh and blood of the god | ”The breath of life” |
| Mankind created to bear the work | Man placed in Eden “to work and keep it” |
| The Tree of Knowledge (in the EDIN) | The Tree of Knowledge (in Eden) |
| Enki warns Adapa about forbidden knowledge | God warns Adam about forbidden fruit |
| Failed prototypes before final man | Days of creation before man is formed |
The parallels are not coincidental. The Hebrew scribes who compiled Genesis were writing in Babylon during the Exile (6th century B.C.) — in the very land where the Atra-Hasis Epic and Enuma Elish were still being copied and studied.
5. The AB.ZU — The Genetic Laboratory in Southeast Africa
What Was the AB.ZU?
In Sumerian cosmology, the AB.ZU (𒀊𒋢) — often translated as “the Abyss” or “the Deep” — was the underground water realm of Enki, the god of knowledge, science, and creation. Sitchin identified it as a specific geographic location rather than a mythological underworld.
| Sumerian | Translation | Sitchin’s Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AB | ”Source” / “Elder” / “Primordial” | The original source |
| ZU | ”To know” / “Knowledge” | The place of knowledge |
| AB.ZU | ”The Primordial Source of Knowledge” | Enki’s laboratory / genetic facility |
Location: Southeastern Africa
Sitchin identified the AB.ZU with the southeastern African gold-mining region — modern-day South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland (Eswatini). His reasoning:
-
The oldest known gold mines on Earth — Archaeologists have dated mining tunnels in the Ngwenya Range (Swaziland/Eswatini) to ~100,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years before any possible human mining civilization.
-
Sumerian texts place the AB.ZU in the south — Enki’s domain was consistently described as being south of Sumer, in the direction of Africa.
-
Anatomical modernity — The oldest anatomically modern Homo sapiens remains cluster in this region (Omo Kibish, Ethiopia; Border Cave, South Africa).
-
Mitochondrial Eve’s location — Genetic tracing places the common female ancestor of all humans in southeastern Africa, exactly where Sitchin placed the AB.ZU.
| Location | Evidence | Connection to AB.ZU |
|---|---|---|
| Ngwenya Mine, Eswatini | ~100,000-year-old mining tunnels | Gold extraction for Nibiru |
| Omo Kibish, Ethiopia | ~195,000-year-old Homo sapiens fossils | Near the region of creation |
| Border Cave, South Africa | ~200,000-year-old Homo sapiens remains | Close to AB.ZU location |
| Mitochondrial Eve origin | ~250,000 years ago, SE Africa | Matches Sumerian timeline |
| Great Zimbabwe | Ancient gold-working civilization | Later legacy of AB.ZU significance |
The E.DIN — The Garden of the Gods
The Sumerian E.DIN (𒂔𒉈) — “The Abode of the Righteous Ones” — was the original name Sitchin connected to the biblical Garden of Eden. Unlike the later biblical Eden, the Sumerian E.DIN was not a place of innocence — it was a restricted research facility:
“Enki placed the Lullu in the E.DIN — The beautiful orchard, the place of the gods — Where the Tree of Life grew, and the Tree of Knowledge. The Lullu was to tend the orchard — But was forbidden to eat of the Tree of Knowledge.”
The E.DIN, in Sitchin’s reading, was a contained habitat — a genetically engineered garden where the first humans were observed, studied, and controlled. The Tree of Knowledge was not a literal tree — it was the knowledge of genetics and reproduction — the ability of humans to understand their own creation and become self-aware.
