Page 88 - Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock

Graham Hancock – FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS

and he gave them an insight into letters and sciences, and every kind of art. He
taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and
explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them
distinguish the seeds of the earth, and showed them how to collect fruits; in short,
he instructed them in every thing which could tend to soften manners and to
humanise mankind. From that time, so universal were his instructions, nothing
has been added materially by way of improvement ...
12
Surviving images of the Oannes creatures I had seen on Babylonian and
Assyrian reliefs clearly portrayed fish-garbed men. Fish-scales formed the
dominant motif on their garments, just as they did on those worn by El
Fraile. Another similarity was that the Babylonian figures held
unidentified objects in both their hands. If my memory served me right
(and I later confirmed that it did) these objects were by no means
identical to those carried by El Fraile. They were, however, similar enough
to be worthy of note.
13
The other great ‘idol’ of the Kalasasaya was positioned towards the
eastern end of the platform, facing the main gateway, and was an
imposing monolith of grey andesite, hugely thick and standing about
nine feet tall. Its broad head rose straight up out of its hulking shoulders
and its slab-like face stared expressionlessly into the distance. It was
wearing a crown, or head-band of some kind, and its hair was braided
into orderly rows of long vertical ringlets which were most clearly visible
at the back.
The figure was also intricately carved and decorated across much of its
surface almost as though it were tattooed. Like El Fraile, it was clad below
the waist in a garment composed offish-scales and fish symbols. And,
also like El Fraile, it held two unidentifiable objects in its hands. This time
the left-hand object looked more like a sheath than a case-bound book,
and from it protruded a forked handle. The right-hand object was roughly
cylindrical, narrow in the centre where it was held, wider at the shoulders
and at the base, and then narrowing again towards the top. It appeared to
have several different sections, or parts, fitted over and into one another,
but it was impossible to guess what it might represent.

Ibid.
12
13 Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia,
British Museum Press, 1992, pp. 46, 82-3.

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