Representative image showing Adam and Eve.
Credit: iStock Photo
While the existence of Adam and Eve as the first man and woman on Earth has been so far regarded as a myth by most, a recent study suggests that at least some parts of this story might be true.
As per the Bible, Adam and Eve were made out of sand and lived in the Garden of Eden, through which a river used to flow that was divided into four branches, namely: The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.
As per a report in the Daily Mail, while Gihon and the Pishon are not known to exist, Tigris and the Euphrates flow through present-day Iraq. There is even a theory that suggests that the Garden of Eden is located in an area called Mesopotamia.
Agreeing with the theory, Professor Eric Cline, who is a classical and biblical archaeologist from George Washington University has reportedly claimed that this theory matches the scriptural and archaeological evidence.
"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," Professor Cline reportedly wrote in his book - From Eden to Exile.
Meanwhile, this region is also known to be the place where the first plants and animals were found, as per the report.
"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," he wrote in his book.
Apart from the fact that there exists a location in modern times similar to the one described in the myth of Adam and Eve, it has also been reported that scientists believe that humans might have descended from a single woman.
"The so-called 'Mitochondrial Eve' is the common female ancestor to which the DNA of all modern human beings can be traced," the Daily Mail report read. With the same logic, scientists have determined that there must also have been a 'Y-chromosome Adam' from which originated the male Y-chromosome in humans.
Dr Joshua Swamidass, a biologist from Washington University argues that there is no particular reason to believe that humanity did not descend from a single couple.
While Dr Swamidass is not claiming with certainty that there did exist an Adam and Eve from which the whole human race descended, he is also asserting that the existence of an Adam and Eve couple might be a possibility and there is nothing in the understanding of evolutionary biology that prohibits that idea.