This hit me while I was commuting the other day, and it really makes sense.
I am coming at this from a rather agnostic perspective, so please forgive me if I say anything here that might conflict with the more faith-based view of human origins. It isn't intended.
On one hand we have science suggesting that human-like creatures lived many, many years before any written recorded history. On the other hand, we have myth, legend, and faith teaching things that seem to have been passed down from a common point somewhere around 5-6K years ago. All of these traditional teachings suggest that the human race began not long before recorded history started appearing.
Now, what if there once were human-like (but non-human) creatures living on earth, which were extinct. At some point after that - rather long after - the planet was seeded with a civilized, human couple - Adam and Eve - who were placed here for the express purpose of founding a civilization. They would have arrived with knowledge of a system of social code, but without any formal code of law. They would have lived off of the land without any help from outside, and within a generation or two, all remembrance of the old, civilized way of life would have been lost.
Those of you who are familiar with the Genesis account will recall additional tidbits which fall in line with this theory; the concept of a protective zone - the "Garden of Eden" which kept Adam and Eve safe from whatever might be outside; the concept of God walking with them, and a tree of life. All of these could have been metaphorical of someone checking to see how the settlers were doing in the early days, a regenerative food source, etc.
If this theory holds any water, it could be revolutionary. It means that our history doesn't end a few thousand years ago with a million year blank. It means that we might actually have some ancestory beyond Earth. It means that when/if the day comes when we are visited openly by Aliens, those aliens may look like us and share our DNA.
I am coming at this from a rather agnostic perspective, so please forgive me if I say anything here that might conflict with the more faith-based view of human origins. It isn't intended.
On one hand we have science suggesting that human-like creatures lived many, many years before any written recorded history. On the other hand, we have myth, legend, and faith teaching things that seem to have been passed down from a common point somewhere around 5-6K years ago. All of these traditional teachings suggest that the human race began not long before recorded history started appearing.
Now, what if there once were human-like (but non-human) creatures living on earth, which were extinct. At some point after that - rather long after - the planet was seeded with a civilized, human couple - Adam and Eve - who were placed here for the express purpose of founding a civilization. They would have arrived with knowledge of a system of social code, but without any formal code of law. They would have lived off of the land without any help from outside, and within a generation or two, all remembrance of the old, civilized way of life would have been lost.
Those of you who are familiar with the Genesis account will recall additional tidbits which fall in line with this theory; the concept of a protective zone - the "Garden of Eden" which kept Adam and Eve safe from whatever might be outside; the concept of God walking with them, and a tree of life. All of these could have been metaphorical of someone checking to see how the settlers were doing in the early days, a regenerative food source, etc.
If this theory holds any water, it could be revolutionary. It means that our history doesn't end a few thousand years ago with a million year blank. It means that we might actually have some ancestory beyond Earth. It means that when/if the day comes when we are visited openly by Aliens, those aliens may look like us and share our DNA.
