Scientific evidence on whether Adam and Eve really did exist

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Scientists believe they may have finally discovered whether or not Adam and Eve truly existed.
According to the Bible, Adam and Eve were the first two humans, created by God. The Old Testament states that they lived in the Garden of Eden and are central to the belief that all humans descended from a single pair of original ancestors.
Despite scepticism surrounding the biblical tale, there is an increasing amount of evidence suggesting that some elements of the story could be accurate. Remarkably, archaeologists have uncovered surprising signs that Eden was not only a real location but could also have been the cradle of civilisation as we know it, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Biologists have demonstrated that all living humans do indeed share a single common ancestor, but reconciling the Bible's historical accounts with modern science does necessitate discarding much of the narrative.
In the sacred text, Adam and Eve reside in a place named the Garden of Eden, depicted as a land of abundance and plenty. Surprisingly, the Bible provides a fairly precise indication of where this mythical garden is situated, reports the Mirror US.
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, it is stated that a river flows through Eden and splits into four tributaries: The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.
The age-old tale of Adam and Eve's origins might need a rethink, with experts suggesting our biblical forebears might not have been Homo Sapiens after all. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, still flowing through Iraq today, are familiar names from the story, but the exact whereabouts of the other two rivers, Gihon and Pishon, remain a mystery, casting doubt on their existence.
Scholars believe the Garden of Eden could have been in various places, yet the most convincing location is thought to be Mesopotamia. This area, whose name translates to 'between rivers' from Ancient Greek, is cradled by the Tigris and Euphrates and sprawls across parts of what are now eastern Syria, northwestern Turkey, and much of Iraq.
Professor Eric Cline, an expert in classical and biblical archaeology at George Washington University, penned 'From Eden to Exile', where he supports this theory as aligning with both scriptural texts and archaeological findings.
In his book, Professor Cline explains: "This makes some sense from a textual point of view, because not only does the biblical account say that the garden lay 'in the east', meaning to the east of Israel, but it also mentions the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in connection with the Garden of Eden."
Mesopotamia is widely regarded as the cradle of agriculture, where both plants and animals were first tamed over 10,000 to 20,000 years ago during what's known as the Neolithic revolution. This shift led humans away from their hunter-gatherer roots, giving rise to our earliest permanent settlements.
Prof Cline said: "This area may have also become somewhat of an agricultural paradise for the local residents following the invention of irrigation during the fourth millennium BC."
To bolster the Biblical narrative, scientists indeed think all present-day humans hail from a single woman. Dubbed 'Mitochondrial Eve,' she represents the universal matrilineal ancestor, traceable through DNA.
This singular ancestor concept stems from the understanding that regardless of a population's size, most female lineages are destined to extinguish at some point. Thus Mitochondrial Eve wasn't the inaugural human, yet after all alternative female lines ceased, leaving no trace in mitochondrial DNA—inheritance that flows exclusively from mothers to offspring.
Applying the same reasoning, scientists inferred the existence of a 'Y-chromosome Adam' as the root of every living human's Y-chromosome.
Despite this, the theory has its critics, with some arguing that although everyone on the planet shares DNA with common ancestors, this does not necessarily mean that they came from a single "first couple."
It is possible that the man and woman lived in different eras and may not have had children together, with their existences potentially being centuries apart.
However, Dr Joshua Swamidass, a biologist from Washington University, counters that there is no reason to rule out the possibility that humanity descended from a single couple. The cases of Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosome Adam demonstrate that there is no scientific barrier to humans having a common ancestor, even if the population never dwindled to just two individuals.
In an article published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Dr Swamidass wrote: "Many individuals are each individually ancestors of 'all the living'."
He explained that all humans alive today descend from each of these universal ancestors, and the same can be said for all individuals alive in AD 1 or when recorded history began. Dr Swamidass suggested that two of these universal ancestors could be a specific couple, referred to as Adam and Eve in scripture, from whom all humans descend.
While Dr Swamidass is not presenting this as a definitive explanation, he is highlighting that our current understanding of evolutionary biology does not preclude the existence of Adam and Eve as a couple. Nevertheless, as Dr Swamidass noted, there remains the issue that Homo Sapiens were not the first humans to inhabit Earth.
Professor William Lane Craig, a philosopher from Houston Christian University, has confidently claimed that Adam and Eve were the original humans, predating Homo sapiens.
Using criteria such as the ability for abstract thought, technological progress, and symbolism, he suggests that true humanity began much earlier.
In an article for First Things, Professor Craig argues: "Adam and Eve may plausibly be identified as belonging to the last common ancestor of Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals - usually designated as Homo Heidelbergensis."
He also said: "Adam plausibly lived sometime between around 1 million years ago to 750,000 years ago - a conclusion consistent with the evidence of population genetics."