The Sumerian King List begins with eight kings who ruled before a flood, with reign lengths that are notably large and consistent. Examples include reigns of 28,800 years, 36,000 years, and 43,200 years, all of which are multiples of 600. The total duration of these reigns sums to 241,200 years.
The analysis utilizes the ETCSL composite antediluvian list, recognizing that the text has variants similar to the post-flood sections of the King List. This analysis does not assert the historical accuracy of these reigns but rather explores the idea that the reign lengths may reflect significant climate events, geological shifts, or changes in sea levels.
The exploratory analysis tests this hypothesis by rescaling the chronology to a fixed span of 241.2 ka and anchoring one boundary to compare with a catalog of Quaternary events. The chosen anchor is approximately 11,600 years ago, near the end of the Younger Dryas period. The analysis aims to determine if the Sumerian reign order aligns with significant paleoclimate events.
The study identifies three conditions for a credible alignment. First, the text must specify which boundary to anchor; the Sumerian King List suggests anchoring at the end of the antediluvian sequence. Second, the Sumerian sequence should appear unusual compared to other ancient chronologies, such as those derived from Biblical patriarchal ages and other ancient rulers. Third, the results should remain significant after considering various tested chronologies and bandwidths.
The analysis employs a Gaussian kernel proximity score to assess the alignment between event dates and reign boundaries. The study finds that while matches can be identified, the observed Sumerian reign order does not score unusually high under a defined null model.
The primary analysis fixes the anchor at 11.6 ka BP and reports the observed kernel score, raw permutation p-value, and q-value adjusted for multiple comparisons. The primary catalog includes 39 events from the Quaternary period, while a wider exploratory catalog contains 103 usable entries.
The study concludes that the Sumerian sequence does not demonstrate a statistically significant alignment with the paleoclimate catalog used in this analysis. The findings suggest that the reign order does not encode the paleoclimate events as hypothesized, and the analysis remains exploratory in nature.