Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve
First	"House of the Rising Sun"
Last	"Lighthouse"
Island Reason	Unknown

Adam and Eve are the nicknames that Locke gave for two corpses discovered in 2004 by Jack and Kate in the caves. ("House of the Rising Sun") On these bodies, Jack found a small bag containing two stones, one black and one white.  Later, in 2007, when Hurley and Jack revisited the caves where the skeletons lay, Hurley theorized that the skeletons might belong to two of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 as a result of time travel. ("Lighthouse")

Facts

• Jack first discovered the caves in "White Rabbit", but did not find Adam and Eve at that time.
• The skeletons were not discovered until the episode "House of the Rising Sun", when Jack and Kate stumbled upon them after escaping from a swarm of bees.
• They were last seen in the episode "Lighthouse" by Jack and Hurley, 101 episodes after their first appearance in "House of the Rising Sun".

The stones found on the bodies.

• Jack explained in "House of the Rising Sun" that one skeleton was that of a woman and the other was that of a man. However, an accurate identification can be tricky. It involves close inspection of the pelvic bones, and pre-pubescent females have pelvic structures very similar to males. Usually several factors are involved before a scientist would make such a conclusion, including teeth, jaw, brow, and the ratio of the diameters of large bones. Complicating this further is the tremendous amount of variation in the human species (tall, wide-shouldered woman and short, narrow-shouldered men, or women with masculine facial structures and men with feminine facial structures). Age is another complication, and many paleontologists now believe that about one-third of the dinosaurs species are actually the children of mature species. In short, a scientist cannot look at a skeleton and tell with certainty (except on television).
• Jack said in "House of the Rising Sun" that the bodies must have been dead 40-50 years based on the deterioration of their clothing. However, upon discovering the corpse of a Nigerian smuggler in "Deus Ex Machina", Locke told Boone that normal clothing would decompose within 2 years and that the high quality polyester on the smuggler's body would take 2-10 years to get to its current condition.
  • Organic material decomposes at different rates depending on exposure, temperature, humidity, and the availability of decomposing aids (worms, fungi, rats, vultures, etc.). Jack's limited knowledge of these variables at the time of his assessment makes his estimation purely hypothetical. Likewise, Locke's Nigerian smuggler example is affected by the same variables. It is likely that organic material in a sealed airplane would decay more slowly than organic material in a damp cave.
• Adam and Eve were carrying one black and one white stone. Jack took these stones and neglected to mention them when Locke asked what had been discovered. (see also: black and white)
• The religious nicknames are taken from Adam and Eve of the Bible.
• The skeletons were separated in their first appearance in "House of the Rising Sun", but were shown placed side-by-side three years later in their second appearance in "Lighthouse". It is unknown if this was a production error or if someone moved them in the intervening three years.

Interview testimony

• In a January 2007 EW.com interview with Jeff Jensen, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse answered the fan question, "What is the meaning or significance of the two skeletons that Jack and Kate found in the cave of Season 1?" (article contains potential spoilers)
• In a March 2008 Underground Online article, the producers talked about how the skeletons might give insight into the nature of the show and evidence that certain elements were planned early on. (article contains potential spoilers)
• In a March 2009 Sky1 interview, the producers confirmed that Adam and Eve are not the actual biblical figures, and are "not the dog either."
• In January 2010, after Barack Obama and his administration moved their State of the Union Address away from February 2 to avoid a conflict with the premiere of Lost's final season, Damon and Carlton said that Obama could ask a question about any unresolved mystery and they would answer it. According to the White House's ABC correspondant Jake Tapper, Obama allegedly asked the identity of Adam and Eve, to which Carlton replied "Good question! Have POTUS call us!"[1]

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Adam and Eve/Theories

• Who were Adam and Eve?
• What is the meaning of the black and white stones found on the body?
• Where are the stones now? Has Jack kept them with him all this time, or did he leave them somewhere?
• On which body were the stones present, Adam's or Eve's?