Scientists find evidence that Adam and Eve really existed

According to the Bible, Adam and Eve, who lived in the Garden of Eden, were the first man and woman on Earth, from whom all people on our planet descended. Scientists have found evidence that at least some parts of the religious story may be true.

Archaeologists have found signs that Eden was not only real but could have been the birthplace of human civilization. That is, all people really have one common ancestor, writes DailyMail.

A real Garden of Eden

In the Bible, Adam and Eve live in a place called the Garden of Eden. The Scriptures describe that a river flows through Eden, which divides into four branches: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

While the Tigris and Euphrates are well known and still flow through modern Iraq, the other two arms are a mystery, experts say.

This has led to a lot of speculation about where the Garden of Eden might actually have been. According to researchers, the most plausible theory is that it is located in Mesopotamia. After all, translated from the ancient Greek, this name means "between the rivers." This particular region is located between the Tigris and Euphrates, covering the territory of modern Eastern Syria, northwestern Turkey, and most of Iraq.

Biblical archaeologist at George Washington University, Professor Eric Kline, argues that this theory coincides with biblical and archaeological evidence.

"Not only does the biblical account say that the garden was 'in the east,' i.e., east of Israel, but it also mentions the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in connection with the Garden of Eden," the scholar writes in his book From Eden to Exile.

In addition, it is believed that this region is the place where the first plants and animals were domesticated between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. "This area may have become something of an agricultural paradise for the locals after the invention of irrigation in the fourth millennium BC," added Professor Kline.

Genetic Adam and Eve

Scientists are convinced that all living people descended from one woman. The so-called "mitochondrial Eve" is a common female ancestor to whom the DNA of all modern humans can be traced, experts say.

According to the researchers, although Eve was not the first human, every other female line eventually died out and failed to pass on their mitochondrial DNA, a type of genetic material that is passed from mothers to children.

By this logic, scientists determined that there must also be an Adam from whom the male Y chromosome of every living person descends.

Experts have determined that mitochondrial Eve probably lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago. A study involving 1,200 men from Sardinia showed that a Y-chromosomal Adam could have existed about 180,000-200,000 years ago.

These Adam and Eve would have been just one of many people living on Earth at that time, experts say.

Genealogical history

However, some scientists believe there is a way to reconcile science with the biblical account of Adam and Eve.

Joshua Swamidas, a biologist at the University of Washington, argues that there is no reason to believe that humanity did not originate from a single couple.

"All living people are descended from each of these universal ancestors. The same can be said of everyone alive in 1 AD or everyone alive at the beginning of history. Two of them could have been a certain couple called Adam and Eve in the Scriptures, from whom we all descend," the scientist said.

However, according to Dr. Swamidas, there is still a problem that Homo sapiens were not the first people on Earth.

Based on the idea that Adam and Eve must be the literal ancestors of every human who has ever lived, some scientists have looked even further back in time.

A philosopher from Houston Christian University, Professor William Lane Craig, argues that Adam and Eve were the first intelligent people.

Using criteria such as the ability to think abstractly, depth of planning, technological innovation, and the use of symbols, he argues that the first true humans appeared much earlier than homo sapiens.

"Adam and Eve belong to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, commonly referred to as Homo heidelbergensis. Adam lived approximately 1 million to 750,000 years ago, a conclusion consistent with the evidence of population genetics," said Professor Craig..

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