No bones about it

When Shakespeare has Romeo plead to Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would

smell as sweet,” a profound truth is being articulated: the names ascribed to items, whatever the items are, have no

intrinsic relationship to that particular item. Language requires the ability to think abstractly, and as such, requires that we have defined what we mean by the words we use.

That brings me to “Previously unknown prehistoric human discovered in Israel” (June 25). We read that this newly discovered type of human lived here 130,000 years

ago. Now that claim could raise the hackles of a significant

fraction of Jews. Humans 130,000 years ago? Here go the

scientists again with their foolish ideas based on a few

bones. Adam and Eve were the first humans and they lived less than 6,000 years ago.

Fortunately, Shakespeare 400 years ago articulated the solution. What’s in a name is that which we choose to

ascribe to that name. A scientist using the word “human” is referring to a being that is similar to modern humans in shape. A knowledgeable theologian who uses the identical term is referring to a being that is similar to modern humans in shape and is imbued with the neshama, the human soul.

Biblically, that dates to 5,781 years ago, the date of the biblical calendar, which starts not with the creation of the universe, but with the creation of the human soul (Genesis

1:27).

A visit to the Mesopotamian Room in the British Museum

provides a strong indication of the accuracy of the era of this

transition from pre-human homo sapiens to human homo sapiens .

GERALD SCHROEDER

Jerusalem