6. Comparison Table — Evolution vs. Sitchin vs. Physical Evidence
| Question | Mainstream Evolution | Sitchin / Anunnaki | What Physical Evidence Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where did Homo sapiens come from? | Gradual evolution from Homo heidelbergensis | Genetic engineering by Anunnaki | Sudden appearance ~300,000 years ago — no transitional fossils |
| When did humans appear? | Debated — 200,000–350,000 years ago | ~300,000–250,000 years ago (Sumerian texts) | Confirmed: oldest H. sapiens ~315,000 years ago |
| Where in Africa? | Multiple regions, debated origin | Southeastern Africa (AB.ZU / gold-mining region) | Mitochondrial Eve: SE Africa ~250,000 years ago |
| Why no transitional fossils? | ”Punctuated equilibrium” or incomplete record | Genetic modification — no transition needed | None found despite 150+ years of searching |
| Why did Neanderthals go extinct? | Competition, climate change, interbreeding | Humans were a superior engineered species | Humans replaced all other hominids in <30,000 years |
| Why the genetic bottleneck? | Population crash, natural selection | Single creation event — one lineage survived | Mitochondrial Eve shows single surviving female line |
| What about Neanderthal DNA in modern humans? | Interbreeding (~2% in non-Africans) | Later hybridization with existing populations | Confirmed — does not contradict creation event |
| How did civilization arise so rapidly? | Agricultural revolution ~10,000 B.C. | Direct knowledge transfer from Anunnaki | Sumerian civilization appears suddenly ~3800 B.C. — fully formed |
The Crucial Distinction
The Sitchin model does not deny evolution entirely. It accepts that hominids evolved naturally from earlier primates — Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus. What it disputes is the transition to Homo sapiens.
Natural evolution produced the raw material. Genetic engineering produced the finished product.
The fossil record supports this distinction:
| Stage | Evolution | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Ape → Australopithecus | Gradual | Natural selection — confirmed by fossil sequence |
| Australopithecus → Homo habilis | Gradual | Natural selection — partial transitional forms exist |
| Homo habilis → Homo erectus | Gradual | Natural selection — many intermediate fossils |
| Homo erectus → Homo sapiens | Instantaneous | No transitional fossils — genetic engineering |
7. The Aha Moment
Mitochondrial Eve lived 250,000 years ago in southeastern Africa — exactly when and where the Sumerians said humanity was created.
| Evidence | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Homo sapiens appears fully formed ~300,000 years ago with no transitional fossils | The transition was not gradual — it was engineered |
| Mitochondrial Eve dates to ~250,000 years ago in SE Africa | A single female lineage survived — matching a single creation event |
| The oldest gold mines on Earth (~100,000 years old) are in SE Africa | The Anunnaki’s need for workers and their creation facility were in the same location |
| Sumerian creation texts describe mixing hominid “clay” with Anunnaki “flesh and blood” | A precise description of genetic engineering written 4,000 years ago |
| The Atra-Hasis Epic explicitly says humans were created to replace the Igigi as mine workers | The purpose of creation was labor — not evolution |
| The Enki and Ninmah text records 6 failed prototypes before the 7th succeeded | A laboratory record of experimental genetic modifications |
| Genesis preserves the same story with the same structure but fewer details | The biblical creation account is a simplified version of Sumerian knowledge |
The Sumerians did not invent a creation myth. They recorded the creation event as it was told to them by the beings who performed it.
The mainstream scientific explanation requires you to believe that the most complex object in the known universe — the human brain — emerged from random mutations in a remarkably short period, leaving no trace of how it happened. The Sitchin explanation requires you to accept that an advanced civilization performed genetic engineering on Earth a quarter of a million years ago.
One of these explanations has the fossil record, the genetic timeline, and the cuneiform texts on its side. The other has a 150-year-old theory that is still searching for a missing link that was never there.
🧠 Sitchin Analysis
Where Sitchin Agrees with Mainstream
- Sudden appearance of Homo sapiens ~300,000 years ago: Sitchin correctly points out that the oldest H. sapiens fossils (Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, ~315,000 years) are anatomically modern and show no transitional traits. Paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum) calls the origin of H. sapiens “one of the most complex and least understood problems.”
- Mitochondrial Eve in southeastern Africa: Sitchin’s placement of the creation site in southeastern Africa matches genetics - Mitochondrial Eve lived ~250,000 years ago in exactly this region.
- Missing transitional fossils: Mainstream confirms there are no smooth transitional forms between H. erectus and H. sapiens - the skull, face, larynx, and pelvis change in a leap, not gradually.
- 7 failed prototypes in Enki and Ninmah: Sitchin reads the Sumerian text as a record of genetic experiments. Mainstream Assyriologists confirm the text literally describes 7 failed attempts - even if they consider it mythology.
