While the Bible says there once was a man and a woman living in a garden, who were our first parents, science speaks of a similar story just underneath our skin.
Based on studies on genetic tracking of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), found in the human cell’s mitochondria, the “Mitochondrial Eve” theory was conceptualized in 1987 by Rebecca Cann, a professor at the University of California, suggesting that mankind can trace its root—all 15,000 generations of it—to an “Eve” who lived about 150,000 years ago in Africa.
The supposed mother of all mothers, she is called the “Mitochondrial Eve,” whose dark skin and kinky hair have evolved—through thousands of generations spanning across the world—into lighter skin, broader physique, smaller eyes, and even colored hair.
According to Jesuit biologist Paulinus Forsthoefel in his book, Religious Faith Meets Modern Science, the genetic sequence of Africans have more variations compared to those of non-Africans, suggesting that Africans existed longer in the world and are humanity’s first race.
Discovery Channel’s 2002 documentary titled The Real Eve claimed that early Africans were forced out of Africa by the Ice Age. Experts said a group of about 250 Africans “swam” out of the continent and into the rest of the world.
According to the documentary, man’s 10-mile swimming journey away from the African “Garden of Eden” and across the Gulf of Aden beside the Red Sea 80,000 years ago was possible due to low water level, about 150 feet lower than it is today. Islets that are now submerged allowed the early men to “jump” from one islet to another, migrating first to Europe, then to Asia, and eventually, the Americas—populating the entire world.
With reports from Discovery Channel, www.artsci.wustl.edu, www.archaeology.org, www.actionbioscience.org
