Whether you are religious or not, you must know a thing or two about the Biblical creation story.
The short of it is that there’s a supernatural being in the universe (God) that created nature including water bodies, planets, dry land, animals, birds, human beings, etc.
God spoke everything into existence. He then created the first man called Adam formed from the dust of the earth. Once created, he breathed into his nostrils and he became a living human being.
Adam was then placed by God in the Garden of Eden, a mythical garden with all kinds of fruits and plants. He was told to eat from its produce while tending to it.
The Biblical description of this special garden is a paradise of sorts. It has all kinds of trees, animals, fruits, and precious stones.
For a long time, scientists have been trying to locate the garden.
While many have come up empty, some studies may have some evidence pointing to its existence.
There are some claims that the magical place is actually located on the beautiful African continent.
Is it true?
Let’s find out…
DNA Evidence
According to a 2019 study published in Nature Journal, the true Garden of Eden has been discovered scientifically to be located in the Zambezi River in Botswana.
This is based on a DNA study of the maternal genetic lineage of anatomical humans.
After years of study on the subject, researchers are fully convinced that the garden is located in the Zambezi River area.
The specific place is the northern part of Botswana. To the west of it is Namibia and to the east is Zimbabwe.
The scientists believe that the Zambezi area was fertile and humans thrived in it for about 70,000 years.
Sadly, climatic changes turned it into the Kalahari Desert forcing them to flee to other locations over 110,000 years ago.
Some of them went northeast, others southwest and a few remained in the area.
Those that stayed put adapted to the new drier land.
After many millennia, their maternal descendants are still found in the desert.
The team of researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the University of Sydney led by Professor Vanessa Hayes took blood samples from Namibia and South Africa.
They did this to compare their DNA code – specifically mitogenome (a time capsule of our ancestors).
The mitochondrial DNA is from the mother only and doesn’t undergo recombination like other DNA types.
It simply remains intact through generations making it a great tool for study on maternal ancestry.
The findings pointed to the fact that the high likelihood of the Garden of Eden being placed in Botswana.
The team is not the first group to report that humanity first began in Africa.
For decades, science had already shown that the first humans originated from all over the African continent.
Now, the exact location of origin has been discovered. Professor Hayes made the following statement in regard to the study.
“What has caused debates for a long time is the exact location of the emergence and dispersal of our early ancestors. The study pinpointed the ancestral home of all humans. It is the very first time the very location has been discovered.”
Has the Garden of Eden been found?
Sadly, we cannot speak with certainty on this subject.
People have, over the years, given many theories about the actual location of the Garden of Eden.
All of them are based on real studies that took place over a long period of time.
The earlier suggestions point to the head of the Persian Gulf as claimed by Juris Zarins.
Southern Mesopotamia where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers run into the sea has also been mentioned before as have Iran and the Tabriz vicinity.
Unfortunately, all of these lack scholarly articles to support them.
Religious beliefs about the location of the Garden of Eden also abound.
For instance, Mormons are very convinced that the location is in Jackson County, Missouri.
The Panacea Society, a group that was prominent in the 20th century, maintained that the garden was located in Bedford, England.
Many others say Jerusalem is the place.
The truth is that no man has found the exact location of the Garden of Eden.
If you are a believer in the Bible, you probably know about the flood at the time of Noah.
It is highly likely that the event restructured the land. It eroded it transporting sediments from one place to another.
Over time, these would fossilize, harden into rock, turn into oil and gas, or change into mountains.
So, carrying out studies is quite a challenge.
Also, the Bible says that after the flood, God put an angel in charge of the entrance of the Garden of Eden to guard it against human beings after Adam and Eve fell into sin by eating the forbidden fruit.
Some say the God of the universe has closed our eyes to the location of the garden.
The Verdict
Was the Garden of Eden in Africa?
That’s the latest scientific finding.
For a long time, scientists have claimed that the location is in Africa.
Now, the exact place may have been found.
The Zambezi River which divides Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe is likely where Adam and Eve called home.