Where They Differ
- Mechanism of origin: Sitchin claims Anunnaki genetic engineering. Mainstream biology insists on Darwinian evolution and natural selection, even while acknowledging “punctuated equilibrium.”
- AB.ZU as a laboratory: Sitchin identifies AB.ZU as a geographic location in southeastern Africa. Sumerologists translate AB.ZU as Enki’s mythological “underground ocean,” not a physical place.
- Literal reading of Atra-Hasis: Sitchin reads the Igigi rebellion as a real historical event. Mainstream sees Atra-Hasis as a theological parable about the relationship between gods and humans.
- Anunnaki DNA in humans: Sitchin claims Homo sapiens carries Anunnaki genetic material. Genetics confirms ~2% Neanderthal DNA in non-Africans, but no “extraterrestrial” sequences have been found.
- EDIN as a controlled environment: Sitchin interprets the Garden of Eden as a research facility. Biblical archaeology and Sumerology see it as a mythological paradise, not a laboratory.
⚖️ PRO vs CONTRA
| Argument PRO (Sitchin) | Counterargument (mainstream) |
|---|---|
| Homo sapiens appears suddenly ~300,000 years ago - no transitional fossils | ”Punctuated equilibrium” - evolution happens in leaps after long periods of stability |
| Mitochondrial Eve ~250,000 years ago in southeastern Africa - same time and place as Sumerian creation | Mitochondrial Eve is a statistical construct, not a single woman; bottlenecks are natural phenomena |
| Atra-Hasis describes the Igigi rebelling against toil - the reason for creating humans | Atra-Hasis is a theological text, not a historical record; gods symbolize natural forces |
| Enki and Ninmah: 7 failed prototypes = lab record of genetic experiments | 7 failures is a mythological motif (common in Mesopotamian literature), not a literal protocol |
| Sumerian texts use “clay and the blood of a god” = IVF and genetic engineering | It’s poetic language for creation from the dust of the earth - metaphor, not technical description |
| Ancient mines at Ngwenya (Eswatini) ~100,000 years old - evidence of gold mining for the Anunnaki | The mines are natural caves; the ~100,000-year age is disputed; gold was not mined at industrial scale |
See Also
- ADAMU (Concept) — The Sumerian name for the first modern human
- E.DIN (Concept) — The garden facility where the first humans were placed
- Adapa (Concept) — The first human granted knowledge
- Enki (Character) — The Anunnaki scientist who proposed creating humanity
- Ninmah (Character) — The birth goddess who performed the genetic engineering
- Enlil (Character) — The commander who opposed granting humans knowledge
- Nibiru (Theme) — Why the Anunnaki needed Earth’s gold
- Sumerian King List (Source) — The antediluvian rulers
- Atra-Hasis Epic (Source) — Full translation of the rebellion and creation account
- Enki and Ninmah (Source) — The complete creation text
- Gold Mines (Concept) — The Anunnaki mining operations
- Eridu (Concept) — Enki’s city — the first city on Earth
Sources
- Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12th Planet. Chapters “The Epic of Creation,” “The Creation of Man.”
- Sitchin, Z. (1980). The Stairway to Heaven. Chapter “The Serpent of Knowledge.”
- Sitchin, Z. (1985). The Wars of Gods and Men. Chapter “The Creation of the Primitive Worker.”
- Sitchin, Z. (1990). The Lost Realms. Chapter “The Adamu.”
- The Atra-Hasis Epic — Tablets I–III (Old Babylonian copies, c. 1700 B.C.)
- Enki and Ninmah Creation Text — Tablet CBS 14538, Nippur (c. 2000 B.C.)
- Cann, R. L., Stoneking, M., & Wilson, A. C. (1987). Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution. Nature, 325, 31–36.
- Stringer, C. (2016). The Origin of Our Species. Natural History Museum, London.
- Hublin, J.-J., et al. (2017). New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens. Nature, 546, 289–292.
- Richter, D., et al. (2017). The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age. Nature, 546, 293–296.
- CDLI — Atra-Hasis Epic
- CDLI — Enki and Ninmah Creation Text
- The Holy Bible — Genesis 1–3 (King James Version)
- Ngwenya Mine, Swaziland — UNESCO World Heritage listing: oldest known mine (~100,000 years)