SUMMARY: "AK TENGIZ" THE DISAPPEARED
By POLAT
KAYA
10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In
this paper, I have presented an essay regarding the last Ice Age and its effects on
1. The Ice Age treated the continents of
2. The
West Siberian Lowland and the Central Asian steppes provided a special environment such that these lands were not
covered with an ice shield during the Ice Age up until about 26,000 years BP.
From the beginning of the Ice Age to 26,000 years BP, the area
conditions were minimally changed from what they were at the onset of the Ice Age. Therefore plant and animal
life in
3. During the period between 26,000 and 20,000 years BP, the
world's climate become
gradually colder and the northern lands and the high mountains of Central Asia were covered with glacials, although not as thick as those
in Europe and North America.
4. By the beginning of 20,000 BP, Earth's climate started to warm up and continued warming until present times. This
warming of weather melted most of the ice shield in the northern hemisphere by
about 12,000 years BP.
5. Between 20,000 and 12,000 BP, a huge
inland sea-size lake was formed in the West Siberian Lowland by the melt
waters of the melting ice shield in north
6. The
flood stories found in Sumerian writings and in the mythologies of many peoples
of the world are most likely referring to a single event like the formation of the Ak Tengiz lake in the West Siberian Lowland
during the tail end of the last Ice Age. Its initial formation would have been
a catastrophic event because the flood waters
would have swept over and obliterated any civilization that existed in the
lands overtaken by the flood waters.
7. Mythological flood and creation stories all
over the world appear to be Central Asiatic in origin, hence they seem to
corroborate the formation of Ak Tengiz.
8. It probably took another 3,000 to 4,000 years after the ending of the
Ice Age before "Ak
Tengiz" was reduced to what it is at present. The present remnants of this ancient lake in the West
Siberian Lowland consist of:
•
a network of major rivers such as
•
innumerable swampy area; and
•
many lakes that are distributed throughout the southern
outskirts of the land.
This
ancient West Siberian Lowland lake, which is not there now, will probably form again at the end of another ice age. It is quite reasonable
to think that this kind of an inland lake formation has taken place in this
part of
9. During the tail
end of the Ice Age, the water levels of the
10. Because land was taken over by the ice
coverage of the northern hemisphere during the Ice Age, migrations took place.
Because plants could not grow in northern
11. The human migrations from
Further
migrations could have taken place during and after the formation of the Ak
Tengiz - during the period of about 20,000 to 12,000 years BP. Most of the migrations
to
12. During the last 20,000 years, plant, animal
and human life would have thrived to new heights in the Central Asiatic land
mass between the latitudes of about 35°N and 55 °N, all the way from the
13. With global warming, Ak Tengiz diminished in
size and desertification in the southern latitudes of the Central Asian land
mass started. Famous deserts of
14. The peopling of
15. The remnants of highly developed, but lost, sedentary civilizations, that must have existed during ancient times in different parts of Central Asia, are likely to be found under the sands of the Central Asian deserts and possibly under the silts of marshy low areas.
16. It is highly likely that the presence of Ak
Tengiz, and other lakes in the area, provided the opportunity for Central
Asians to also become seafaring peoples, in addition to their animal husbandry
based lifestyle. The forms of boats used by the people on the
north-western China82 bear a large resemblance to one another. This is an indication of the continuity of the same culture at three different locations.
17. As the people of
18. Additionally, the culture of ancestor (- Ata
Ata An = Tatan = Titan –Atalar in Turkish and Titan as adopted by the ancient
Greeks) worshipping was the culture of Central Asians. Because of this ancestor worshipping
culture, Central Asians, wherever they lived in the past, built the most
elaborate tomb structures to honor their ancestors. The pyramid building
culture which emulates mountains, i.e., the sacred lofty ceremonial places of Turkic
peoples, is essentially a Central Asian culture as indicated by the pyramids of
19. Pastoral animal farming culture, such as
sheep, cattle and horse based husbandry, and bee farming, were all initially
Central Asiatic cultures established since prehistoric times.
"AK
TENGIZ" The Ice Age Great Flood Lake Covering The Lowlands of SIberia
Note: The
whole paper was first published in: TÜRK DÜNYASI ARAŞTIRMALARI,
No. 121,
Ağustos, 1999, p. 97-148, İstanbul, Türkiye.
Polat
Kaya