== 起源と文化的変遷 ==
Thorkild Jacobsenは、AnzuはAbuという神の初期の姿であり、古代人はAbuを雷雨に関連する神Ninurta/Ningirsuと同化させたと提唱している。
Thorkild Jacobsen proposed that Anzu was an early form of the god [[Abu (god)|Abu]], who was also [[Religious syncretism|syncretized]] by the ancients with [[Ninurta]]/Ningirsu, a god associated with thunderstorms. Abu was referred to as "Father Pasture", illustrating the connection between rainstorms and the fields growing in Spring. According to Jacobsen, this god was originally envisioned as a huge black thundercloud in the shape of an eagle, and was later depicted with a lion's head to connect it to the roar of thunder. Some depictions of Anzu therefore depict the god alongside goats (which, like thunderclouds, were associated with mountains in the ancient Near East) and leafy boughs. The connection between Anzu and Abu is further reinforced by a statue found in the [[Tell Asmar Hoard]] depicting a human figure with large eyes, with an Anzu bird carved on the base. It is likely that this depicts Anzu in his symbolic or earthly form as the Anzu-bird, and in his higher, human-like divine form as Abu. Though some scholars have proposed that the statue actually represents a human worshiper of Anzu, others have pointed out that it does not fit the usual depiction of Sumerian worshipers, but instead matches similar statues of gods in human form with their more abstract form or their symbols carved onto the base.<ref name=jacobsen1989/>