Ancient_Human_Longevity_and_Genetic_Diversity.pdf.pdf

The question of how humans came to exist has long been debated between science and religion. Science, especially after Charles Darwin’s <i>Origin of Species</i> (1859), explains human origins as the result of evolution, a slow process over millions of years. Religious traditions, particularly in Islam, describe a different account: the direct creation of Adam and Eve as the first humans. This paper introduces what I call the “Adam–Eve Longevity–Genetics Theory.” The central idea is that if Adam and Eve truly lived close to 1,000 years, as described in Islamic texts and echoed in some Jewish and Christian traditions, then their extraordinary longevity and strong genetic makeup could have enabled a single pair to repopulate the earth. Science does not completely rule out such possibilities, as genetic bottlenecks—where very small populations survive and diversify—are recognized in evolutionary studies. Recent research even suggests that ancient DNA may have been less damaged and more resilient than modern human DNA. This theory therefore combines religious narrative with scientific reasoning. It does not reject Darwin’s model of evolution, but proposes an alternative perspective: that humanity may have begun with one unusually strong and long-lived genetic pair, after which natural processes like adaptation and selection continued. The aim is not to offer absolute proof but to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue. As a high school student, I cannot test this hypothesis experimentally, but I believe posing such questions is valuable for bridging science and faith.