"NoSQL" databases existed before SQL. For example, look at multivalue databases like Pick/D3, or the sparse map like persistent data storage structures of MUMP

"NoSQL" databases existed before SQL. For example, look at multivalue databases like Pick/D3, or the sparse map like persistent data storage structures of MUMP. We had plain text databases, key value storage, hierarchical databases or multivalue databases before we had relational ones. Actually, pre-RDBMS those were the dominant systems. The concepts invented from RDBMS were the new kid on the block that was hot and cool and more powerful that supplanted the original "NoSQL" system and had remained dominant until we hit "Internet scale" and people wanted to 1) scale to huge data volumes requiring distributed databases and processing cheaply and 2) wanted to return to finding alternatives to the dominating SQL platforms.